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CNN Saturday Morning News
Emotions Run High For Relatives of Oklahoma Bombing Victims
Aired June 09, 2001 - 09:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As the clock ticks towards Timothy McVeigh's execution, emotions are running high for some survivors and relatives of those who died in the Oklahoma City bombing.
For more, we turn to CNN's Ed Lavandera at the Oklahoma City National Memorial -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Here in Oklahoma City, it's an overcast morning. The clouds are starting to break. It's a peaceful morning here at that memorial site and we've heard a lot over the last couple of days about how Timothy McVeigh is starting to prepare for his execution day on Monday, and this city is also going through the same as many of the victims' families and survivors are starting to do the same.
They are preparing for the watch -- to watch the closed circuit broadcast of Timothy McVeigh's execution at the federal transfer center at the Will Rogers World Airport. Some 300 people are expected to turn out to watch this. And, of course, it's a very troubling experience for many of the people.
And Susan Walton joins us now to talk about her experiences. She was on the third floor the day of the bombing in the federal building. And you're not going to be one of those people to watch the execution on Monday. Why?
SUSAN WALTON, BOMBING VICTIM: Well, I have no memory of that day so basically what I remember about the bombing is the love and the caring that came in from people all over the country and the world. And I don't think I need to end this on a negative note.
LAVANDERA: You said, you told me earlier that you kept a lot of the tokens and gifts that people from around the country sent you.
WALTON: Yes, I have a 65-year-old monkey that was sent to me by a man from Newport News and I have a lamb that was sent by a little 5- year-old girl and those are very special to me. And every card that I ever received I still have.
LAVANDERA: Susan, you weren't supposed to be in the building that day. You were just running an errand. Do you still think about everything that happened that day? WALTON: Well, sometimes you wonder why but I was, you know, that was kind of a normal routine. I was in the credit union usually at least once a week and so I just happened to be there at the wrong time that day.
LAVANDERA: Are, you were telling me also earlier that you're not going to watch the closed circuit broadcast because are you a little worried about what McVeigh might say at the moment?
WALTON: Well, you know, I, you know, they will have to listen to his final statement and I don't want to have to remember that for the rest of my life.
LAVANDERA: As we said, you were on the third floor. You don't remember anything. It took eight hours for doctors to figure out just who you were that morning. They couldn't tell.
WALTON: Correct.
LAVANDERA: How are you doing today?
WALTON: Well, I'm probably as good as I'm ever going to be. I still have a couple of surgeries to look forward to in the future, but the doctor said that there's no reason to do that until I cannot stand the pain any longer. And after 25, I think that's enough for a while. So I'm ready to kind of let all the medicine and everything, you know, clear my head. So...
LAVANDERA: You would only go, you came to the, you had come to the third floor to go to the credit union, so you didn't really work with anybody there. You kind of knew just the tellers. But I was also asking you earlier about the bond you've created with other of the survivors and the victims' families. To people who don't live in Oklahoma City, can you talk about just what kind of bond has been created here over the last six years?
WALTON: Well, we all have gotten to know each other. We care and respect each other and even though we don't always agree on the death penalty or McVeigh and how, you know, what he has to say about things, but we respect each other's right to their opinion and, you know, we might not always agree with them, but no one else better speak up against them, either. So we try to, you know, we're very supportive.
LAVANDERA: Well, we appreciate you being here this morning, Susan.
WALTON: Well, thank you.
LAVANDERA: Susan Walton as she prepares to hear all of the rest of the news that will be coming down this weekend. She says she's an avid news watcher so there's really no way for her to escape all of the coverage over the next couple of days. So, I'm Ed Lavandera reporting live from Oklahoma City.
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