OKLAHOMA CITY: THE WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE

THE CASE AGAINST MCVEIGH IS STRONG, BUT THE MESS AT THE FBI AND A BABEL OF WITNESSES MAKE IT VULNERABLE

When Timothy McVeigh enters the Denver courtroom of Judge Richard Matsch, he does not behave at all as you would expect, given the rigid, blank-faced image he projected at his arrest. He usually emerges from the holding cell for defendants with a big smile. Wearing a button-down shirt and khaki pants, his hands in his pockets, he struts toward the defense table. On his way, he makes eyes at female paralegals and chats with them. He nods and grins at the press and the prosecutors. McVeigh is accused of killing 168 people, 19 of them children; he may face the death...

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