Good afternoon . . .
April 19, 1995 was a clear and pleasant spring day in Oklahoma City until 9:02 AM. At that precise moment the calm and innocence of the city was shattered by a truck bomb placed in from of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
The bomb destroyed the building killing 168 men, women, and children and affected the life of thousands in Oklahoma City and around the country. It was a terrorist attack, but these terrorists were not from a foreign country. These terrorists were Americans. Americans who, for some reason, did not like the federal government and this was their response.
Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols were the leaders. McVeigh was convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in June 2001.
Terry Nichols was convicted in both federal and state courts and is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the nation's worst act of domestic terrorism. In the church that served as a temporary morgue, 1600 people gathered to remember the victims, as well as, the survivors. Former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at the memorial service.
Across the street from the church is the Oklahoma,a City Memorial Park which features 168 chairs for the victims including 19 small chairs to memorialize the children killed in the incident.
Silence Recalls Oklahoma City Victims - Yahoo! News
--
The Washington Post reported in a story today that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the 9/11 attacks, is offering to plead guilty for a second time.
The unnamed source said if US District Judge Leonie Brinkema finds Moussaoui competent to make the decision, he could enter the plea before the end of the month.
Moussaoui offered to plead guilty early in the case, but Judge Brinkema asked him to reconsider his decision. Within a week, he changed his mind.
The Post also reported that Judge Brinkema planned to meet with Moussaoui this week to determine whether he has the mental capacity to make the plea.
Source: Moussaoui Offers to Plead Guilty - Yahoo! News
--
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether a New Mexico church can use a hallucinogenic tea in its services.
At issue is whether the tea which contains an illegal drug is protected under freedom of religion laws. The Bush administration argues that the drug is illegal and potentially dangerous to churchgoers.
The justices will review a lower court ruling in favor of the church.
Oral arguments will be heard when the court begins its next term in October.
Supreme Court to Hear Religious Tea Case - Yahoo! News
--
California prosecutors may face more questioning from judges when they try to remove minorities from juries.
At issue is a 19-year old rule that forbids using race as a reason to keep people off a jury.
Most state tell judges to question prosecutors when there appears to be racial bias in the selection of juries. California courts say that prosecutors should be questioned only when there is a "strong likelihood" of racial bias.
In arguments before the court, an attorney representing a child murderer told the court that California's rule allows racial bias to go unquestioned and unchallenged.
"Here, the prosecutor struck all three black jurors and left a black defendant to be tried by a nearly all-white jury," lawyer Stephen B. Bedrick said.
Bedrick urged the court to rule that whenever there was "a reasonable inference of discrimination," the prosecutor should explain his reason for excluding a minority juror.
Most of the justices were inclined to rule that way.
Justice Antonin Scalia wondered, "What's the big deal." A prosecutor could simply be called to the bench and explain the reason for dismissing the juror.
The court will likely rely on a 1986 case, Batson vs. Kentucky, that judges should challenge prosecutors to explain themselves whenever there was prima facie evidence of racial bias in the selection of a jury.
Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that under Batson all that is required is a "reason to inquire" not a "strong likelihood" of bias required in California.
The Court should deliver a decision in June. The case is Johnson v. California.
Justices Weigh State's Jury Selection Law - Yahoo! News
--
More tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment