Author:
Publication: Zenit.org
Date: April 29, 2001
Killer of 168 People Is Facing Execution
May 16
The U.S. vice president rejected
John Paul II's request that President George W. Bush spare the life of
the Oklahoma City bomber who killed 168 people.
"I think if there was ever a man
who deserves to be executed, it's probably Timothy McVeigh," Vice President
Dick Cheney declared on "Fox News Sunday.''
McVeigh, 33, is scheduled to be
executed by lethal injection May 16 in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The victims included 19 children.
Bush received a letter last week
from John Paul in which the Pope made his clemency request, the Associated
Press reported. Legal scholars said it appeared Bush had no way to intervene
in the execution even if he were inclined to. McVeigh allowed a Feb. 16
deadline to pass without filing a request for clemency.
A White House spokeswoman had said
Friday that Bush had no intention of trying to grant clemency.
"The president has great respect
for the Pope and this is a tragic situation," spokeswoman Claire Buchan
said. "The president also has deep compassion and sympathy for the 168
victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and their families."
During his years as governor of
Texas, Bush broke the record of executions since 1976, when capital punishment
was re-established in the country.
According to the latest opinion
polls, more than 60% of the population supports the death penalty. Moreover,
given the magnitude of the Oklahoma City attack, few voices have been raised
to save McVeigh's life. Among the latter are those of U.S. cardinals and
bishops.
John Paul II regularly appeals for
clemency for persons condemned to death anywhere in the world. Capital
punishment is a clear issue of disagreement between the Bush administration
and the Catholic Church. On other issues, such as respect for the life
of the unborn, the president has fostered a rapprochement with Catholics.
On Jan. 27, 1999, during his last
visit to the United States, John Paul II described the death penalty as
a "cruel" and "unnecessary" punishment. The Pope said in St. Louis, Missouri:
"Modern society has the means to protect itself and does not need to deny
definitively the possibility of correction."
