Joan Bennett Oklahoma City Bombing

The thundering sound of the bomb blast could be heard for miles. Men, women, and children run frantically in order to find shelter, being blinding by the massive amounts of dust that have caused the sky to turn yellow. Mothers are scavenging for their children, who were playing games outside, now stuck deep in the rubble of buildings that have collapsed on top of them. Houses have been destroyed, families have been obliterated and innocent lives have been lost. For many around the world, situations like these have become a part of everyday life. In A Pure, High Note of Anguish, author Barbara Kingsolver describes the confusion and questions that arose after the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11th. 9/11 was the largest terrorist

It was April 19, 1995 at 9:03 that the lives of thousands were affected by one single

Bill Clinton did a speech for those who lost the people that they love and saying that not one is feeling the pain but we all do. In his quote “You have lost to much, but you have not lost everything”(Clinton pg.21). Clinton wants us to heal the pain, but also move on and finish the job for the people we lost to make a better future a strong nation that will fight back for the bombing. It will take time to heal our heart and rebuild the damage that happen with the bombing of Oklahoma. Hillary and Bill spoke to children of federal employees, and one girl said “We should all plant a tree in memory of the children”(little girl pg.22).

At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a 5,000-pound bomb, hidden inside a Ryder truck, exploded just outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion caused massive damage to the building and killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children (Rosenburg, 2011). On April 23, four days after the bombing, President Bill Clinton addressed the public and gave an effective, excellent speech.

I learned of what happened to the federal building in Oklahoma City until later that evening of April 19, 1995 from the evening news. It obviously was breaking news all day and it hit home for some people who knew workers there. The most heartbreaking were the lives of innocent children that were claimed in the bombing. Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirator Terry Nichols were behind this treacherous attack in the U.S. On that day, the assault executed 168 individuals, 19 of them kids, and harmed more than 500. It was the biggest terrorist act at any point transpired on U.S. soil (CNN, 2001).

McVeigh and Nichols saw an opportunity to destroy a building full of innocent people, because of their extremist mindset. They decided tp destroy a building full of innocent people who work because of their extremist ways. Something that was seemingly odd was that McVeigh was a Persian Gulf war veteran and Nichols was his military friend. A third man whose name was Michael Fortier also had information regarding the detonation of the bomb at the building, Fortier later plead guilty for harboring information of the explosion.

The Oklahoma City Bombing was a very special event in American history, it was the biggest act of domestic terrorism until 9/11. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was an office complex in Oklahoma City, was bombed and 168 people were killed. Timothy McVeigh, the subject of my paper, was behind the bombings, and later executed.

Leigh did go to a viewing party when the bombing happened. She was at the party, but left the area before the bomb went off. Joanna Leigh was not even in the area at all by the time that the bombing happened and instead had already went home. There was no way that she could be injured, but Leigh said that she was so she could money. After two weeks, Leigh went and said that she was injured. She tried to claim that she ran back to help people who were wounded and received injuries, but this is not true.

McVeigh's trial was set for Denver, Colorado on March 31, 1997. On June 3rd 1997, the jury found McVeigh guilty of all 11 counts, including eight counts of first degree murder in the deaths of eight federal law-enforcement agents, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, using a weapon of mass destruction, and destruction of a federal building. The jury deliberated for 23 and a half hours before rendering the verdict. In the end, McVeigh was left all alone as dozens of former best friends and family relatives testified against him (Eddy et al., 1997).

I learned quite a bit about the psychological impact of the Boston Marathon Bombing. After researching the effects, I realized how much trauma these innocent people went through during a moment that was supposed to be joyous. People that were healthy and filled with life were either severely injured or had there life taken away by a senseless act. Some of the injured victims will never be able to walk again, others, never able to see their loved ones again. Martin Richard, an 8-year old boy whose life was taken during the attack, will never get to see his family one more time. The amount of grief the Tsarnev brothers caused can never be taken back and it has left a psychological effect on the viewers and the victims – runners, adults and children.

Case Summary. The Oklahoma City Bomber: Timothy McVeigh. Mass murderer, Timothy McVeigh committed the largest crime involving mass murder in the history of America by the Oklahoma City Bombing that took the lives of a total of 168 people. During the Spring of April in 1995, A rental truck from Ryder drove into a federal building parking lot known as Alfred P. Murrah.

Lastly, although not an easily overcome controversial challenge that this community was forced to face was ultimately the trial of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Due to the psychological stress this incident rooted in a portion of the people involved, it is understandable to comprehend why the judicial process of these two individuals caused issues to some extent. Eventually with the conclusion of the legal process, the strenuous atmosphere surrounding the trial, and ultimately the completion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial to honor those lives lost that day, the last challenge this community face was overcome.

On May 24th 1988 Timothy took a huge step to fulfill his dream of becoming a member of the United States Special Forces. In Basic training McVeigh met an individual named Terry Nichols, Nichols was much older than most of the recruits and held his own pretty well. McVeigh and Nichols became close friends and even got stationed at Fort Riley Kansas Together. Kifner, John. (1995). Terry Nichols was one of the master minds behind the attack of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. As stated by former FBI agent "These two are birds of a feather. Each feeds off the other 's inadequacies." McVeigh and Nichols would later deploy to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War where McVeigh served as a Bradley Gunner. During his time in Iraq McVeigh was awarded the combat Infantry badge and a bronze star. Kifner, (1995).

However, while the siege was over, it was not forgotten. On April 19, 1995, two years after the fire that killed so many people, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols planted a bomb that killed 168 people, injured more than 680 people, and whose blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen block radius of Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Motivated by his hatred of the government and the outrage he felt about the Waco Siege in 1993, McVeigh decided to time his attack for the second anniversary of the deadly fire. Forensic evidence linked both men to the attack. On June 11, 2001, McVeigh was executed by lethal injection and Nichols was sentenced to life in prison in 2004. The Oklahoma City Bombing was the worst terrorist attack on United States soil until September 11, 2001.

First and foremost, I just want to say I have enjoyed your discussion and responding to them. May you continue to do well in your further classes. When I heard of this incident happened in 1996, I was quite confused on why they authorities thought Richard Jewell had something to do with the bombing when he made a call about a suspicious bag. As I continue to read the story, I couldn’t understand if Richard Jewell set that plan into motion, why would he commit a crime and later help to make sure everyone moves to safety. I get it that he loves to recognize for things he does, but, don’t most people. I just feel if a person set a bomb into action, they would not be in the vicinity to help people to safety; they would view and enjoy