Interview with Timothy McVeigh TIME's Patrick Cole talks to the defendant in prison
Timothy McVeigh met with TIME months before the start of the trial in which he would be convicted of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. In an extensive conversation with TIME correspondent Patrick Cole in Oklahoma's El Reno Federal Correctional Institute on March 30, 1996, McVeigh talked about his problems with the federal government, his service in the Gulf War, and the case against him.
TIME: Are you religious?
MCVEIGH: I was raised Catholic. I was confirmed Catholic (received the sacrament of confirmation). Through my military years, I sort of lost touch with the religion. I never really picked it up, however I do maintain core beliefs.
TIME: Do you believe in God?
MCVEIGH: I do believe in a God, yes. But that's as far as I want to discuss. If I get too detailed on some things that are personal like that, it gives people an easier way alienate themselves from me and that's all they are looking for now.
From The Heart Of Niagara County: www.Lockport-NY.com OnLine Since 1996
McVeigh, who was raised a Catholic but deserted his faith, had been given Last Rites by a prison chaplain, the Lockport Home Page learned shortly after the execution.
Thanks for the link. Sounds like McVeigh was one of those non-practicing kinda-sorta Christians. It doesn't sound like it was a motivating factor for him at any rate.