Free Republic

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Terry Nichols admitted during plea negotiations in his state trial last year that he played a major role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a newspaper reported Sunday. Nichols admitted to prosecutors in a signed statement that he helped Timothy McVeigh make the bomb that killed 168 people in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, The Oklahoman reported. McVeigh was put to death for masterminding the attack. "McVeigh told me what to do," Nichols said in the statement, which was prepared with the aid of his attorneys. Nichols, 49, is serving life sentences without...

A Tulsa attorney was paid $51,057 to appeal Michael Fortier's punishment for crimes tied to the Oklahoma City bombing. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday disclosed the total paid to Michael McGuire for two appeals. Taxpayers picked up the cost for the court- appointed attorney. Fortier, 33, was a close friend of bomber Timothy McVeigh. He admitted he knew about McVeigh's plans but never warned anyone. He also admitted that he helped McVeigh move and sell stolen guns and that he lied to FBI agents after the April 19, 1995, attack. Fortier pleaded guilty but was not...