Bristol University Press
5 Techniques of Neutralisation and the Conviction of the Oklahoma Bomber, Timothy McVeigh
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Abstract
On the morning of 19 April 1995, 26-year-old Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder rental truck, holding a homemade bomb, in the disabled zone in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in the US. After parking the truck, McVeigh got out of the vehicle and walked away. At 9.02 am, the bomb exploded killing 168 people and injuring more than 500 others. Of those who died, 15 were children who attended the day-care centre on the second floor of the building, and another four children who were in or near the building also died. Other victims were employees of various federal government agencies and visitors to the offices. Meanwhile, McVeigh left the city and headed north in his yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis. State Trooper Charles Hanger stopped McVeigh’s car on Interstate 35 because it did not have a licence plate. Hanger noticed that McVeigh was concealing a gun under his jacket and therefore arrested him for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and took him to the county jail in Perry, Oklahoma. Hanger ran McVeigh’s social security number through a national crime database (Branson-Potts, 2015) but there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest. He was held in the jail for two days awaiting a court hearing for the firearms charge and failure to display a licence plate. No one at the jail suspected that he had any involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing. However, back in the city investigators discovered the Ryder truck’s rear axle that had been flung two blocks from where the bomb had exploded. There was an identification number on the axle that enabled them to trace the vehicle to the Ryder agency that had rented it and then to the motel where McVeigh (registered under his real name) had stayed the night before the bombing. Staff at the motel also identified McVeigh from a composite sketch that was drawn from the description of staff at the rental agency.
Abstract
On the morning of 19 April 1995, 26-year-old Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder rental truck, holding a homemade bomb, in the disabled zone in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in the US. After parking the truck, McVeigh got out of the vehicle and walked away. At 9.02 am, the bomb exploded killing 168 people and injuring more than 500 others. Of those who died, 15 were children who attended the day-care centre on the second floor of the building, and another four children who were in or near the building also died. Other victims were employees of various federal government agencies and visitors to the offices. Meanwhile, McVeigh left the city and headed north in his yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis. State Trooper Charles Hanger stopped McVeigh’s car on Interstate 35 because it did not have a licence plate. Hanger noticed that McVeigh was concealing a gun under his jacket and therefore arrested him for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and took him to the county jail in Perry, Oklahoma. Hanger ran McVeigh’s social security number through a national crime database (Branson-Potts, 2015) but there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest. He was held in the jail for two days awaiting a court hearing for the firearms charge and failure to display a licence plate. No one at the jail suspected that he had any involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing. However, back in the city investigators discovered the Ryder truck’s rear axle that had been flung two blocks from where the bomb had exploded. There was an identification number on the axle that enabled them to trace the vehicle to the Ryder agency that had rented it and then to the motel where McVeigh (registered under his real name) had stayed the night before the bombing. Staff at the motel also identified McVeigh from a composite sketch that was drawn from the description of staff at the rental agency.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Tables ix
- List of Abbreviations x
- Introduction 1
- Failing to Establish Guilt in the Trial of Casey Anthony 6
- The Tension Between Evidence and Storytelling in the Trial of James Hanratty 22
- Consistency and Inconsistency in Stories: The Case of Dr Crippen 46
- The Role of Credibility and Believability in the Trial of Rosemary West 71
- Techniques of Neutralisation and the Conviction of the Oklahoma Bomber, Timothy McVeigh 90
- Language Style and Persuasion in the Criminal Trial of O.J. Simpson 112
- Social Geometry and the Acquittal of Michael Jackson 138
- The Role of Vulnerability in the Alleged False Confession and Subsequent Conviction of Brendan Dassey 162
- The Defence of Diminished Responsibility and the Trial of Peter Sutcliffe 190
- Common Sense and the ‘Reasonable Person’ in the Trial of Oscar Pistorius 217
- Amanda Knox’s Trial in the Media 238
- Afterword 258
- References 261
- Index 304
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Tables ix
- List of Abbreviations x
- Introduction 1
- Failing to Establish Guilt in the Trial of Casey Anthony 6
- The Tension Between Evidence and Storytelling in the Trial of James Hanratty 22
- Consistency and Inconsistency in Stories: The Case of Dr Crippen 46
- The Role of Credibility and Believability in the Trial of Rosemary West 71
- Techniques of Neutralisation and the Conviction of the Oklahoma Bomber, Timothy McVeigh 90
- Language Style and Persuasion in the Criminal Trial of O.J. Simpson 112
- Social Geometry and the Acquittal of Michael Jackson 138
- The Role of Vulnerability in the Alleged False Confession and Subsequent Conviction of Brendan Dassey 162
- The Defence of Diminished Responsibility and the Trial of Peter Sutcliffe 190
- Common Sense and the ‘Reasonable Person’ in the Trial of Oscar Pistorius 217
- Amanda Knox’s Trial in the Media 238
- Afterword 258
- References 261
- Index 304
