Judge Denies Nichols’ Request for New Trial
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DENVER — U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch on Tuesday denied a request from convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry L. Nichols for a new trial.
Nichols, who was found guilty in December of conspiracy to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of eight federal agents, claimed improper jury conduct.
In June, when Nichols was sentenced to life in prison, his attorney, Michael E. Tigar, argued that a new trial was necessary because jurors improperly held informal discussions about the case in groups of two or three.
During the course of the trial, the judge regularly admonished jury members to deliberate only as a group of 12 and not until the case was given to them. In his ruling, Matsch said that no court can control any jury so closely as to preclude all private conversations about a case.
The April 19, 1995, attack on the Murrah building killed 168 people. Timothy J. McVeigh was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to death.
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