Oklahoma bomber loses bid to delay his execution

A federal judge today rejected a stay of execution for convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

McVeigh had sought the delay after FBI officials admitted they failed to hand over 4,000 pages of evidence. He is scheduled to be executed on Monday.

"I find there is no good cause to delay the execution," said U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, who presided over McVeigh's 1997 trial.

"Whatever in time may be disclosed about the possible (actions) of others it will not change the fact that Timothy McVeigh was the instrument of death and destruction."

McVeigh was found guilty of planting the bomb that killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, in the worst act of terrorism ever committed on American soil.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Wednesday hailed the decision to allow Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution to go forward on June 11, calling it a "ruling for justice" and saying there never was any doubt about McVeigh's guilt.

"Today I believe the ruling of the court in Denver makes unmistakably clear that we not only have a guilty defendant but that the fairness and innocence of the system is sufficient and is complete and that it merits the trust and confidence of the American people," he told reporters before testifying at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Ashcroft's comments came after U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch in Denver found "no good cause" to delay McVeigh's execution because of recently turned over FBI documents.

After Matsch ruled, McVeigh's attorney, Rob Nigh, immediately vowed to appeal to a federal appeals court based in Denver.