Worst Crimes of the Century

Even worse, terrorism within the country was suddenly an ominous reality." (Ottley, 1995) The two planned to bomb the federal complex to hurt as many federal employees as possible. Allegedly the Oklahoma City building was choosen because the ground floor had a large window and there was not a courtyard separating the building from the parking area (Ottley, 1995). It is believed that McVeigh and Nichols were motivated for the attack by the standoff at the Branch Davidian Compound in Mount Carmel, Texas. At the end of the fifty-one day siege, four Alcohol and Tobacco agents and more then eighty Branch Davidians were killed. The complex was burned to the ground. The Oklahoma City bombing took place on the second year anniversary of the end of the stand off (Clark, 1995). This was the catalyst for McVeigh and Nichols resentment of the government. The trial was held in Oklahoma even though the defense tried to have it move as far from Oklahoma as possible in order to limit the amount of influence the community would have on the jury (Clark, 1995). The trial was a sensational one and was followed heavily in the media. In the end the jury found Timothy McVeigh guilty of one hundred sixty-nine counts of murder after on three days of deliberation. Later he received the death penealty and was moved to the super max prison in Florence, Colorado (Ottley, 1995). Terry Nichols was found guilty of federal crimes of conspiracy and manslaughter, the state of Oklahoma tried to charge him with state murder charges but was hindered by the double jeopardy laws. In crimes as heinous as the Oklahoma City bombing there is a desire to explain how such an act could occur. Though criminologists have several theories that may fit the attack of September 19th, radical conflict theory is the most appropriate. Radical conflict theory has its roots in Marxist philosophy. "From this perspective law, law enforcement agencies, and government itself are instruments of the ruling class to maintain advantageous positions in society and to control those who pose a threat to that position.