In 1997 Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols were convicted in U.S. district court for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Though Mr. McVeigh was given a death sentence, Mr. Nichols escaped with life without parole.

For Oklahoma County District Attorney Robert Macy, the lack of a second death sentence was an affront to the victims, their relatives and the state.