Timothy McVeigh refuses to plead for his life

Thursday 14 August 1997 23:02 BST

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Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing after he quoted a former Supreme Court judge who said government "teaches the people by its example." McVeigh said he was quoting from a dissenting opinion by Louis Brandeis in a 1928 wiretapping case. "Our government is the hope, the omnipotent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the people by its example. That's all I have, Your Honour." Except for the reference to government setting a bad example by killing someone, he did not plead for his life.

AP - Denver

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