DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709290026

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SANDY SHORE, ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: DENVER                            LENGTH:  115 lines

FOCUS: TERRY NICHOLS

As the second Oklahoma City bombing trial opens today, accusers and defenders alike wonder which man they will see - the disillusioned drifter turned terrorist or the devoted father turned farmer. MEMO: For complete article see microfilm. ILLUSTRATION: Photos with biographical cutlines

Terry Lynn Nichols, 42, of Herington, Kan. Indicted along with

Timothy McVeigh. Served in Army with McVeigh at Fort Riley, Kan.;

left in 1989 on a hardship discharge. Renounced right to vote in

1992 because of ``total corruption in the entire political system'';

dealt in military surplus goods. Lived with second wife, Marife, and

their 2-year-old daughter in Herington; has teen-age son, Joshua, by

first marriage, and son, Christian, who was born to wife Marife

after he was arrested.

Surrendered to police April 21, 1995, and was initially held as a

material witness.

Judge Richard P. Matsch, 66. Veteran jurist has overseen tense,

controversial trials with methodical, scholarly, no-nonsense

attitude. Ordered busing for desegregation in Denver 20 years ago.

Presided over political corruption trials, drug cases and federal

trial of several members of The Order, the militant, anti-Semitic

organization responsible for the assassination of Denver radio talk

show host Alan Berg in 1984. Had ties to Richard Nixon, who made him

a federal judge.

Larry Mackey, 46, a federal prosecutor since 1980, named by

Attorney General Janet Reno to lead the prosecution of Nichols. Took

a leading role in prosecution of McVeigh, delivering the closing

arguments. Worked on the bombing task force beginning four months

after the April 19, 1995, blast that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah

Federal Building in the Oklahoma capital. Graduated from Indiana

University School of Law in 1976, magna cum laude; began his career

as an assistant defender in Illinois in 1976.

Michael Tigar, 56, Nichols' lead defense attorney. Law professor

at the University of Texas, has an uncanny ability to quote

historical figures verbatim. Graduated from California-Berkeley law

school in 1966; won his first case before the U.S. Supreme Court at

age 28. Defended the Chicago Seven radicals against charges of

inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention and later

represented liberal UCLA philosophy professor Angela Davis, accused

of abetting the murder of a judge. Led successful defense of John

Demjanjuk, retired Cleveland autoworker accused of being the

infamous Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible.

Michael Fortier, 27, of Kingman, Ariz. Served at Fort Riley with

McVeigh and Nichols, then returned to Kingman and married high

school sweetheart. Known around Kingman for weekly protests against

gun control; worked at hardware store. Pleaded guilty to lesser

charges in bombing in exchange for testimony against Nichols and

McVeigh.

Graphic

CHRONOLOGY OF TTHE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING

April 19, 1995 - Bomb devastates Alfred P. Murrah Federal

Building at 9:02 a.m. Timothy McVeigh is arrested 90 minutes later

on a firearms charge after a traffic stop near Billings, Okla.

April 20 - Authorities release sketches of suspects John Doe No.

1 and John Doe No. 2.

April 21 - Federal authorities arrest McVeigh, who resembles John

Doe No. 1, in connection with the bombing hours before he was

expected to make bail on a firearms charge. Terry Nichols surrenders

in Herington, Kan., after learning police are looking for him.

May 10 - Terry Nichols is charged in the bombing.

June 14 - Authorities admit sketches of John Doe No. 2 are of an

innocent Army private at Fort Riley, Kan.

Aug. 11 - Grand jury indicts McVeigh and Nichols on murder and

conspiracy charges.

Oct. 20 - Attorney General Janet Reno authorizes prosecutors to

seek the death penalty.

Nov. 21 - Defense attorneys seek to move the trial out of

Oklahoma, arguing that intense media coverage tainted the jury pool.

Dec. 1 - Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch of Denver is

appointed to preside.

1996

Feb. 20 - Matsch moves the case to Denver, ruling that McVeigh

and Nichols have been ``demonized'' by intense media coverage in

Oklahoma.

July 15 - Matsch says a law establishing closed-circuit telecast

of trial is constitutional. He later orders a telecast to be shown

in the government auditorium near the Oklahoma City airport.

Oct. 25 - Matsch orders McVeigh and Nichols to be tried

separately, ruling their rights could be compromised by a joint

trial. Nichols will be tried after McVeigh.

1997

March 31 - Jury selection begins in McVeigh's trial.

April 24 - Opening statements begin.

May 21 - Prosecutors rest their case after calling 137 witnesses

in 18 days.

May 28 - Defense rests after calling 25 witnesses in 3 1/2 days.

May 29 - Closing arguments.

May 30 - Jurors begin deliberations.

June 2 - Jury convicts McVeigh of all 11 counts.

June 13 - Jury condemns McVeigh to die by injection.

Aug. 14 - McVeigh formally sentenced to death. He tells the judge

that the government ``teaches the people by its example.''

Sept. 17 - Potential jurors are ordered to report for questioning

on theirknowledge of case against Nichols.

Sept. 29 - Jury selection to begin in Nichols trial.

- Associated Press

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