Anger at McVeigh execution delay

McVeigh was set to die next Wednesday

The people of Oklahoma City have reacted with disappointment and anger to the decision to postpone the execution of bomber Timothy McVeigh.

It's like a big old clamp squeezing my gut

Husband of victim

At the same time, it has emerged that McVeigh is considering the possibility of an appeal against his death sentence following the revelation that the FBI failed to hand over a large number of legal documents at the trial.

Lawyers for McVeigh said he was frustrated and distressed by the delay.

Attorney Rob Nigh said McVeigh would now make an "informed decision" on whether to appeal and might challenge the sentence.

"Mr McVeigh is very resilient," he said. "He's capable of evaluating new information and making a decision based on that information."

McVeigh has admitted his role in the 1995 bombing

The US attorney-general announced on Friday that McVeigh's execution would be delayed until 11 June "to allow his attorneys ample and adequate time to review these documents and to take any action they might deem appropriate."

Before the dramatic developments, McVeigh had declined to appeal against his conviction.

He was scheduled to die by lethal injection next Wednesday in a high-profile execution that had been eagerly awaited by some of the victims of the bombing.

Outrage

US President George W defended the postponement, saying the foundations of the country's democracy depended on its ability to assure its citizens that they would be treated fairly under US law.

The worst such atrocity on American soil

He said he understood that people would be frustrated by the delay.

As darkness fell on Friday evening, hundreds of residents of Oklahoma City gathered at the site of the bombing.

Some were angry, saying it was an outrage given McVeigh's admission of guilt and lack of remorse.

"It's like a big old clamp squeezing my gut," said Dan McKinney, whose wife was killed in the bombing.

Timothy McVeigh

Born to working-class Catholic parents in a Buffalo suburb

Decorated Gulf War veteran

Developed a passion for gun ownership and a hate for the federal government

Motivated by right-wing novel The Turner Diaries, which features deadly assault on an FBI HQ

"We have to wait 30 more days for something we have waited six years."

Others said the delay was right and would prevent the bomber from becoming a martyr for anti-government activists.

One local radio station put out a special phone-in programme asking Oklahomans who they blamed for the blunder.

BBC correspondent Rob Watson says there is overwhelming sympathy for the survivors and relatives of those killed, who hoped the execution would help them move on.

Guilty

Attorney-General John Ashcroft said that McVeigh, by his own admission, was guilty and the newly disclosed evidence did not contradict the jury's verdict.

There is no doubt in my mind... about the guilt of Timothy McVeigh

Attorney General John Ashcroft

But he has ordered the Justice Department to investigate why the FBI failed to hand over the 3,135 documents, which include interview notes, photographs, written correspondence and tapes.

The 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people were killed and hundreds injured, was the worst ever such atrocity on American soil.