June 7, 2001--
A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Timothy McVeigh's request to delay his execution Monday for the Oklahoma City bombing.
The appeals court decided not to overturn yesterday's decision by Federal Judge Richard Matsch, who rejected McVeigh's request to delay the execution. This latest ruling can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"McVeigh has utterly failed to demonstrate substantial grounds upon which relief might be granted," the court decision said.
McVeigh is set to die by injection Monday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.
A three-judge panel from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered McVeigh's argument much of Thursday and issued its ruling without hearing oral arguments.
Earlier Thursday, McVeigh attorney Nathan Chambers declined to say whether the legal team would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if it lost in the appeals court.
McVeigh's lawyers wanted more time to review nearly 4,500 pages of belatedly released FBI documents for information they felt could have helped in his defense during the 1997 trial.
The lawyers argued that U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch was caught up in the horror of the Oklahoma City bombing and "lost sight of the demands of fairness."
Matsch denied the initial appeal Wednesday.
