Journalism and Justice in the Oklahoma City Bombing Trials

Journalism and Justice in the Oklahoma City Bombing Trials
Chad F. Nye
January 2014

ISBN-13:  978-1-59332-703-3 / Hardcover
Dimensions:  5.5 x 8.5 / viii, 276 pages

Price   $77.00

Description

Nye examines the fair trial/free press issues in one of America’s most infamous criminal cases – the Oklahoma City bombing. The trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were the first, and to date only, federal criminal trials conducted with live, closed-circuit cameras in the courtroom. More than 2,000 national and international journalists covered the trials through a media consortium. Through interviews with the lead attorneys for both McVeigh and Nichols, Nye exposes the difficulties defense attorneys faced defending their clients in the courtroom and also in the court of public opinion. He concludes that to truly understand this trial and its final outcome, one must understand the role of fair trial/free press issues.

About the Author

Chad F. Nye is a journalism professor at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. He holds degrees from the University of Missouri – Columbia, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Nye was born and raised in Weatherford, Oklahoma. He has nearly two decades of broadcast journalism experience, including reporting on the Oklahoma City bombing trials.