Customer Reviews

Others Unknown : The Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a criminal defense attorney, I have great sympathy for the work Stephen Jones was called upon to undertake for McVeigh. He tells the story of his representation well.

When it comes to making his case about why McVeigh could not have acted alone, however, I was gravely disappointed. The book lacks a good index, footnotes, endnotes, dates, people, places, copies of reports, and other information vital to anyone truely interested in the case who is not willing to just take Mr. Jones word for what he saw, learned, and believes. It quotes infrequently from some documents and tapes, but those points are far too few and far between.

As an book advocating his point, it falls short of what one would expect from experienced counsel who had been prepared to argue these very issues in court and presumably has references to all the 302s, photos, auditotapes, depositions, transcripts, and reports near to hand. Documents that are classified could easily have been identified at least as to date and source so they could be referenced by later researches if and when they are unclassified -- the author seems willing to quote from sealed records, why not make his audiotapes and correspondence public now that McVeigh is deceased.

As a citizen of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, I was incensed when Stephen Jones, an Oklahoma Lawyer, wrote a book about his attempt to defend McVay--the man who blew up the Murrah Building in our town. Jones had to have a guard when discussing the first edition of his book in the Library in Perry Oklahoma (where McVey was jailed when picked up on Interstate 35 on the way back to Kansas after the Bombing). Oklahoma people, to say the least, were not happy with Mr. Jones. After McVay published his own book, thus releasing Jones from his Lawyer's oath of Confidentiality, Jones wrote what I call "the rest of the story." I was still not impressed, and I was not going to enrich him by buying one of his books. After 911, I realized that the second edition of his book was written AFTER both World Trade Center#1, and Oklahoma City, and BEFORE World Trade Center II (911). Much of Johes' wanderings about the world in his effort to defend McVay, suddenly began to seem like something I should know about, as a Citizen of this country at this time in history. I bought a copy, and am awe-struck by the information in that book that might have had a bearing on "911"...One must discount all of the "losing lawyer's grumbling" about his poor treatment by the winning side; that is normal in Trial Lawyer Books...It is the portrait of international terrorism that he discovered, and wrote about in this book while preparing for that trial,that is engaging.I doubt if there was anything in this book that would have prevented "911"..but looking back sometimes is the only view of the future that we can have in such times. Perhaps McVay's only patriotic deed near the end of his life, was to free Mr. Jones to write this book, by publishing his own work. Two of McVay's co-defendants are still alive...one is awaiting trial in Oklahoma City for his part in over 160 murders....Find this book at the Library or somewhere and read it. No,I DO NOT KNOW MR. JONES. Clarence Robison M.D.

This book is not really about whether Tim McVeigh was or wasn't guilty in the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19th, 1995. This is not a "true confessions" sleaze piece told by a self-aggrandizing "ambulance chaser" lawyer. All of that is really moot now that McVeigh has been executed.

What this book is about is the fact that Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols could not have pulled off a bombing of this scale off by themselves (not because the author says so but because unimpeachable terrorism experts say so). It is about a government that seems blind to evidence pointing to a much broader conspiracy; possibly even foreign backed. It is also about the lengths to which your government will go to get its way. Truth and justice have NOTHING to do with what went on in United States vs McVeigh and this should concern every American deeply.

The author, McVeigh's appointed defense council, takes it from the beginning and walks the reader through the entire sordid process of trying to conduct a fair, Constitutionally guaranteed trail against the U.S. Justice Department who basically are in control of the whole process. This is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

He explains how the prosecution made every effort to unfairly deny and or delay the defense's access to vital FBI evidence (remember the 3000 pages of documents that the prosecution "misplaced" that came out recently?) He tells how the prosecution lied and tampered with evidence. He tells how the FBI refused to let the defense examine the crime scene in detail and then demolished it before the trail began forever burying its secrets. He explains how the government manipulated and changed their stories to fit their version of the crime without any real evidence. He explains how the judge appointed by the government to preside over this case refused to let the defense bring witnesses and introduce evidence that would most certainly have brought reasonable doubt to a fair-minded jury. He explains how the same judge changed much of the way the Nichols case was handled which resulted in a verdict of life without parole instead of death and much more.

In short he lays out the blueprint for a government run lynching that spits in the face of everything we have been brought up to believe our justice system is about. This book will disgust anyone with the least bit of fairness and decency and it will tarnish forever any remaining belief that our government is above reproach.

Now, one might say that this is just "sour grapes" on the author's part because he lost. I suppose it could be but that's not the way the book is written and it is not the way the author comes through. He does not engage in any sort of bitterness one would associate with a "sore loser". In fact, he goes out of his way to congratulate and acknowledge many of his detractors and opponents despite their attacks on him before, during and after the trail. In every way the author comes across as a fair and decent man who is only interested in the truth. Read this book and also read "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror". There is more to this than we are being told.

Others Unknown put into print what the majority of thinking Americans sensed about the Oklahoma City Bombing.

There had to be more people involved.

It all started with the FBI drawings of mystery man number 3, who was described by no more than 3 people to have been with McVeigh. He looked Middle Eastern. Hmmm, nope no terrorist acts would ever occur on American soil right. Then the second little facts that weren't put to light, the bomb making materials that they had receipts for would never have been enough to do that sort of damage. And on it goes.

The interesting thing is that Stephen Jones (the author and McVeighs attorney) even points the finger at Osama Bin Laden back in 1998. Hello is anybody listening. Hindsight is great, but I think we all knew there was more than meets the eye about this ordeal.

The weakest part of the book is that MR. Jones never delves deep enough into why the government cover-up. He barely scratches the surface, but I think that is the real mystery. Why was the government not screaming that we know there was at least one other person involved and we need to find him? Is it simply that Bill Clinton didn't want to rock the boat? Could it have been that he was trying to create a legacy for himself, other than ????gate (you fill in the scandal)? Did he think naming an Arab as a suspect might destroy peace talks with Israel and Palestine? These are all only conjectures but the book should have hit these issues harder.

Overall a good book, especially for the ignorant Americans who are spoon-fed their daily dose of propaganda from CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Etc., and think its news.

Jones should know better than most whether or not his client, Timothy McVeigh, acted alone. I've worked as a prosecutor for several years and have enough experience in these matters to know that Jones is probably correct, McVeigh was the foot soldier, not the general. Many of us saw the bombing coming years before it happened. Politicians in Washington, D.C. and out West fermented the protest that encouraged men like McVeigh. Some other federal buildings were bombed before the tragedy in Oklahoma. I wrote a novel about this, Sweet Poison of Misused Wine. But, like Jones, I didn't stop at the bomber when assessing blame. Since the destruction of the World Trade Center, Americans have united behind their federal government, but that wasn't the situation in the 1990s. Jones should be praised for having the courage to tell the truth.

Forget or ignore the fact that Jones was McVeigh's lawyer. This book is an excellent historical account of the event, and a great accessory to another interesting take on the bombing, the book "The Secret Lives of Bill Clinton," and articles on thenewamerican.com. Unavoidable facts detailed clearly in this book include the extra human leg found in the ruins (combat boot and sheath intact -- all 168 dead had both legs recovered), numerous eyewitness accounts/testimony denoucing nearly every point of the Justice Dept.'s ludicrous "lone-bomber" theory, and the cirus McVeigh and cohorts launched in the months before the bombing which exposes McVeigh for what he is -- a willing 'Patsy' who could never have pulled this off alone.

If you don't want to be up at nights thinking about the case, then read American Terrorist -- the McVeigh-sanctioned lie-a-thon that gives him the twisted glory for the attack, and the book that will let you sleep at night knowing the only person you believe responsible is behind bars.

If you want the truth, read this book. You'll realize that McVeigh is laughing at the latest FBI fumble with the recently turned over 3,000+ pages, he is pleased with the new FBI embarrassment and will probably ask for a new trial just to make the gov't look even worse (even though he'll still be convicted), and that the recent release of the documents was probably delayed by the sophomoric Clinton-Reno administration in order to pass the blame onto Mr. Bush.

Regardless of your beliefs about the bombing, you won't be albe to ignore the facts about the extra leg found, and the facts about ANFO bombs and their inability to be driven 300 miles by anyone. And you'll be glad that McVeigh stupidly criticized Jones, endangering McVeigh's legacy, so that more facts about the case could come out.

I read this book in 1999 and have shared it with many friends and family. I had the privilege of meeting Stephen Jones and immediately got the sense this was a man with integrity and a very strong belief in the Constitution of the United States.

After 9/11 my husband and myself re-read this book and again were passing it around to friends.

It makes you wonder why the government didn't pay attention to the information Stephen and his investigators were uncovering. It is obvious there was a connection of the middle eastern radical influence in the OKlahoma City Bombing.

With recent information connecting the 9/11 terroist and Tim McVeigh staying at the same motel makes a compelling argument that they are connected.

This is a must read if you Love America and all the freedoms we enjoy in everyday life.

This book raises loads of thought-provoking questions about who was involved in the Oklahoma City bombing. . . There is no question even in Jones' account that McVeigh was involved. And Jones' protests that-- based on the theory that McVeigh may not have been the "triggerman"-- McVeigh might not have been guilty of murder is hogwash. If McVeigh was involved to the extent that even Jones admits, in the new edition, that he was, then he was guilty of murder by through accountability and conspiracy to commit murder, if nothing else. The book is an excellent foreshadower to what really occurred on the eve of McVeigh's execution: The FBI turned up more documents. In this regard, Jones was correct. But the inferences and conclusions he draws from pieces of evidence or interpretations of pieces of evidence are far more grand than the evidence itself supports. Jones is not able present a convicing case for any theory other than that advanced by the goverment. He is, however, quite successful in demonstrating that perhaps the is evidence of the involvement of "others unknown" that could have been discovered had the government had an interest in finding it. As too often happens, it seems law enforcement rested on its collective laurels when sufficient evidence was gathered to support its theory of the case. I started reading this book a few days before McVeigh was executed and finish a few days after he was put to death. More than anything else, I am disappointed that he is gone, since no one in power will have any incentive to further investigate who was involved in preparing for and carrying out the bombing, nor, naturally, will McVeigh ever tell us the whole truth.

The author, Timothy McVeigh's former lead defense attorney, sets out to sow the seeds of doubt concerning Timothy Mcveigh's role in the OCB, diminishing Tim's role to that of an appointed patsy in a much larger scheme. Unfortunately, these seeds neither take root in the FBI, which was not interested in even entertaining the thought of a possible conspiracy despite unresolved facts, nor in the minds of the jurors- minds, Steven Jones asserts with logical argument and careful observation, which likely were already biased against McVeigh from the onset, a contributing factor leading to an unfair trial for McVeigh.

Conspiracy: a phone call to the Department of Justice in DC stating that the Murrah building had been bombed, half an hour BEFORE the explosion actually occurred; the Murrah building being on prior "bombing" lists by various groups, and being scoped by another person dear to this story mentioned in the book when Tim was just in high school and had not yet even met this person!

Unresolved facts: an extra LEG at the crime scene...still UNIDENTIFIED...John DOE #2? McVeigh allegedly alone, ordering dinner at the Dreamland Motel, but the delivery person described SOMEONE ELSE answering the door, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, as Jones recounts the testimonies of the Ryder rental shop employees, at least one of whom described someone OTHER THAN MCVEIGH.

FBI Obfuscation: The government had an obligation to hand over all exculpatory evidence to the defense team, but always dragged its feet and tried to hide as much as possible. FBI laboratory analysis ineptitude: a given, with supporting facts. McVeigh's clothing: kept in a PAPER BAG, not a sealed, plastic bag, which allowed all sorts of contaminants to taint it, including even McVeigh's own personal gun.

Unfair Trial: This needs to be read firsthand, as Jones is the expert here. Bottom line: biased jury, and a possibly biased judge who wouldn't allow Jones to even present much of the conspiracy evidence and prime witness testimony (i.e., Carol Howe). Although this may not have proved McVeigh innocent, it would certainly have created REASONABLE DOUBT in any individual with a functioning brain.

(I have read "American Terrorist," by Michel and Herbeck, and mention is never made in that book about the phone call, the extra leg, and FBI obfuscation, though it does gloss over the possibility that the trial may have been unfair.)

"Other's Unknown" is a MUST READ for those who want a more complete story that only Timothy McVeigh's lead defense attorney can offer. This book is not a personal book about Timothy, the young man, but is strictly related to the development of McVeigh's defense and the obstacles faced by the defense team.

If you thought, as I did, that Timothy McVeigh received a fair trial and was obviously guilty, then you will be intrigued by Stephen Jones' assessment of the case. Mr. Jones, who was appointed McVeigh's defense counsel, found gaping holes, not only in the government's case, but in his client's own story! A gripping account of the case by a man (Mr. Jones) whose background attests to his integrity. A fantastic read for anyone interested in law and justice.