Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy

Rating:
Summary: Others Unknown
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Legacy of denial
Review: Once upon a time, the masses were uneducated and only the rulers could read, write and have access to information.

Time passed and eventually most of the people became educated, and many of them were far more intelligent (innate and acquired) than the rulers.

Yet the rulers still treated the people as though they were dumb peasants who would never question any of the blatant lies that the rulers fed them.

But all was not well. After the rulers tried to cover up the crash of a craft piloted by a Non-Human Intelligence and the clumsy, bungled assassination of a President who wouldn't play ball with the World Banking System, very few people with even half a brain believed anything the rulers said anymore.

So, when a Black Ops unit laid C-4 charges in a Government building which had a children's nursery, and a paid patsy drove a crude truck bomb into the parking area (after theatrically drawing attention to himself), the scene was set to discredit the Dangerous Right Wing Groups, who mainly wanted nothing more than to be left alone, such as at Waco, Texas, where the ATF appeared to have burned down the compound by firing incendiary tear gas grenades, killing virtually all of the men, women and children inside.

Once upon a time there was a movie called Point Of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda. It was about a woman who is "executed" by lethal injection, but later awakens to find that she has been given a new life in order to work for the Government.

The patsy in the above fairy story was "executed" in the same fashion.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Conspiracy, Unresolved Facts, FBI Obfuscation...UNFAIR TRIAL
Review: 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.