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Terry Nichols
StatusADX Florence supermax prison
Spouse(s)Lana Padilla
Marife Torres
Criminal chargemanslaughter, 8 counts
Penaltylife imprisonment

Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is a U.S. Army veteran[1] who conspired with Timothy McVeigh in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. The Oklahoma City Bombing, by which the event became known, claimed the lives of 168 people[2] and drew worldwide attention.[3]

For his role, Terry Nichols was convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter by a federal jury in Colorado.[1][4][5] He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole[1][2] in ADX, a maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado.[6] He was returned to Oklahoma to face state charges of first degree murder in connection with the bombing. Jury selection in the McAlester, Oklahoma trial started March 1, 2004.[7] By March 11, a jury had been selected and ordered to return on March 22 to hear opening statements in the case.[8][9] He was convicted on May 26, 2004 of 161 counts of first-degree murder, which included one count of fetal homicide.[2][10] As in the federal trial, the state jury deadlocked on imposing the death penalty in the case.[1][2][11] On August 9, 2004, Terry Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.[2][12]

Biography

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Early Years

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Terry Nichols was born in Lapeer, Michigan, a small rural town just east of Flint, in an area referred to as Michigan's thumb.[13] He was the third of four children and the youngest of three boys born to life-long farmers Robert and Joyce Nichols.[14][15] For the first five years of Terry's life, he lived with and shared the same bedroom of a one bedroom home built upon the family's crop farm in Lapeer, with his parents, his brothers Les and James, and his sister Suzanne.[15] Following Suzanne's birth, the family moved into a larger home they had built adjacent to the old upon the family farm, converting the old home into a workshop.[15] Growing up on a farm, he learned at an early age to operate and maintain farm equipment, earning money through performance of farm related chores.[16] Being the youngest boy, he was often paired with Suzanne to carry out the more menial tasks such as picking rocks and shoveling corn.[15]

All of the Nichols children attended a one room schoolhouse in Lapeer for their early education. For a period of time, all four were in the same class.[15] Family and friends from this time remember Terry as being especially caring of those around him, including animals.[17] Terry would frequently help neighbors manage their farms in addition to helping manage his family's 200 plus acre spread.[15] Religion within the Nichols household appears to have been non-existant. Terry acknowleged he had been an athiest until after his incarceration, due in part to his parents' religious beliefs.[18] All three Nichols boys were active in the Boy Scouts.

Terry attended Lapeer High School[19] where he took to elective studies of crafts and business law.[13] Friends from that time remember Terry as having been shy, though he did paticipate in several activities. Among them were football, wrestling and skiing, the latter being in the ski club his mother sponsored.[17] James remembers his brother Terry as being "book smart."[16] "He was good at artwork, drawing, things like that. Mother always encouraged him to be an artist, maybe to be a doctor," James stated in an Associated Press interview.[16] Classmates predicted he would go on to become a lawyer.[20] In 1973, Terry graduated from Lapeer High School with a 2.6 grade average.[1][13][16]

Early Adulthood

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Following high school, Terry Nichols left home to attend Central Michigan University[16] in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 100 miles west of Decker. While at CMU, Terry began studies of biology, chemistry, trigonometry, literature and archery.[16][21] In 1974, Terry's older brother Leslie became badly burned in a farm accident where a fuel tank had exploded.[22] It was in that same year that Robert and Joyce Nichols divorced. In 1975, Joyce purchased the Decker farm Terry had grown up on.[21] Terry went on to achieve an A in archery, but managed just B's and C's in his other classes.[16][21]

After just one semester at CMU, Terry dropped out and shortly afterwards, moved to Colorado. Terry's brother James reasoned in an interview that Terry may have found college too structured, pointing out that dorm life is restrictive and comparing it to being in prison.[16] Terry obtained his real estate license in Boulder in 1976[21] and following that moved to Denver. It was right after Terry had closed on his first big deal, Joyce told him she was having trouble with the farm and returned to Decker to help out.[17][21]

In 1980, he met real estate agent Lana Padilla, a twice divorced mother of two boys[18] and within a year they married. On August 11, 1982,[18] Terry became a father, as Lana gave birth to their son, Joshua.

Armed Forces

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In 1988, Nichols enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia to receive his basic training. It was during his training at Fort Benning that he met Timothy McVeigh. The two were later stationed together at Fort Riley in Kansas.

After the Army

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With a broken marriage, Nichols left the Army in 1989. In 1990, Nichols married a woman he had met through a mail-order bride service.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "The Oklahoma Bombing Conspirators". University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Terry Nichols Biography". A&E Television Networks. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  3. ^ "Mcveighs 8/96 Filing For Access To The Media". Lectric Law Library. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  4. ^ Kenworthy, Tom (June 5, 1998). "Nichols Gets Life Term for Oklahoma Bombing Role". Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  5. ^ "Nichols Guilty of Conspiracy and Involuntary Manslaughter". NPR. December 23, 1997. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  6. ^ "Inside Bomber Row". TIME. November 5, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  7. ^ de Vries, Lloyd (March 1, 2004). "Terry Nichols On Trial - Again". CBS NEWS. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  8. ^ Ottley, Ted. "Nichols Trial". Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols: Oklahoma Bombing. TruTV. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  9. ^ "Terry Nichols Jury Seated". FOX NEWS. March 11, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  10. ^ Talley, Tim. "Terry Nichols convicted of 161 state murder charges". MSNBC. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  11. ^ "Jury deadlocks, sparing Nichols from death penalty". CNN. June 11, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  12. ^ "Terry Nichols gets life without parole". MSNBC. August 9, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  13. ^ a b c "The Accused: Terry Nichols". Key Players: The Accused. FOX NEWS. June 11, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  14. ^ Pankratz, Howard. "Nichols' family speaks out". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "United States Court for the District of Colorado Trial Transcripts". CourtTV.com. January 2, 1998. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Shore, Sandy (September 21, 1997). "Nichols Called Drifter, Devoted Dad". Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  17. ^ a b c "What brought Nichols to the dock?". Nichols Trial. The Denver Post. September 21, 1997. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c "Letter to Judge Joseph Bonaventure from Terry Nichols". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  19. ^ A search for "Lapeer High School" brought up "Lapeer West," "Lapeer East" and "Lapeer Community" high schools. A call was placed to the Lapeer School District on February 27, 2009, where the person in charge of media relations clarified that Lapeer High School (where Terry Nichols attended) closed in the mid 70's.
  20. ^ Jackson, David (May 11, 1995). "Portrait of a Federal Foe: Authorities Stitch Together Evidence Of Bombing Suspect Terry Nichols' Life That Shows A Failed Farmer And Soldier Who Was Left With Little Except His Hatred For The Government". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b c d e "Two Images of Nichols Emerged". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  22. ^ Talley, Tim (June 8, 2004). "Nichols' siblings testify in penalty phase". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
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Federal Trial Transcripts

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