Nichols must stand trial again

OKLAHOMA CITY - Terry Nichols, the Oklahoma City bombing conspirator who is serving life without parole in federal prison, must stand trial in state court on 160 counts of first-degree murder that could bring the death penalty, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The decision by District Judge Allen McCall essentially means Nichols will be tried again for the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that killed 168 people and injured hundreds of others.

Paul Howell, whose daughter was killed in the bombing, said he was delighted with the decision: "It's something that needs to be done."

Bombing survivor Paul Heath said justice demands a trial.

"There's no question that justice has not been meted out," Heath said. "At this point, 160 deaths haven't been adjudicated."

Nichols, 48, will be arraigned May 27.

Bombing mastermind Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder after a federal trial and executed in June 2001.

Nichols was convicted in 1997 of federal conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter charges. The jury deadlocked over whether to give him the death penalty for conspiracy, so the sentence fell to the judge who under law could impose no more than life without parole.

The federal manslaughter charges were for the deaths of eight law enforcement officers. The state charges cover all other bombing victims, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already turned down an appeal from Nichols arguing that a state trial amounts to double jeopardy.

Prosecutors say a state conviction is needed to guard against the chance Nichols might someday successfully appeal his federal conviction and gain freedom.

They have said they will seek the death penalty.

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