Killing McVeigh

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a two-ton truck bomb that felled the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. On June 11, 2001, an unprecedented 242 witnesses watched him die by lethal injection.In the aftermath of the bombings, American public commentary almost immediately turned to “closure” rhetoric. Reporters and audiences alike speculated about whether victim’s family members and survivors could get closure from memorial services, funerals, legislation, monuments, trials, and executions. But what does “closure” really mean for those who survive—or lose loved ones in—traumatic acts? In the wake of such terrifying events, is closure a realistic or appropriate expectation?In Killing McVeigh, Jody Lyneé Madeira uses the Oklahoma City bombing as a case study to explore how family members and other survivors come to terms with mass murder. The book demonstrates the importance of understanding what closure really is before naively asserting it can or has been reached.

"This is an important book . . . . Madeira's thoughts on closure and the workings of memory are provocative, interesting, and deserve attention.", "Madeira proves a sensitive, nuanced, and empathetic witness to the painful journeys of the [Oklahoma City] survivors' and victims' families.", "Killing McVeighconfronts us with a kind of reality that few of us ever experience. What Madeira achieves is the appreciation of a reality that is at once known and unknown. She accomplishes this through the painstaking detailing of survivors' narratives, making it more difficult for us to hold this knowledge at a distance so we remain safe, untouched by tragedy. Her work reminds us that we are never completely beyond the reach of terror and once traumatized, the wounds are there and unremitting. Yet, she does not leave us without hope. Madeira's detailed, first [hand] narratives of grief and adaptation provide a very personal view . . . of resoluteness, situated in one of the most disturbing chapters of our collective history.", "Clearly written and persuasive, this is an important contribution to the literature of closure.", "Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the execution of murderers can offer 'closure' to the victims loved ones. Finally, we have a study that has investigated the largest, most media-saturated mass murder and execution in recent timesthe Oklahoma City bombing and the execution of Timothy McVeigh. Madeiras in-depth, fair-minded, and sensitive account opens a window for us into the struggles of those affected and explores the complicated role that our public institutions of criminal justice play in the complex and difficult work of reconstructing life after atrocity."

Jody Lyneé Madeira is Associate Professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.