Description:
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.Brief description:
Jody Lyneé Madeira is Associate Professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Review Quotes: ""Sixteen years after the horror of the Oklahoma City bombing, it may now be possible to examine that dark day with some objectivity. In Killing McVeigh, Professor Madeira offers a faithful account of what followed through the words of victims and survivors. Her analysis shows how the death penalty forced so much energy and focus to be put on McVeigh, and how difficult it is to make sense of such a tragedy."--Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center