NICHOLS' attorneys receive more FBI files on Friday

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The FBI has sent a third batch of newly discovered files to attorneys for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. <br><br>Nichols' attorney, John Richilano, said Friday he hadn't

Saturday, May 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The FBI has sent a third batch of newly discovered files to attorneys for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Nichols' attorney, John Richilano, said Friday he hadn't counted the latest delivery but was told to expect 114 more documents totaling 326 pages.

The delivery involves reports that the FBI has said should have been given to defense attorneys before McVeigh's and Nichols' federal trials in 1997. An archiving project revealed that some of the files hadn't been given to defense attorneys.

Attorney General John Ashcroft postponed McVeigh's May 16 execution until June 11 as a result. McVeigh is considering whether to renew his appeals and seek a further stay.

McVeigh, 33, was sentenced to death for the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which resulted in 168 deaths and more than 500 injuries. He has publicly admitted responsibility for the bombing in recent weeks.

On May 10, the U.S. Justice Department gave defense attorneys 3,135 pages of FBI files found during the archiving project. Another 100 were sent to attorneys on Tuesday.

Lawyers and FBI agents in Oklahoma City are still reviewing documents turned in after outgoing director Louis Freeh ordered an exhaustive search.

The lawyers and agents, in part, are checking to see if the documents are duplicates of what has been disclosed.

``They are not finished going through all the evidence,'' prosecutor Sean Connelly said in Denver on Friday.

Nichols' attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider his appeal of his federal conviction for the bombing conspiracy. His preliminary hearing on a state murder case is on hold.