Victims asked if they plan to attend McVeigh execution

McVeigh is set to die by injection on May 16 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500.

Eight seats are open to victims, but that number could expand, U.S. Bureau of Prison spokesman Dan Dunne said Thursday.

Some Oklahoma City residents want the government to put the execution on closed-circuit television.

Dunne said the letters should arrive by Saturday at the homes of bombing survivors and relatives of victims.

"The number of victim seats could change given the number of victims involved," he said. "The first step is to get a sense of how many want to attend. Then we will look at what we can do to accommodate needs."

McVeigh is allowed execution seats for two attorneys, a spiritual adviser and three adult family members or friends. The government will have a few seats and the media will be given 10 seats.

Paul Heath and seven other bombing survivors have asked attorney Karen Howith of Oklahoma City to go to court if necessary to give victims a closed-circuit telecast of the execution.

Congress authorized such a telecast to an Oklahoma City auditorium for the Denver trials of McVeigh and co-defendant Terry Nichols.

McVeigh has halted his appeals and has until mid-February to file a clemency request.

His attorney, Nathan Chambers, said he and his client have taken no position on the attempt to put the execution on closed-circuit television.

"It's an interesting issue," he said. "If someone makes a formal application to do that, we'll address that."