Clemency still an option, McVeigh attorney says

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- It's not out of the question that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh will seek clemency, despite written remarks he made to a newspaper, one of his attorneys says.

"His inclination has been not to seek clemency. But I believe he maintains an open mind and wants to discuss it before he makes a final decision," attorney Rob Nigh said Wednesday.

McVeigh, 32, is set to be executed May 16 at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., for his role in the April 1995 bombing that killed 168 people. He has dropped his appeals, but has until mid-February to file a clemency request.

In a recent response to written questions from The Buffalo News, McVeigh said he would not seek clemency.

"I harbor no illusions that George 'The Reaper' Bush would grant me a commutation of sentence, nor would I beg any man to spare my life," McVeigh said.

Nigh said he has spoken with McVeigh since he made those comments. "He is not as opposed to ... (asking for clemency) as the quotes make it appear," he said.

Nigh, who helped defend McVeigh at his trial in Denver, will meet with McVeigh next week in prison.

On Tuesday, when the Federal Bureau of Prisons set the execution date, his attorney Nathan Chambers said McVeigh was still considering seeking clemency.

Any request for clemency would go to the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney, then to the deputy U.S. attorney general, the White House counsel and finally to the president.

"He's in no way optimistic about it," Nigh said.