Nichols Demands New Trial

Tuesday, July 27th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Terry Nichols is demanding a new trial in the Oklahoma City bombing case. At a federal court hearing in Denver Wednesday, lawyers for the convicted Oklahoma City bomber claimed the F-B-I withheld information in Nichols' trial that could have helped their client. "We could tell the court today, 'Look, there's an awful lot of information that contradicts the theory of the case or that presents material favorable to the defense that was never turned over during this trial,'" said attorney Michel Tiger.

Nichols lawyers said that information was contained in more than 43,000 lead sheets the FBI took while conducting the bombing investigation. Those sheets contain notes from informal interviews and phone calls the FBI conducted. Judge Richard Matsch said he will look at the sheets, then issue a written ruling on the request for a new trial for Nichols.

But some bombing victims said they didn't hear anything in court that should give Nichols a second chance. "I didn't hear anything in the hearing this morning that indicated that they had found anything other than they were hoping to find something," said Paul Heath. Heath, who was in the Murrah Federal Building when it was bombed in April 1995, said all he heard from the defense was whining, not a solid argument.
Federal prosecutors agreed. They said there's no legal or factual basis for giving Nichols a new trial. Now both sides will play the waiting game to see if they'll face each other in court again.