Oklahoma Attorney Reflects On Timothy McVeigh Defense 25 Years After OKC Bombing

A collection of political pictures and legal memorabilia line the hallways and office in Enid, where Stephen Jones continues to practice law. Much of it is related to his highest profile case, the Oklahoma City bombing.

Jones never thought a federal court would appoint him to represent Timothy McVeigh.

"My wife had told me shortly after it had been known that someone had been arrested, she said 'Jonesy, they're going to call you to defend him'," Jones said.

With 24 hours to decide whether to take the case, Jones talked with his wife and children, close friends and people whose opinions he valued.

"Certainly I had been involved with controversial cases before, but I had never been involved in one in which I thought my wife and children, or associates or even the building where I practiced law would be at risk," said Jones.

He accepted the job, which would thrust him into the national spotlight. Although it was a quick decision, Jones says it wasn't an emotional one.

"I considered I had been asked by the court to represent him, that I had a constitutional duty to do that unless there was some conflict," Jones said.

Jones and his partners gave away all of their clients to other lawyers, to focus solely on defending Tim McVeigh. The challenging job would last more than two years.

"It was exhausting, certainly emotionally. Although I'm not perhaps aware of it at the time," said Jones.

He was criticized by some in the media and political leaders for representing McVeigh, but Jones says most Oklahomans understood he had a job to do, despite the horrific crime.

"I was never accosted, harassed or stalked or pointed out in some derogatory fashion," said Jones.

25 years after the bombing, News On 6 asked Jones what it was like to represent McVeigh, the man accused of causing so much heartache.

"We didn't try to judge him, that was not our purpose," Jones said. "Our purpose was to defend him."

Jones says the only reason he can talk about McVeigh on a personal level, even after his execution, is because McVeigh waived attorney-client privilege. Jones says for the most part, he and his client got along.

"I never got the 1,000-yard stare that he exhibited when he came out of the courthouse in Perry in Noble County, the day he was arrested," Jones said.

Oklahomans and the nation reflects on that terrible day 25 years ago, Jones calls the bombing a never-ending wrong for families who lost loved ones. He believes it's important to keep the memory of the Oklahoma City bombing alive to honor those who were killed.

"The magnitude of it is lost on people, and I think its appropriate to mark it," said Jones. "The effect in Oklahoma was devastating. It is to us our Pearl Harbor Day, anyone alive at that time that was of any age, remembers where he or she was that day."

As for reflecting on his role in defending McVeigh, who many considered the most hated man in America, Jones hopes people believe he did a competent job, and did what he was supposed to do.

"The justice of a society is measured by how we treat its worst citizens, not its best, and every person charged with a crime should have a lawyer. If they can't afford one, one should be appointed," said Jones.