MCVEIGH GUILTY IN OKLAHOMA BOMBING; SHOULD HE DIE?; FORMER SOLDIER'S FATE RESTS WITH JURY : WHAT'S NEXT.

Byline: Michael Fleeman Associated Press 

Timothy McVeigh was convicted Monday of the deadliest act of terror on U.S. soil, a verdict that brought jubilation and bitter tears to relatives of the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. The jury now will decide whether he should pay with his life.

McVeigh sat at the defense table with his hands in a white-knuckle clasp and an impassive expression as U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch announced the verdict of guilty on all 11 counts of murder and conspiracy.

In the audience, tears welled in the eyes of the more than two dozen bombing survivors and victims' relatives. After the court session, they broke into sobs and embraced each other. One man thrust his fists into the air.

``We were holding hands and praying and crying,'' said Katherine Alaniz, whose father, Claude Medearis, died in the bombing. ``My mom reached into her purse and handed me his wedding ring and, of course, I just lost it. . . . I started crying. It was wonderful.''

The momentary joy was tempered by memories of the losses in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The blast shattered America's sense of security and belief that this level of terror never could have come from within.

Bud Welch stood in downtown Oklahoma City near the site of the bombing, where cheers erupted from more than 500 people who got news of the verdict on televisions set up on the sidewalk.

``You heard most all of them clap. I couldn't do that because McVeigh has put us through so much and now,'' Welch said. ``I thought it'd all be joy, but it isn't. A very dull victory. The bottom line is my little girl isn't coming back and I have the rest of my life to deal with that.''

The same jury that took 23-1/2 hours over four days to convict McVeigh will return Wednesday to hear evidence on whether he should die by injection.

It will be a mini-trial featuring what likely will be the most wrenching testimony of the case: survivors and relatives describing the upheaval in their lives. McVeigh probably will call family members to plead for mercy, and offer testimony about the disastrous FBI siege at Waco, Texas.

Jurors remained under a gag order preventing them from discussing the reasons for their verdict.

Prosecutors contended McVeigh drove a Ryder truck loaded with a 4,000-pound fuel-and-fertilizer bomb to the Murrah building and set the fuse in a twisted plot to avenge the disaster at Waco exactly two years earlier and spark a second American revolution.

The bomb went off at 9:02 a.m., turning the morning into a swirl of flying glass, collapsing walls and crumbling concrete. Nine floors collapsed into an area the size of three, crushing the victims, in the words of one rescuer, ``like grapes.'' Among the dead were 19 children, most of whom had just been dropped off at the building's day-care center.

The hunt for the bomber yielded one of America's own, the fresh-faced former Army sergeant who was raised in the small town of Pendleton, N.Y., and was decorated for his actions as an armored-vehicle gunner in the Persian Gulf.

When the verdict was read, McVeigh stared at the judge. None of his attorneys comforted him or said anything to him.

As jurors were polled as to whether they were sure of their decision, the foreman stared at McVeigh and answered in a loud firm voice, ``Yes.'' Two red-eyed jurors held tissues in their hands and appeared close to tears.

After Matsch dismissed the jury, McVeigh was escorted out by four U.S. marshals. He shook lead attorney Stephen Jones' hand and the two exchanged whispered words. Just as he was taken out of the courtroom, he shook hands with another of his lawyers, Christopher Tritico.

McVeigh was convicted of conspiracy and of using a weapon of mass destruction - both punishable by the death penalty. In addition, he was convicted of murdering eight federal law enforcement officers in the line of duty. Each of those eight counts is punishable by the death penalty.

Peggy Broxterman, who listened to the verdict in an auxiliary courtroom, called it an ``absolute thrill,'' but said vindication for the deaths of her 43-year-old son and others wasn't complete.

``It's not over until he's dead,'' she said.

Prosecutors Joseph Hartzler and Patrick Ryan spoke at a gathering of more than 100 victims' relatives and survivors at a nearby church that they had been using as a haven. Complimented on their handling of the case, Hartzler replied that the work ``was a labor of love.''

Hartzler left the federal courthouse to the applause of hundreds of people assembled on the sidewalk. Hartzler, who has multiple sclerosis, stopped his electric wheelchair to speak briefly to the crush of reporters.

``We're obviously very pleased with the results. We always had confidence in our evidence,'' he said. ``We're ready to move on to the next stage.''

Jones, who had walked across the courtroom to shake Hartzler's hand after the verdict, congratulated prosecutors and the FBI and said, ``We will be ready for the second stage.''

In Washington, President Clinton said the verdict heralded ``a very important and long overdue day for the survivors and families of those who died in Oklahoma City.''

``Today, I say to the families of the victims, no single verdict can bring an end to your anguish,'' Clinton said in a statement. ``But your courage has been an inspiration to all Americans. Our prayers are with you.''

The verdict came just over two years after the explosion gutted the nine-story federal building.

McVeigh was arrested 75 minutes after the explosion about 80 miles north of the blast site. He was pulled over by a state trooper for failing to have a license plate on his yellow Mercury Marquis.

What's next in the Oklahoma City bombing trial:

PENALTY PHASE: Jurors will begin hearing evidence Wednesday. Prosecutors are expected to call victims' relatives and survivors. The defense will call McVeigh's relatives, possibly McVeigh.

SENTENCING: McVeigh faces death by injection, life without parole or a lesser sentence determined by the judge.

DEATH PENALTY: The execution date may be set no sooner than 60 days after sentencing. It would take place at the U.S. Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Ind.

APPEALS: The defense almost certainly will appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

TERRY NICHOLS: He faces the same charges as McVeigh. No trial date has been set for McVeigh's co-defendant.

STATE CHARGES: Oklahoma City District Attorney Bob Macy plans to file murder charges against McVeigh and Nichols after Nichols' trial.

Associated Press

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, 2 boxes

PHOTO (1 -- color) A jury took 23-1/2 hours over four days to convict Timothy McVeigh.

(2 -- color) Fire Capt. Chris Fields carries 1-year-old Baylee Almon, fatally injured in the 1995 bombing.

(3 -- color) The blast at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people.

Associated Press

Box: (1) What's next (see text)

(2) The people vs. Timothy McVeigh