Officials Agree McVeigh Can Forgo Autopsy

Indiana state authorities have agreed to a request by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh that no autopsy be performed on his body after he is executed by lethal injection, according to documents filed on Friday in federal court.

McVeigh, found guilty of the April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that killed 168 people, is scheduled to be executed in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., on May 16.

However, he has “religious, ethical and philosophical objections to an autopsy,” court papers said, without further explanation.

Indiana law requires autopsies whenever a death is not natural but because of the “unique” circumstances both sides said in the court filing that they agreed to the arrangement to “avoid unnecessary litigation.”

The agreement between McVeigh and the coroner’s office is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, who presided over McVeigh’s 1997 trial in Denver.

McVeigh will consent to a physical examination before his execution and a “noninvasive” exam afterward, according to the agreement.

McVeigh’s attorney Nathan Chambers, who spoke with his client on Friday for several hours, described his mood as “businesslike.”

Chambers said there were extensive negotiations with Indiana officials about the autopsy. “I won’t go into detail about those objections,” Chambers said. “Those are private matters with Mr. McVeigh.”

Last December, Judge Matsch granted McVeigh’s request to end his appeals and have the federal Bureau of Prisons set an execution date.

McVeigh also decided not to ask for a presidential pardon, which would have been his last recourse to avoid execution.

McVeigh’s execution will be the first of a federal prisoner in 38 years.