Willie-O: very well said.

I had the chance to interview John Waters (the weird filmmaker) several years ago and asked him about his interest in serial killer memorabilia, etc. He has some very interesting views on crime and punishment and has read more "true crime" type literature than I would have thought humanly possible.

One thing he said which really stood out for me at the time, and which much of this thread has made me reflect upon...is that, in the days when he first became interested in the events surrdounding contemporary mass murderers, said killers *went to trial.*

Nowadays, he said, they all kill themselves. And so our fascination with such figures has changed. We no longer get to watch the wheels of justice turn. We watch these monsters go out in a blaze of glory which is pretty much of their own design. Even in the case of McVeigh, who may have thought for a time he would not get caught, but who surely knew that, once he did, he would face execution.

So I think it is very astute to assume that Mr. McVeigh sees his death as an act of martyrdom; not something being done TO him, but something he has chosen. And to give him that power, that satisfaction, may well be something his victims (and their families) would balk at.

That said, I still think state-sanctioned murder is very, very wrong.