I think of Sirhan Sirhan, in his prison cell in California, down now for 32 years and counting. I hope that some readers of this post will say " Who the hell is Sirhan Sirhan?" He was just some confused, Palestinian man, about McVeigh's age, who also thought he had found the answer to his question, and through a heap of twisted logic, decided that the message coming back was that he needed to take the life of Robert Kennedy. So he did. Changed the course of American history, I do believe. At that time, capital punishment did not exist in the U.S., so they put Sirhan Sirhan away. Did America grieve for Kennedy? Oh, my God,yes< but they couldn't legally execute this guy ( I think the Kennedy murder was the only crime he ever did)so what could they do? McVeigh is a criminal, to be sure, but a messianic one, not the kind that most prisons are full of.The people who have the most horrific experience of prison are those who committed capital crimes out of emotion or passion. For those folks to go from outside to inside without any experience of jail, prison, or prison "culture" it's really horrific. For people who thirst for vengeance and retribution, I can think of nothing harsher and more difficult to contemplate than an entire lifetime spent in a U.S. prison, particularly for a man whose greatest wish is to be remembered. To be locked down that way is to put the strongest curse on somebody "forget you,motherfucker" When they kill Tim McVeigh, it will be quick and quiet after a huge media extravaganza. Whatever he has to say, people will not get the cathartic experience that they crave. I say punish the man by permanent separation, till he grows old and grey and crazy, and those of us who hope for these things, will hope that the time will prove that no one is beyond remorse and redemption, even this lost soul. He is not a scapegoat, in the sense that he did the crime, but people are using him as a screen to focus a whole lot of that good ol'American dark energy, but you know what? Killin' that boy ain't gonna get the haint off ya. Seth from China