Washington — Convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols lost another appeal before the Supreme Court on Monday, clearing the way for a state trial on murder charges that could lead to a death sentence.
It was Nichols fourth appeal to the court, and perhaps not his last.
This time, the court refused to consider Nichols' claim that a new trial in Oklahoma amounts to unconstitutional double jeopardy.
Nichols was convicted in federal court in 1997 of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of eight federal agents. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The federal jury acquitted Nichols of the most serious charges in the 1995 bombing, which could have brought the same federal death sentence handed to bombing mastermind Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was convicted of federal murder charges and executed last June.
The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building killed 168 and wounded hundreds more.
A state murder trial would cover the deaths of the 160 people not named in the federal case. The state claims it always planned to put Nichols on trial in a state court, but his lawyers have said the state is merely trying to win the death penalty.
Nichols' state murder trial could begin later this year.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.