Terry Nichols

Not to be confused with Tyre Nichols or Terry Nicholl.

Terry Nichols
Born
Terry Lynn Nichols

(1955-04-01) April 1, 1955 (age 69)
Lapeer, Michigan, U.S.
Other namesTed Parker, Joe Rivers, Shawn Rivers, Joe Havens, Terry Havens, Mike Havens, Joe Kyle, Daryl Bridges[3]
Criminal statusIncarcerated at ADX Florence
Spouse(s)Lana Walsh (divorced)
Marife Torres (divorced)
Children3[4]
MotiveAnti-government sentiment
Retaliation for Ruby Ridge and Waco siege
Conviction(s)Federal
Involuntary manslaughter of a federal employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 1112 and 1114) (8 counts)
Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death (18 U.S.C. § 2332a)[1]
Oklahoma
First degree murder (161 counts)
First degree arson
Conspiracy[2]
Criminal penaltyFederal
Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Oklahoma
161 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole
Accomplice(s)Timothy McVeigh
Michael Fortier

Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted for conspiring with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing plot.[2] Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevator manager, real estate salesman, and ranch hand.[5] He met Timothy McVeigh during a brief stint in the U.S. Army, which ended in 1989 when he requested a hardship discharge after less than one year of service.[5] In 1994 and 1995, he conspired with McVeigh in the planning and preparation of the truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. The bombing killed 168 people.[6]

In a federal trial in 1997, Nichols was convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter for killing federal law enforcement personnel.[7][8] He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after the jury deadlocked on the death penalty.[6] He was also tried in Oklahoma on state charges of murder in connection with the bombing. In 2004, he was convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder, including one count of fetal homicide, first-degree arson, and conspiracy.[6][9] As in the federal trial, the state jury deadlocked on imposing the death penalty.[6][10] In the longest prison sentence ever given to an individual, he was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole,[2][6] and is incarcerated at ADX Florence, a super maximum security prison near Florence, Colorado. He shared a cell block that is commonly referred to as "Bomber's Row" with Ramzi Yousef and Eric Rudolph,[11][12] as well as Ted Kaczynski until his transfer in 2021.[13]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference time_1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference msnbc2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nytimes_second was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnn1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Vollers, Maryanne (November 5, 2006). "Inside Bomber Row". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  12. ^ "Terror on Trial: Life in Supermax's 'Bombers Row' - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  13. ^ Anderson, James; Brown, Matthew (December 23, 2021). "'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski transferred to prison medical facility in North Carolina". USA TODAY. Associated Press. Retrieved June 27, 2022.