Terre Haute Waits for the Execution Onslaught

June 8 -- Planning for the execution of America's deadliest mass murderer — and the first federal execution since 1963 — has been more like preparing for the Olympics than a lethal injection.

But the Olympic Games usually have a concrete start date, and are not subject to legal technicalities or the whims of a judicial system. In Terre Haute, Ind., however, everyone from prison officials to restaurateurs to hotel owners have prepared not once but twice for the execution that has thrust the Midwestern city into the world spotlight.

After extensive preparations for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's first scheduled execution date of May 16, Terre Haute residents were as shocked as the rest of the world when Attorney General John Ashcroft postponed the event with just days to go. The delay was intended to give defense attorneys time to analyze more than 4,000 pages of evidence the FBI had not previously disclosed.

Now that a federal judge has rejected McVeigh's request for a stay to further analyze the documents, the show is back on in Terre Haute. Unless a last resort reprieve comes through, Monday is McVeigh's last day.

Striving for Dignity in a Circus Atmosphere

What's made the execution of McVeigh such a massive undertaking, of course, is the media and public interest in the death of such a notorious criminal.

By late this weekend, the population of Terre Haute, usually about 60,000, will swell with the influx of visitors.

About 1,600 members of the news media applied for credentials to cover the execution, at least 800 law enforcement officers will help keep the peace and an undetermined number of demonstrators — perhaps thousands — will set up camp near the prison.

Despite the obvious "media circus" aspect of McVeigh's execution, prison officials have repeatedly told reporters in the last few months that their goal is to carry out the day's proceedings without garishness.

"The objective is to carry it out with great dignity, compassion, and respect for everyone involved," Terre Haute prison warden Harley G. Lappin said.