Killing McVeigh: The Death Penalty and the Myth of Closure (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780814796108)

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a two-ton truck bomb that felled the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. On June 11, 2001, an unprecedented 242 witnesses watched him die by lethal injection.

In the aftermath of the bombings, American public commentary almost immediately turned to "closure" rhetoric. Reporters and audiences alike speculated about whether victim's family members and survivors could get closure from memorial services, funerals, legislation, monuments, trials, and executions. But what does "closure" really mean for those who survive--or lose loved ones in--traumatic acts? In the wake of such terrifying events, is closure a realistic or appropriate expectation?

In Killing McVeigh, Jody Lyneé Madeira uses the Oklahoma City bombing as a case study to explore how family members and other survivors come to terms with mass murder. The book demonstrates the importance of understanding what closure really is before naively asserting it can or has been reached.

Author: Jody Lyneé Madeira
ISBN-10: 0814796109
ISBN-13: 9780814796108
Publisher: New York University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/11/2012
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/15/2012 pg. 90
Choice 02/01/2013