Retired Oklahoma County Sheriff reflects on years of state trial of Terry Nichols

At the time of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building, John Whetsel was chief of the Choctaw Police Department. Two years later, he stepped into the office of the Oklahoma County Sheriff. He served for 20 years. 

But his first several years included a daily effort to get justice for 160 victims, who were not part of the federal trial for Timothy McVeigh or his co-conspirator Terry Nichols. 

McVeigh was sentenced to death, but Nichols returned to Oklahoma. He spent four years in the custody of Whetsel. 

Maintaining security in the Oklahoma County Jail 

“Well, the initial challenge was the agreement that the District Attorney had made with the U.S. Attorney's office was that we would have three law enforcement officers, or detention officers, on Terry Nichols and within view 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Whetsel said. “Well, when you consider the number of detention officers that would take, there was over 15 that we would have had to assign just to that one person.” 

Ultimately, Whetsel said all parties agreed to have one detention officer solely on Nichols at all hours of the day, and two cameras on his cell. 

However, prosecutors and the sheriff’s office soon confronted the next issue: getting Nichols to court. 

“We went over and toured the courthouse. All of the judges were opposed to it,” Whetsel explained. “We were opposed to it because of just logistics; the transfers and the amount of security it would require.” 

Whetsel landed on the idea to convert a training room in the jail’s basement into a courtroom. 

“That worked out well for everybody,” he said. “We didn't have to transport him anyplace. He was there on the 13th floor. Whenever we moved him from the 13th floor to the basement, we shut all the elevators down, all the movement inside the jail, down during the time we took him out of a cell, till the time we had him in the basement.” 

Reflecting on changes to policing, safety 

In the aftermath of the bombing, Whetsel said he and his wife at one point visited the bombing site, guided by ATF agents. 

“I still will always remember that while we were there, they recovered another body,” he said. “And, the silence that occurred, I mean, everything stopped, and it was silent.” 

In the years since, Whetsel said he’s seen exponential increases in security. 

Remembering those lost 

Whetsel will be at the 30th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday morning. 

“That's what our prayers will be: a prayer for our country, a prayer for our state and for the city, and most importantly, for the families that lost so much.”