US Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft said this evening the Justice Department will oppose any attempt by Oklahoma City bomber Mr Timothy McVeigh to delay his execution because of recently produced FBI documents.
"Because these documents cast no doubt on the surety of his guilt, the Justice Department will vigorously oppose any attempt to further delay the imposition of the sentence," Mr Ashcroft said in a statement.
Mr McVeigh, (33), is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 11th at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people.
Mr Ashcroft issued the statement after Mr McVeigh's lawyers said a decision would be made by Friday on whether to ask a federal court to postpone his execution.
Defence lawyers have been reviewing approximately 4,000 pages of previously undisclosed FBI documents about the bombing investigation. The existence of the documents prompted Mr Ashcroft on May 11th to delay McVeigh's first execution date on May 16th.
"After an exhaustive review, it remains clear that none of the belatedly produced material raises any doubt about McVeigh's guilt," Mr Ashcroft said.