Execution date for Oklahoma City bomber

Federal officials have set a May 16 execution date for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Mcveigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy for the bombing that killed 168 people.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says it has notified McVeigh of the decision.

McVeigh, who is on death row at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, has said he doesn't want any more appeals, but he has reserved the right to seek executive clemency.

He let the deadline for resuming his appeals expire and prison officials started planning for his lethal injection.

Bureau of Prisons spokesman Dan Dunne said officials initially delayed selecting an execution date until they could plan the event, including meeting the needs of the victims' relatives and survivors of the blast.

The April 19, 1995, bombing at a federal office building was the worst act of terrorism ever committed on US soil. The federal government has not put a prisoner to death since March 15, 1963, when it executed Victor Feguer for murder and kidnapping.

McVeigh's attorney, Nathan Chambers, said McVeigh has made no decision on whether to seek clemency.

"'I don't know yet," he said. "That's something Mr McVeigh has under consideration."

He said McVeigh has 30 days to file a petition for clemency with the Justice Department's Office of Pardon Attorney, which will make a recommendation to the president.