In 1994, Phil Donahue, then a popular talk-show host, tried to get permission to televise an execution in a North Carolina gas chamber. Donahue is a death-penalty opponent. Convicted murderer David Lawson agreed to cooperate, but the idea was turned down by the North Carolina Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Later in 1994, an Ohio judge was criticized worldwide when he sentenced a killer to death and called for the execution to be televised. A televised execution in Guatemala last year made a few newscasts in the United States.
Some states allow relatives of murder victims to watch executions on closed-circuit television.
Oklahoma has done so 6 times, primarily when too many relatives show up for all to watch in person. McVeigh does not plan to file any legal motion to seek a televised execution. It's something that he won't object to. The attorney, though, said he supports the idea. McVeigh's letter was in response to written questions from The Oklahoman.