My understanding is that this guy and his wife were only peripherally involved in the attack. I believe he helped make counterfeit IDs and sold some stolen guns, the proceeds of which were used to fund the attack. This is not the same as planting the bomb, or even making it. The reason plea bargains are so common in this country is that without them, many cases would not be successfully prosecuted, if at all. I'm not sure that without this guy's testimony they would not have convicted McVeigh and Nichols, but it would have been more difficult. In many lower profile cases without plea bargains the case would never come to trial. In the US only a relatively small percentage of crimes result in a conviction (less than half for non-violent, non-drug crimes) and I think the feeling within the criominal justice system is "take what you can get".
ok guys, here we go. This poor guy isnt guilty of anything, and heres why. Timmy came up to him one day and said "imma kill me some people by placing X bombs". Then the guy just shrugged it off. It is also relevent to note that kids that shoot up there schools usually tells someone else, and the person they inform thinks its a joke. Due to the outcome of him thinking it was a joke, they arrested him. Now, since he is an upstating citizen, realizing his folly, he actually helped lay the case against McVeigh. 11 years was too long for a mistake MANY people make.
true, but the person who was told that would have prior knowledge of a possible event occuring and should forward that kind of information to the proper authorities.
