MEDIA FRENZY

Jul 1, 2001 12:00 PM

Terre Haute police maintained a low-tech response during the month-long event: Night vision and a backup dispatch center at the local YWCA were the extent of unusual resources.

The execution of Timothy McVeigh on June 11 created a media spectacle — miles and miles of television cable, portable cellular towers, encrypted radio and video transmission, satellite trucks and mobile generators. It was the Super Bowl of government-sponsored death.

At the Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., television satellite trucks parked bumper to bumper along the entrance drive. A steady flow of gawkers inched along the highway outside for days. Journalists of every ilk and accent scurried in every direction looking for information beyond the obvious — that Timothy McVeigh, described by his prosecutor as “misguided,” sat in a holding cell, alone, waiting to die for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, where 168 people died.

With thousands of domestic and international journalists on hand to cover the event, thousands more driving in for the day, and a looming threat of possible retaliation by antigovernment McVeigh supporters, the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP) implemented access control measures designed to secure the prison campus. They also sought to manage the message being conveyed to the public.

Staffing for the event consisted of 600 Bureau of Prisons personnel, supplemented by Terre Haute Police, Vigo County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Police and the U.S. Marshals, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Protective Services, Postal Inspectors, U.S. Attorney's Office. Almost every nonmilitary department in the county had a role.

One of the more unusual assignments was charged to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which was responsible for guarding a stretch of the Wabash River that runs along the rear perimeter of the prison.

“That's to ensure none of you guys get past us back there,” said Jim Cross, Bureau of Prisons spokesman, suggesting that paparazzi photographers might try to access penitentiary property, sneak through the woods, and gain unauthorized photos.

In addition to the Department of Natural Resources boat detail, municipal officials also relied on Hovercraft provided by the Emergency Management Agency and Civil Defense, said Jeff Trotter, assistant chief, Terre Haute Police. The river was not closed to recreation during the execution, but officials would not allow docking on shore near the penitentiary property.

Press credentials included the Bureau of Prisons logo, were laminated and read “Media Center Access.” Reporters were also required to display their personal photo ID cards at all times.

According to C.J. Taylor, who lives across the street from the prison, the Bureau of Prisons recently invested in a new wrought-iron gate and guard building for the access road.

Taylor says the prison entrance was pristine until a couple of months prior to the execution. “You could drive all the way down the entrance lane and see nothing but grass and trees,” said Taylor.

And that's exactly what a truck driver recently did — drove a tractor-trailer rig all the way up to administration building and attempted to deliver a Bible to McVeigh, said Chris Doty with Commercial Radio in Terre Haute.

To keep traffic moving outside the main gate, officials rented a large electronic message board, which flashed messages about the locations for protesters: one area for pro-death penalty protesters, and one for those opposed.

The electronic media were allowed to park satellite trucks and portable generating systems along one side of the main prison drive, but were not allowed to move the vehicles until after the execution.

An area approximately the size of three football fields was cordoned off with orange construction fencing, and then subdivided with yellow caution tape to designate press conference areas and pre-assigned spots for network media, such as FOX News, CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC, all of which brought elaborate staging equipment for remote broadcasts. A local event management company provided a makeshift media center with fax and copying equipment, and gave reporters access to tables and chairs for filing stories and eating meals.

The media area was approximately 200 yards from the perimeter of the prison, which was surrounded with razor wire.

When asked about the likelihood of a reporter making it up to the fence for a couple of candid photos of the Death House, a runner with a local television network, sitting in a portable chair nearby, commented: “I haven't seen anyone get more than halfway down the road, before a white pickup comes along and stops them.”

Cross added that the road was clearly marked with a “Stop: Do Not Enter” sign. Anyone who misinterpreted it ran the risk of having their credentials pulled before being escorted off the property.

According to Doty, who has installed radio and video equipment in the prison, the facility has a state-of-the-art CCTV system.

“It was my understanding that the FBI was bringing in some of their own equipment,” he said.

“We received a lot of calls from equipment manufacturers wanting us to try their equipment for this, but we just didn't have the time to meet with them and hash out the details,” says Trotter.

While Cross would not comment on equipment used for the event, he said the Bureau of Prisons invested in portable lighting for the protest areas, where people gathered throughout the night.

Trotter insisted that his department maintained a low-tech response during the month-long event, as well, saying night vision and a backup dispatch center at the local YWCA were the extent of unusual resources.

A recommendation to colleagues, he said, would be “planning, planning and more planning” — a process that for him started back in February 2000.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

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