OKC Bomber Tim McVeigh Denied Millitary Funeral: Why?

[Mr.Moto]

@lawoot

I don’t see where they would have found enough servicemen WILLING to take part in a funeral for such as McVeigh

It often didn’t matter what I was willing to do when I was a servicemember. What I was ordered to do took far more precedence.

Had I been instructed to render funeral honors to Timothy McVeigh, I wouldn’t have been happy about it, but I wouldn’t have been in a position to say no either. And we gave a fair number of deserving veterans honorable burials at sea on warships I served upon.

[Mr.Moto]

@Airman Doors

I now have a related question.

If I am convicted under the UCMJ, sentenced to death, and executed (not that there’s any chance of that), am I also excluded from a military funeral? In other words, who is responsible for my disposition once the military is done with me?

I believe the military is done with you after the reduction in rank to E-1 and the dishonorable discharge that would accompany the court-martial. The responsibility for imprisoning and executing you would pass to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

These laws would deny you a military burial, of course. After your death, the remains will be given to your family if they want them. If they don’t, you’ll get a service with a BOP chaplain (if appropriate) and a plot in a potter’s grave, or in a prison cemetery.

[manhattan]

In fact, the dishonorable discharge alone disqualifies one from military honors at burial. (cite).

Rumors that Mr. Moto and I will be pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon in this thread are unconfirmed.

[Captain_Amazing]

@Mr. Moto

I believe the military is done with you after the reduction in rank to E-1 and the dishonorable discharge that would accompany the court-martial. The responsibility for imprisoning and executing you would pass to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

I don’t believe that’s true. There are currently 7 people who have been sentenced to death by court-martial, and they’re at the Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks.

[Mr.Moto]

I stand corrected. I was confusing the Disciplinary Barracks at Leavenworth with USP Leavenworth, when they are in fact separate and very different institutions.

Thanks very much for the clarification.

[Driver8]

As an aside, if OJ Simpson had been removed from the hall of fame because of the court case would he not have a pretty good civil case against the hall of fame people? I mean, despite what everybody may think, he was found not guilty.

[Little_Nemo]

If I am convicted under the UCMJ, sentenced to death, and executed (not that there’s any chance of that), am I also excluded from a military funeral? In other words, who is responsible for my disposition once the military is done with me?

In New York, if an inmate dies, we contact the next of kin and the family has the option of taking the remains and burying them as they wish. If we are unable to contact any family memebers or if they do not wish to accept the body, the state buries the inmate in a private cemetary we own for that purpose. I assume other prison systems have similar arrangements. In the case of an ex-service man dying while in military custody, I would assume the military would give them a funeral but not a full ceremonial service.