McVeigh Execution: Live From Terre Haute - Cold Snap – Prison Escaper Sighted – Bomb Hoaxer –Lee Under Attack – TV3 Poll: Party Vote, Preferred PM, Super Fund, PM’s Ratings, Links

MCVEIGH EXECUTION: The most high profile execution of modern time is now just six hours away. Timothy McVeigh is set to be executed in Terre Haute, Indiana, at midnight NZT. His lawyers say that he is ready to be executed. He is being executed for the April 1995 murder of 168 in the Oklahoma City bombing. 10 people will watch the execution through a one way mirror. 300 will watch the execution through a closed circuit video link. There will be no recording made of the execution. McVeigh’s last meal was two pints of mint chocolate chip icecream. McVeigh’s is the first federal execution in 40 years.

MCVEIGH EXECUTION: LIVE IN TERRE HAUTE: In one sense it is a circus. There are 1400 media representatives here looking at the fence of the prison. Locals are not overplaying this. There are protestors but they have been very low key. In a short period of time there will be a briefing. At around 7.23am tomorrow morning we will be told whether McVeigh has died. It is difficult to know what the long term effects of this execution will be. Recent opinion polls find around 75% of Americans want McVeigh executed. 29 government’s have the death penalty but only four use it regularly.

COLD SNAP: The cold snap across NZ caused chaos on Dunedin roads this morning. An hour after sunrise roads were still treacherous. Steep streets were impossible to walk on. One woman swears by putting pantyhose over your shoes. Banks Peninsula had a magic dawn with snow. Animals were cold. The spell of freezing weather also caused problems on the Desert Road.

PRISON ESCAPER SIGHTED: Escaped prisoner Kevin Joeseph Polwart is seen walking into the Palmerston North warehouse on camera. Polwart checked into a Palmerston North back-packers. Warehouse staff say he was a nice guy. Polwart told police he escaped because he did

BOMB HOAXER: Tauranga Police have released pictures of a man they think may be the bomb hoaxer. He is wearing a plaid shirt.

LEE UNDER ATTACK: Alliance Cabinet Minister Sandra Lee is defending herself against attacks which she says are politically motivated. Police were called to Lee’s address two weeks ago for what they say was a “domestic” incident. Lee has issued a written statement saying she is appalled that people close to her are being dragged into the political arena. Willie Jackson says he thinks it is sad that someone’s personal life is being scrutinised in this way. The PM says that she doesn’t know what the incident at the house was about. Lee’s former secretary Suzanne Corbett left the country today.

TV3/CM Research Poll

Party Vote Race:

Labour 49 down 1
National 31 down 1
Green 7 up 2
Alliance 3.8
ACT 3.3
NZ First 2.8

Preferred PM Stakes:

Helen Clark 32 down 4
Jenny Shipley 11 no change

Super Fund:

64% of voters back the super fund, 21% disagree with it.

PM’s Personal Poll Ratings:

PM has declined in personal indicator ratings. She is more out of touch but not nearly as out of touch as Jenny Shipley according to the poll.

For the full TV3 poll report text see…
http://www.tv3.co.nz/lite/news/news_info.cfm?news_id=5344

For full TV3 poll results see…
http://www.tv3.co.nz/news/index.cfm?news_category_id=11

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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