He was executed on the same day that Timothy McVeigh carried out the Oklahoma City bombing , which destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building . Snell had been accused of plotting to bomb the Murrah Building in the 1980s . Snell reportedly watched televised reports of the Oklahoma City bombing on the day of his execution and nodded in approval . One theory holds that Timothy McVeigh committed his bombing in retaliation for Snell 's execution . However , McVeigh said that his primary motivation for the bombing was retaliation against the government for its Waco Siege that took place exactly two years prior on April 19 , 1993 and the government 's handling of the Ruby Ridge crisis . McVeigh never testified as to why he chose the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Richard Snell (criminal)