This is a critical retrospective evaluation of the activities of the United States Department of Justice ("Department") and the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") during the fifty-one day stand-off at the Branch Davidians' Mt. Carmel compound near Waco, Texas which ended on April 19, 1993 when fire consumed the compound, killing David Koresh and most of his followers. To make this evaluation, I have reviewed the procedures followed by the Department and the FBI, giving particular attention to the means employed, the alternatives considered and the decisions made in attempting to resolve the stand-off. I have not been called upon to conduct a de novo factual inquiry. A comprehensive factual report is being prepared by the Department …show more content…
and the FBI. I have primarily relied upon the record gathered by the Department as the basis for the conclusions in this Report, supplemented by a number of follow-up interviews. However, I am satisfied that the factual inquiry by the Department was conducted in a thorough and objective manner. Prior to my appointment, the Department had completed over 800 field interviews and gathered pertinent documentation. They continued to gather documents and conduct interviews thereafter. I have been afforded access to documents gathered in that effort and to the reports of interviews conducted for the factual investigation. In addition, since my appointment I participated in a number of Department interviews. I have also conducted independent interviews of some witnesses. The scope of this Report is confined to the activities of the Department and the FBI. I have not been asked to evaluate and I make no judgments about the activities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ("ATF") leading up to the February 28, 1993 gun battle at Mount Carmel. I have been assisted in my investigation and writing of this Report by Ms. Suzan E. DeBusk, Esq. whose invaluable contribution, I gratefully acknowledge. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After reviewing the stand-off at Waco, including the progress of the negotiations and the conception, approval and implementation of the tear gas plan on April 19, 1993, this Report concludes as follows. The fire on April 19, 1993 was deliberately set by persons inside the compound and was not started by the FBI's tear gas insertion operations. It is not certain, however, whether a substantial number of the persons who died in the compound on April 19 remained inside voluntarily, were being held in the compound against their will or were shot in order to prevent their escape from the fire. Preliminary medical reports are that a substantial number of individuals had died of gunshot wounds.
Among those shot were young children. Koresh's body was found with a gunshot wound to the forehead. The FBI did not fire on the compound during the tear gas operation, although shots were fired at the FBI from the compound. The FBI did not fire on the compound at any time during the fifty-one day stand-off. The evidence forecasting David Koresh's intention to orchestrate a mass suicide was contradictory. Koresh and his followers repeatedly assured the negotiators that they did not intend to commit suicide. On several occasions agents were told that suicide was against the Davidians' religious beliefs. However, one released member said there was a suicide plan. Other released members denied there was a suicide plan. In any event, the risk of suicide was taken into account during the negotiations and in the development of the gas plan. The FBI developed a coherent negotiating strategy to talk the Davidians out. However, the negotiators had strong objections to pressure tactics they felt were counterproductive. The use of pressure tactics immediately after Koresh sent out Davidians from the compound may have undermined the negotiators' credibility and blunted their efforts to gain …show more content…
the Davidians' trust and to discredit Koresh in the eyes of his followers. Nevertheless, tactical actions designed to increase the safety margin for agents were appropriately given priority over negotiating considerations. I conclude that the events of April 19 were the result of David Koresh's determined efforts to choreograph his own death and the deaths of his followers in a confrontation with federal authorities to fulfill Koresh's apocalyptic prophesy. The deaths of Koresh, his followers and their children on April 19th were not the result of a flaw in the gas plan or the negotiation strategy.
The FBI used many qualified experts, including its own FBI behavioral experts to evaluate Koresh. Their assessments were thorough and many proved quite accurate. REDACTED FROM PUBLIC REPORT PENDING RELEASE OF IMPOUNDED MATERIAL. The Attorney General was adequately briefed on the tear gassing plan, was fully informed of the options, and was given a realistic appraisal of the risks. All reasonable alternatives were considered and the decision to insert CS gas was a reasonable one. I conclude that an indefinite siege was not a realistic option. According to the plan, gas would be inserted in stages and the FBI would wait 48 hours for it to have an effect. As the plan was being implemented, the tanks were ordered to enlarge openings in the compound to provide escape routes for the Davidians. The FBI did anticipate that a fire might occur at the compound. Fire fighting equipment was not kept close to the scene because the heavy weaponry used by Koresh and his followers presented unacceptable risks to fire fighters. In any event, the independent arson
experts concluded that the fire spread so quickly in the poorly constructed compound that even prompt fire fighting efforts would have been ineffective. The FBI exhibited extraordinary restraint and handled the crisis with great professionalism.
From there, an investigation was conducted and agents found traces of chemicals on McVeigh’s clothing, similar to the ones from the bomb. They learned that McVeigh’s plan was due to the anger over the events at the Waco Siege two years earlier. The bombing investigation was one of the most exhaustive in FBI history; “the Bureau had conducted more than 28,000 interviews, followed some 43,000 investigative leads, amassed three-and-a-half tons of evidence, and reviewed nearly a billion pieces of information.” (FBI.com) The Oklahoma City bombing was “considered the worst and the largest terrorist act ever committed on U.S. soil.”
by armed SWAT team members who fired a CS tear gas canister into their house.
To set the stage for this battle, we must first understand what the British were thinking at the time. The British had not ...
The year 2004 was particularly significant, because it was associated with the highest percentage increase in deaths by suicide among young adults since 1990 (Goldston et al., 2010). A combination of factors led to the proposal of the GLSMA. The social and political conditions in 2004 significantly influenced the development of the GLSMA. While economic conditions were considered during this analysis, THE economic state of the nation was not a major catalyst in the development of the
...ire scenes. The case of Tight Shoes Inc. seems to be pretty obvious as I read it, but I can’t image an arson fire that is not obvious. Interviewing the right people and asking the right questions is just as important if not more than finding physical evidence. Being a people’s person and coaxing the right responses is an under stated in the job title of fire investigator. After following the five steps of comprehensive incendiary investigation and finding and asking the right questions to the interviewee will help secure a solid case against an arsonist.
There were three known attempts on taking JFK?s life in the fall of 1963. In late October, Thomas Arthur Vallee was arrested by the secret service in Chicago days before a scheduled visit by Kennedy. Vallee was discovered to have an M-1 rifle, a handgun, and three thousand rounds of ammunition. Days later, the Secret Service received another threat: Kennedy would b...
(New Orleans). All the evidence that was found is very unclear, but the next suspect in the murder is Joseph Mumfre.
One constant between all cultures is the understanding that all lives will come to an end. Throughout one’s lifetime, virtue, character, and morality are sought, through different ideals and methods, with the overall endgame being the most ethical and desirable outcome possible. There are times, however, when an individual may feel like there is no hope of reaching a successful existence; therefore the act of suicide becomes a viable option. The decision to voluntarily take one’s life has always been a topic of discussion on ethical grounds. Whether or not the decision to die is an ethical one can be argued depending on from which ethical theory the act is being evaluated.
, the amount of suicides per year is very high and so far, the treatments for mental health don’t work on all patients. Finally, depression results in a decline of a person’s work ethic and ability to properly work, and it would be
Durkheim was a functionalist, and theorised that a holistic social narrative could be identified which would explain individual behaviour. He argued that, whilst society was made up of its members, it was greater than the sum of its parts, and was an external pressure that determined the behaviour of the individuals within it. At that time, suicide rates in Europe were rising, and so the causes of suicide were on the agenda. Since suicide is seen as an intrinsically personal and individual action, establishing it as having societal causes would be a strong defence for Durkheim’s functionalist perspective. Durkheim used the comparative method to study the official suicide rates of various European countries. While he was not the first to notice the patterns and proportional changes of suicide rates between different groups in European societies, it was this fact that was the foundation of his theory – why did some groups consistently have much higher rates than others? This supports the idea that it was the external pressures placed on certain groups within society that induced higher rates of suicide, and is the basis of Durkheim’s work.
...he firm foresaw the significant probability of harm to firefighters using the training facility and acted to communicate the discovered risks to the government organization awarding them the contract. Communication was essential in persuading the government to address the safety issues because the site met the requirements set forth by law, reducing the perception of risk, and the design choice of replacing jet fuel with liquid propane created the unintended consequence of an increased risk that otherwise may have gone unnoticed if not for the actions of Giffels’ consulting firm. Giffels’ strategy to remain persistent in refusing to complete the contract and highlighting the significant risk his firm discovered proved successful when dealing with a client that at first appeared to have taken a minimalist approach by staying with the minimum requirements of the law.
...have shown more clearly when suicide is best for us. The future possibilities are reserved only for those who live but not for those who die.
Suicide is when someone takes their own life. There are various reasons why someone might end their own life. Most of the time depression has a significant impact towards suicide. For the 2020 measurement, the value we are working toward is to reduce the rate of suicidal deaths. The baseline measurement is 11.3 suicides per 100,000 population occurred in 2007. The target is to bring suicide rates to 10.2 suicides per 100,000 population. The target- setting method is a 10 percent improvement on suicidal deaths. The data that is measured is measured by the numerator representing the number of deaths due to suicide and the denominator representing the number of people per
Dokoupil, Tony. A. The "Suicide Epidemic" Newsweek Global 161.19 (2013): 1 Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web.