WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The father of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh will not attend his son's execution and hopes he will express remorse for killing 168 people in 1995, USA Today reported on Friday.

Bill McVeigh said in an interview at his home in Pendleton, N.Y., that he would not be among the six witnesses Timothy McVeigh is allowed to have at the May 16 execution at a U.S. prison in Indiana.

"I'm honoring his request," the elder McVeigh was quoted as saying.

Bill McVeigh, 61, told the newspaper that he was preparing for a final visit with his son in the next few days. He said he might ask his son to express some remorse for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995.

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"The biggest question I still have is, why?" Bill McVeigh said. "Why would anyone do something like this?"

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