eBay pulls plug on McVeigh auction

Auction site eBay has stopped the sale of memorabilia relating to the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, on the grounds that it is too morbid.

Copies of McVeigh's death certificate and last statement had been up for sale since Monday, but eBay pulled the auction late Wednesday evening.

The vendor, Roy Young, had been selling the documents for around $8 apiece and is believed to have made nearly 20 transactions before the auction site stepped in.

eBay has a policy on not promoting or benefiting from convicted felons.

But Young insisted that any money earned from the sales would be donated to a charity for the victims of the 1995 bombing, in which 168 people were killed.

However, the charities set up to help victims of the bombing and those affected by it have expressed concern at Young's motives.

Both the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and the National Organization for Victim Assistance in Washington have said they would not accept donations gained from such activities.

However, according to reports it is still possible to obtain newspaper clippings and photos of McVeigh in similar auctions on the eBay site

A quick search of the site brought up 50 McVeigh-related auctions, mostly selling newspapers from the day of his execution, 11 June.