A federal judge Wednesday refused to grant Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh a stay of execution. Monday he could be put to death. Lawyers this morning appealed the ruling to the 10th circuit court of appeals. A three-judge panel appellate court is expected to move quickly on the request.

Was it the right ruling? "Yes," says Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R), who will be online Thursday, June 7, at 3 p.m. EDT, to discuss the case.

Keating was elected in 1994 and is the first Republican to win two consecutive terms.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Fairfax, Va: In your opinion will the June 11th date hold up?

Gov. Frank Keating: Yes. Judge Matsch is highly respected and rarely overturned. His opinion was thoughtful and well-reasoned. Both sides presented a platinum case and the jury spoke.

Tucson, Ariz.: Gov. Keating,

What is your assessment of local media coverage (Oklahoma City)of the ongoing McVeigh story?

Gov. Frank Keating: I think it's been full and fair. The McVeigh prosecution is the most expensive prosecution in American history in both property and lives lost. Because of that, there is national interest and I think the case has been well and broadly shared with the American public.

Bethesda, Md.: Are we martyring McVeigh?

Gov. Frank Keating: We are executing McVeigh for killing 168 innocent men, women and children. With malice and intent, he snuffed out the lives of a large number of my neighbors and friends. If ever capital punishment were justified, it's justified in this case. That is not martydom, that is justice.

Herndon, Va.: Do you think the people of Oklahoma are worn out by the persistent attention paid to the bombing and its aftermath?

Gov. Frank Keating: I think many people are weary of the constant changes in the status of the case. The prosecution was long and agonizing. The misplacement of the FBI files was maddening. McVeigh's interview in which he referred to 19 children as "collateral damage" was infuriating. It's time that all of it be over.

Frederick, Md.: There is little dispute that McVeigh has received the sentence he deserves. But a number of people, relatives of victims in particular, have expressed a sentiment that the execution will bring some sort of "closure." What exactly do you think closure means in this case? Or can there ever be a closure at all?

Gov. Frank Keating: For those who lost loved ones the empty seat at the breakfast table will alway remind them of their loss. For them, there can be no closure, or at least closure with great difficulty. However, for most, knowing that someone who would kill without reason 19 children and a large number of adults would be executed for that crime, that is closure because that satisfies their sense of justice.

Washington, D.C.: Gov. Keating, thank you for taking questions. While I often disagree with your politics, I respect your intelligent and articulate delivery. My question isn't whether Tim McVeigh deserves to die, clearly he does. It is whether we should kill him. Even the people who lost loved ones differ on this question. When you take off the Governor's hat and go home to your family at night, how do you reconcile the religious tenet that thou shalt not kill with your public support for McVeigh's speedy execution? Do you believe that a higher power considers all murder unjust?

Gov. Frank Keating: Our society has long believed that the intentional taking of one life deserves the taking of the life of the perpetrator. There's a sincere and honest debate on both sides of the issue, however, to equate the action of the state in taking the life of a traitor or murderer with the action of an individual doing the same is constitutionally and historically inaccurate. But that doesn't mean the debate shouldn't and won't continue.

Gov. Frank Keating: By the way, thank you for your kind words about me.

Detroit,Texas: Governor Keating I lived in Oklahoma right after the bombing and It was in the McCurtain Gazette about one man seeing a ATF official there and wanted to know what he was doing as he was not supposed to be there at that time and he told him that they had a bomb threat the night before but could not find a bomb so they let all those people come to work that day. I want to know if the commission that investigated this was as in the dark as the prosecutors for McVeigh and if they were could the findings be different if all the information that has come forward could have been seen by that commission. If so then I believe that not only McVeigh should be put to death but I think the ATF, FBI, Justice Department, and President Clinton should be tried for obstruction of justice and if found guilty put in prison.

If they covered up they are as guilty as McVeigh of killing 168 people. Verda Terrell

Gov. Frank Keating: It's my understanding that all of that is apocryphal. It simply did not occur. There was simply no advance knowledge of any attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Building.

Silver Spring, Md.: Thank you for taking my question.

Because the Constitution gives U.S. citizens a right to due process, I'm wondering why resolution of this latest FBI debacle has landed in the hands of a judge versus the hands of a jury? Do convicted felons lose the right to due process?

Gov. Frank Keating: Due process under our system is satisfied procedurally by juries and judges. In the case of evidentiary disputes, like the failure to turn over files to the defense, the judge alone makes those decisions. That has been the case as long as we have been a country.

Denver, Colo.: If the execution continues on Monday there are several major news agencies that are going to broadcast live from Oklahoma. Do you feel this kind of publicity is good or bad for your state?

Gov. Frank Keating: I think it's neutral. No one wished that this had occurred, but it did. The impressive result is that out of evil, good came. Oklahomans without regard to race, color or sex stitched together to rebuild their city and reclaim their lives. That was quite impressive.

Oklahoma City, Okla.: Governor Keating, would you be surprised if the appeals court does intervene in the McVeigh execution today ?

Gov. Frank Keating: I would be because Judge Matsch is rarely reversed and is one of the 10th circuit's most respected district judges.

Germantown, Md.: My question is specifically addressed to the McVeigh case, but more generally to the efficacy of the death penalty. By executing Mr. McVeigh, what do you believe separates us from him?

Mr. McVeigh killed out of hatred and to exact revenge for supposed "crimes" committed by the United States government.

The United States will kill him, essentially, to exact revenge for his crimes against the United States. While not part of the official rationale, no doubt feelings of hatred, either by public officials such as yourself or families of the victims, can be far behind.

So, by killing him, aren't we in a sense, elevating and glorifying his tactics in dealing with the world? Someone wrongs you, kill em.

Wouldn't spending the rest of his life sitting alone in a cell, fading into obscurity, never marrying or having children, stewing in the juices of his own conscience, serve justice as well as his execution? And wouldn't it, in a very small way, make us a more humane society as well as provide a harsher punishment for Mr. McVeigh?

And who's to say that, in the passage of time, Mr. McVeigh wouldn't come to realize the horror he had visited upon the citizens of your state and the nation, and in so realizing, truly suffer, at the hands of his own conscience, the punishment he so richly deserves?

Gov. Frank Keating: It can be argued that life in solitary confinement without the possibility of parole is more inhumane and cruel than capital punishment itself. In our country capital punishment is the law of the land though it is rarely applied. Since 1977, for example, some 420,000 Americans have been murdered, but only some 320 killers have been put to death. Accordingly, one-third of one percent of killings result in the execution of the killer. Capital punishment is reserved for the most horrific of capital offenses. It's just and appropriate in those few cases.

The problem is American society is far too violent. There are simply too many people who have too much contempt for the lives of others. That's the ultimate immorality.

Washington, D.C.: Gov. Keating,

Given your ardent support for McVeigh's punishment by death, do you feel that you given the opportunity, could "pull the switch" on McVeigh?

Gov. Frank Keating: Yes, I could, though it would not be something I would look forward to.

Chatham, N.J.: What are your views on life sentences vs. capital punishment?

Gov. Frank Keating: The intentional premeditated killing of an innocent human being should result in the killer's execution. You take an innocent, you forfeit your life. Any other killing can result and most often does result in lengthy prison sentences. Remember, in my state, since 1977, 8000 of our citizens have been murdered and only 40 people executed for those killings. Capital punishment is extraordinarily rare.

Fairfax, Va.: Given McVeigh's loud proclamations that he'd rather be sentenced to death than spend life in prison, do you see his sentence as "playing into his hands"? Or is your view of justice in this case leaning more to how to resolve things for the victims, rather than punishing the terrorist?

Gov. Frank Keating: We should not do what the defendant wants. We should do what the law requires, whether he agrees with it or not. And we should spend most of our time doing what we can to rebuild the lives of the victims and victims' families. On that score, I might note, that we have raised the money to put every child who lost both parents (and there were 30) or one parent (there were 200) through the college of their choice. We care about those who suffered so terribly on April 19, 1995.

Lodi, Calif.: Gov. Keating, I respect you very much although I sometimes disagree with your politics. Between the FBI mishandling of documents and this scandal in your state with an incompetent district attorney and DNA analyst, do you have concerns about the death penalty in light of obvious mistakes and foul-ups in our judicial system?

Gov. Frank Keating: We always should be concerned about foulups in the criminal justice system. No innocent person should spend one day in jail, much less be executed. The FBI was negligent in the McVeigh case but no one suggested its negligence resulted in the prosecution of an innocent man. The Oklahoma chemist case is more worrisome. By law every serious felony case where DNA is relevant must be DNA tested. We are going through every case to make sure there is no innocent person in prison. There is no evidence that an innocent person has been executed. All of this is an embarrassment to the Oklahoma City police department.

Washington, D.C.: Given so much for the death penalty in this case, what is the rationale for denying the public an opportunity to view the execution?

Gov. Frank Keating: Victims by law in my state are permitted to view an execution, but many actually decline. They think, as I do, that the taking of a life by the state should not be a public spectacle. It's demeaning to the awful seriousness of the event.

Gov. Frank Keating: I must run and thanks to everyone for their willingness to ask questions.