The Trial of the unabomber: Ted Kaczynski

The Trial of the unabomber: Ted Kaczynski

Who's who:

Just the facts:

(of the trial)

Twenty years of fear:

Ted Kaczynski: Killer

Victims: 3 killed, 24 injured.

Hugh Scrutton, Thomas J. Mosser, and Brent Murray were all killed.

1979 FBI UNABOM task force

David Kaczynski: Brother

Quin Denvir and Judy Clarke: Lead Defense Attorneys

Robert J. Cleary: Lead Prosecutor

The trial of Ted Kaczynski, or at least the preparation thereof, began shortly after his arrest on April 3rd, 1996. The jury selection was extensive as the judge wanted to make certain there would be no people on the jury who had any kind of emotional connection to the case. During the rest of 1996 and 1997, the cases are prepared for both the defense and the prosecution. On January 6th, Kaczynski apparently attempted to hang himself in his jail cell. He was immediately placed on 24/7 watch. The defense's case rested largely on the fact that he was not mentally stable, but he refused to be evaluated by a psychologist because he didn't want to be labeled a "sickie". This helped the prosecution's case, which was based on the fact that he had a blatant disregard for the sanctity of life and derived enjoyment from killing. On January 20th, 1998, Kaczynski pleads guilty on all counts and, because of a push from the defense, is sentenced to life without parole rather than the death penalty.

When the first bomb exploded on May 25th, 1978, at a Chicago University, there was panic. Understandably, of course, as universities aren't usually targeted in bombing attacks. However, it had been a relatively crude, homemade one. For about a year, life went on as usual. Then, on May 9th, 1979, a second bomb went off at the same university, this time injuring one man. After a third bomb went off later that year in an airplane in mid-flight, (there were no casualties) the FBI formed a task force to deal with what was starting to look like a serial bomber. It was called the UNiversity and Airline BOmbing task force, or UNABOM for short. For the next nearly twenty years, the United States lived in collective fear that they would be the next one to receive a bomb in their mail. During that time, there were sixteen bombs in total either sent or planted by the man known only as the unabomber, who would later be recognized as Ted Kaczynski. Three people died (Hugh Scrutton, Thomas J Masser, and Brent Murray) as a result of these bombs and twenty-four were injured. In 1995, he sent a 35,000 word "manifesto" which contained his beliefs and their rationales, to several prominent newspapers and said if it were published, he would stop his attacks. FBI linguists were able to match it to diary entries his brother provided upon reading the manifesto and this ultimately led to his arrest.

Start at the roots:

With any serial killer or serial bomber, etc, the question is always whether the person was predisposed to becoming who they are. In Kaczynski's case, the answer is probably yes. He was an unresponsive child from six months of age on following an illness and was increasingly prone to what his family called "shutdowns" where he either completely turned off from the world around him or went into a fit of unfounded rage. He could not seemingly control this rage or the shutdowns, which could be a tie to the impulsive behavior that goes along with bombing with the intent to kill.

An experiment gone horribly wrong:

Aside from difficulties at home Alton Chase brings up an interesting possible point of origin for Kaczynski's behavior. He, while an undergraduate student at Harvard, participated in a study done by Henry A. Murray which studied the effects of stressful situations on the human behavior and mind. These experiments were ultimately part of MKUltra, a series of illegal psychological experiments which had scarring effects on all participants.

In my opinion:

It's all about motive:

Extra! Extra!

The frailty of genius:

There was no other verdict other than guilty. He pleaded guilty and the evidence stacked up around him was overwhelmingly in the favor of his guilt. The only question I have is whether he was mentally sound or not. I generally think he is, but then I read something else that makes me question it.

It needs an audience. Despite having crippling social issues which initiated total shutdowns, the Unabomber still required a large, attentive audience for his bombings because he needed to have the attention on him for accomplishing something.

The trial of the Unabomber was highly publicized. It was not televised in its entirety, but there were journalists and reporters allowed inside during the majority of the trial. It drew intense national interest, mostly because of the fear his unpredictable bombings had caused.

There have also been books released about the Unabomber, including one by Alton Chase, examining whether or not he was certifiably mentally ill or not. The movies made about him, such as The Net, have a similar motive in their creation.

The Unabomber targeted people and places he believed were a detriment to America and the well-being of the country. Many of the places he targeted were universities, more than once his graduate alma mater. He also targeted one of the managers of Exxon following the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. He was one of the three deaths.