Case file · U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (with a case transferred from the District of New Jersey), United States

Theodore John Kaczynski: charges, verdict and sentence

United States

Kaczynski

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (with a case transferred from the District of New Jersey), United States · 1996 to 2023

Theodore Kaczynski was indicted in federal court in California and New Jersey in 1996 on explosives charges and pleaded guilty to both indictments on 22 January 1998 in exchange for the government withdrawing its notices of intent to seek the death penalty. On 4 May 1998 he was sentenced to four consecutive life terms plus 30 years. The Ninth Circuit rejected his challenge to the plea in 2001, and he died in federal custody on 10 June 2023.

Where it stands nowKaczynski died in federal custody at FMC Butner on 10 June 2023, according to the Bureau of Prisons as reported by AP.

Charges and outcomes

Charge	Outcome	Date
Transporting an explosive in interstate commerce with intent to kill or injure, four counts (E.D. Cal.)¹	Pleaded guilty	22 January 1998
Mailing an explosive device with intent to kill or injure, three counts (E.D. Cal.)¹	Pleaded guilty	22 January 1998
Using a destructive device during a crime of violence, three counts (E.D. Cal.)¹	Pleaded guilty	22 January 1998
Three counts under the same three statutes (D.N.J., transferred to E.D. Cal.)¹	Pleaded guilty	22 January 1998

Sentence

Four consecutive life sentences plus 30 years, and restitution of 15,026,000 dollars, imposed on 4 May 1998.

Court record, stage by stage

April 1996
arrestLocated by federal authorities at a cabin outside Lincoln, Montana²
18 June 1996
indictmentTen count indictment returned in the Eastern District of California¹
U.S. District Court, E.D. California
1 October 1996
indictmentThree count indictment returned in the District of New Jersey¹
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
22 January 1998
verdictEntered unconditional guilty pleas to both indictments after the court denied his request to represent himself, and the government withdrew its death penalty notices¹
U.S. District Court, E.D. California
4 May 1998
sentenceSentenced to four consecutive life terms plus 30 years and restitution of 15,026,000 dollars¹
U.S. District Court, E.D. California
12 February 2001
appealNinth Circuit affirmed denial of his motion to vacate, holding the plea voluntary, with one judge dissenting¹
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
10 June 2023
deathDied at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, aged 81²

Notable rulings

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 12 February 2001. The guilty plea was voluntary and was not made involuntary by the denial of his self-representation request, which was properly denied as untimely and made for delay.¹

Sources

Public.Resource.Org (U.S. Court of Appeals opinion), United States v. Kaczynski, 239 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2001) (12 February 2001) · court or official record
WHYY (Associated Press), Unabomber Ted Kaczynski died by suicide in prison medical center, AP sources say (10 June 2023)

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