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Dr. Sally C. Johnson's psychological report describes Theodore Kaczynski, the confessed Unabomber, as a man whose early brilliance was ruined by paranoid schizophrenia.
Johnson made her evaluation after interviewing Kaczynski, his family and people who knew him, analyzing psychological tests, and studing of the Unabomber's journals which document over 40 years of his life.
She cites "an almost total absence of interpersonal relationships," and "delusional thinking involving being controlled by modern technology" as examples of his illness.
Kaczynski increasingly withdrew from society as he grew older, and his journals reflect a feeling of social alienation, suspicion and anger he found hard to express. The report says one of his motives for writing the journals was that he intended to kill people and did not want society to think he was mentally ill.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the psychiatric report should be made public in order to provide a better understanding of the Unabomber's motivations.
FORENSIC EVALUATION
NAME:KACZYNSKI, Theodore John
DOCKET NUMBER:CR S-96-259 GEB
DATE OF BIRTH:05/22/42
DATE OF REPORT:01/16/98
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION: Theodore John Kaczynski is a 55 year old white single male, currently housed in pretrial status at the Sacramento County Jail in Sacramento, California. He was most recently residing in Lincoln, Montana. On 01/09/97, the Honorable Garland D. Burrell, Jr., United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of California, issued an order that Mr. Kaczynski be examined by Bureau of Prisons physicians and others authorized by such physicians to assist in the study and examination to determine his mental competency to stand trial. The Order further indicated that the examining physicians are authorized to access all pertinent medical and collateral information, including psychiatric and medical records, and psychological testing. The examination was ordered to commence on 01/12/98. On 01/12/98, Judge Burrell issued a supplemental Order for Dr. Sally Johnson to travel to Sacramento to conduct the examination of the defendant at the Sacramento County Jail. The Order outlined that Dr. Johnson should prepare a report of the examination of the defendant pursuant to the Provision of 18, U.S. Code, Sections 4247(b) and (c). The examination should include: the defendant's history and present syndromes; a description of the tests employed and the results; the examiner's findings; and the examiner's opinions as to diagnosis, Prognosis, and whether the defendant is suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the Proceedings against him or to assist properly in his own defense. Copies of the report were ordered to be provided to the Court, counsel for the defendant, and the Government by 7:OOPM on Ol/16/98. on 01/13/98, Judge Burrell issued an additional Order which directed that trial counsel for the defendant were to provide Dr. Johnson with copies of each of the letters admitted to the Court - under seal by the defendant and all of the transcripts of ex parte and in camera hearings. If these materials were included in the competency report, that aspect of the report would not immediately be given to the Government. Rather, the Government would be provided the opportunity to petition the Court for access excluded materials at a later date. The trial judge and the defendant's counsel would be given a copy of the competency report in its entirety. In accordance with these Orders, the psychiatric evaluation was conducted between 01/12/98 and 01/16/98.
In the indictment filed 06/18/96, Mr. Kaczynski was charged with violations of 18, U.S. Code, Section 844(d), Transportation of an Explosive with Intent to Kill or Injure (four counts); 18, U.S. Code, Section 1716 Mailing an Explosive Device in an Attempt to Kill or Injure (three counts); and 18, U.S. Code, Section 1924(c)(1), Use of a Destructive Device in Relation to a Crime of Violence (three counts). These charges involved use of an explosive device to kill Hugh Scrutton on or about 12/11/85; the use of an explosive device that injured Dr. Charles Epstein on or about 06/22/93; the use of an explosive device to injure Dr. David Gelernter on or about 06/24/93; and the use of an explosive device to kill Gilbert B. Murray on or about 04/24/95. Mr. Kaczynski is represented by Federal Defenders Quinn Denvir, Judy Clarke, and Gary Soward. Special Attorneys to the U.S. Attorney General assigned to this case are Robert J. Cleary, Stephen P. Freccero, R. Steven Lapham, Bernard F. Hubley, and J. Douglas Wilson.
Extensive collateral information was available for review and use during this evaluation period. This included copies of Judge Burrell's Court Orders dated 01/09/98, 01/12/98, and 01/13/98; the indictment filed on 06/18/96; extensive information in regard to the charged offenses; medical records on Mr. Kaczynski, including a copy of his birth certificate from the State of Illinois; dental records from William Schauer, MS, and Thomas Ditchey, MS, through 1982; University Health Service records from Harvard University beginning in September 1958; hospital summary from Billings Hospital in Chicago, Illinois for hospitalization from 09/10/59 to 09/15/59; records from Dr. Walter Peschel in Missoula, Montana; records and correspondence from Carolyn C. Goren, M.D., April 1991 through January 1995; records from St. Peters Community Hospital in Helena, Montana; records from Glen Wielenga, M.D., of Lincoln, Montana for time periods between 1991 and 1993; records from the Sacramento County Jail for the time period between 1996 and 1998; and records from the Health Services Department at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin, California, for a period of detention from 09/03/97 to 11/06/97.
Collateral information provided by the prosecution included copies of the Government trial brief filed under seal; selected statements and writings by the defendant; a letter outlining the Proof of Uncharged Crimes dated 07/29/96 addressed to Quin Denvir, Federal Defender; statements concerning the charged bombs, information on disguises and aliases, and targeting of victims; a copy of Mr. Kaczynski's original autobiography (1979); the Unabomb correspondence and manifesto; declarations from Park Elliott Dietz, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., dated 10/02/97, and Phillip J. Resnick, M.D., dated 10/02/97; and an Analysis of Neuropsychological Testing on Theodore Kaczynski by John T. Kenny, Ph.D., dated 12/29/97.
Collateral information provided by the defense included a chronology of charged and uncharged offenses; transcripts of court proceedings in United States vs. Theodore Kaczynski dated 11/21/95, 01/05/98, 01/07/98, and 01/08/98; Declarations of defense retained experts including David Foster, M.D., dated 11/11/97 and 11/17/97, Xavier Amador, Ph.D., dated 11/16/97; Karen Froming, Ph.D., dated 11/17/97; a letter to Elizabeth Gilbertson, M.D., from Theodore Kaczynski; the autobiography of Theodore Kaczynski prepared in accordance with participation in the Multiform Assessment of College Men Study, by Henry A. Murray at Harvard University; a typewritten transcript of Theodore Kaczynski; autobiographical notes 1979; a social history chronology of Mr. Kaczynski; and excerpts from correspondence between 1975 and 1991 and journals between 1957 and 1971. Also provided was a copy of the Refutation (a 15 chapter manuscript written by Mr. Kaczynski primarily between August and November 1997). Pursuant to a Court Order dated 11/13/97, the examiner was provided copies of the letters written by Mr. Kaczynski to Judge Garland D. Burrell, Jr., dated 12/18/97 and 01/05/98, and copies of the sealed reporter draft transcripts dated 12/18/97, 12/19/97, 01/05/98 and 01/07/98 (in camera proceedings).
The examiner also reviewed the complete set of writings obtained from Mr. Kaczynski's cabin in Montana. This included a series of journals spanning the time period of 1960 to present; extensive correspondence by Mr. Kaczynski and to Mr. Kaczynski; and detailed records of scientific experiments conducted by Mr. Kaczynski. In addition of review of the extensive collateral information, the examiner also had the opportunity to visit Mr. Kaczynski's cabin at the storage site outside of Sacramento and to review extensive photographs of the cabin contents.
Initial interviews were conducted with defense attorneys Quin Denvir, Judy Clarke and Gary Soward, and prosecuting attorneys Robert Cleary and Stephen Freccero on 01/11/98. Prosecuting attorneys were then interviewed separately on 01/11/98. Defense attorneys were interviewed on 01/12/98. Additional interviews with both defense and prosecuting attorneys took place throughout the week, in regard to obtaining necessary information and managing the logistics of the evaluation process. Personal interviews were conducted with Wanda Kaczynski, mother of the defendant, and David Kaczynski, brother of the defendant, on 01/13/98. Phone interviews were conducted with defense retained experts David Poster, M.D., Raquel Gur, M.D.,Ph.D., Ruben Gur, Ph.D., and Karen Froming, Ph.D.; and prosecution retained experts Park Dietz, M.D., and Phillip Resnick, M.D. A phone interview was also conducted with Sherry Woods, librarian in Lincoln, Montana.
DATES OF CONTACT/PROCEDURES ADMINISTERED: During this evaluation, Mr. Kaczynski was interviewed by Sally C. Johnson, Chief Psychiatrist and Associate Warden of Health Services for the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. During this evaluation, Mr. Kaczynski was interviewed by the examiner on eight occasions at the Sacramento County Jail, with a total interview time Of approximately 22 hours. The interviews took place either in the line up room conference area or in confidential attorney visiting booths on the second or eighthfloor. At the start of the initial interview and briefly during subsequent interviews on 01/12/98 and 01/13/98, the defense attorneys were present to answer Mr. Kaczynski's questions regarding the evaluation process. In addition to the clinical interviews, formal review was conducted of previous medical evaluations, as well as previous neuropsychological and psychological testing results. Additional psychological testing administered during this evaluation included the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (01/12/98), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (01/12/98), the Beck Depression Inventory (01/15/98), and the Draw a Person Picking an Apple from a Tree projective drawing (01/15/98). Psychological testing administered during this evaluation was administered by Dr. Johnson. Scoring and interpretation of tests were accomplished with the assistance of psychology staff at FCI Butner.
At the outset of this evaluation and repeatedly throughout the week, the purpose of the evaluation and limits of confidentiality of information provided were discussed with Mr. Kaczynski. He was informed that the information and the observations made would provide the basis for completion of a report which would be available to the Judge, as well as the Defense and Prosecuting Attorneys. He was advised that a provision was in place to protect the privacy of any en camera materials. He demonstrated an adequate understanding of this information.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The information outlined in this section is a composite of that obtained through interviews with Mr. Kaczynski, review of the extensive collateral information, and interviews with those individuals outlined above. Mr. Kaczynski was viewed as a relatively reliable historian in regard to most of the information that was provided. On advice of his attorneys, he provided only limited information regarding his activities immediately around the time of the currently charged offenses. Mr. Kaczynski tended to emphasize or minimize certain aspects of his history and recited descriptions of many events by rote, using the wording used in his writings. With encouragement, he was able to provide additional detail regarding some of those points. The information provided by Mr. Kaczynski was generally consistent with that provided by other sources.
Theodore John Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois on 05/22/42. He is the oldest son born to Theodore Richard Kaczynski and Teresa (Wanda) Dombeck Kaczynski. He has one brother, David Kaczynski, who is sevens years younger, born in 1949. His father is deceased, having died on 10/02/90 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His father had been diagnosed shortly before his death with lung cancer with metastasis to the spine. His mother is 80 years old and resides in Schenectady, New York, near David and his wife Linda.
Mr. Kaczynski's father was initially employed as a sausage maker over the years. He spent part of his employment working for relatives in that business, but subsequently obtained employment with a food products company and then with several foam cutting companies in the Chicago area. He transferred with the latter job to Iowa and then back to Illinois. He reportedly provided adequately for the family, from a financial standpoint. He had no clear history of psychiatric illness, although it is noted that he committed suicide reportedly in response to his poor prognosis and significant pain related to the diagnosis of cancer. He had no criminal or substance abuse history. Wanda Kaczynski has spent most of her life working in the home, although earlier she completed approximately two years of college education. At a later point, when the family moved to Iowa, she completed her degree in teaching, and subsequently taught for a few years. Most recently, she was employed in an office situation She has no history of mental illness, [text redacted]
Available reports indicate that the pregnancy with Mr. Kaczynski was full term with no significant problems prior to delivery. As a young child, he reached developmental milestones such as sitting up, walking, and talking within normal parameters. He was hospitalized at the age of approximately nine months, for several days, as the result of an allergic reaction. Hospital course was apparently uneventful and he was discharged without known medical sequelae. Conflicting reports exist as to the significance of that hospitalization. Records reviewed through notes kept in Mr. Kaczynski's baby book do not provide much information in regard to problems following that hospitalization. Information provided by Wanda Kaczynski, however, indicates her perception that his hospitalization was a significant and traumatic event for her son, in that he experienced a separation from his mother (due to routine hospital practices). She describes him as having changed after the hospitalization in that he was withdrawn, less responsive, and more fearful of separation from her after that point in time. Mr. Kaczynski experienced usual childhood diseases including mumps and chicken pox, and underwent a tonsillectomy at age six and removal of a congenital cyst of his upper jaw at age 12 or 13.
Again somewhat conflicting accounts exist as to his early social development. He was viewed as a bright child and was described by his mother as not being particularly comfortable around other children and displaying fears of people and buildings. She noted that he played beside other children rather than with them. Her concern about him apparently led her to consider enrolling him in a study being conducted by Bruno Betleheim regarding autistic children. No detailed information is available about this, but Wanda Kaczynski indicated that she did not pursue that opportunity. Instead, she utilized advice published by Dr. Spock in attempting to rear her son.
Mr. Kaczynski describes his early childhood as relatively uneventful, until the age of eight or nine. He described memories of early play with other children, although he too recounts being somewhat fearful of people and describes himself as socially reserved. He recounts a few significant episodes in his early life referencing the hospitalization mentioned above, being scalded by boiling water, and falling and cutting his tongue. Mr. Kaczynski denies any history of physical abuse in his family. He does admit to receiving occasional spankings, but felt that this was not excessive or cruel. He does specifically describe extreme verbal and emotional abuse during his upbringing, although he did not identify this as a problem until he was in his 20s.
The family initially lived in a working class neighborhood in Chicago and Mr. Kaczynski described the family as having middle class aspirations but living only one step above the slums. He remembers his mother focusing on his dialect, encouraging him not to talk like the kids in the street, and responds that he complied by speaking one way at home and another way when interacting with the other children.
By the age of eight or nine, Mr. Kaczynski describes that he was no longer well accepted by the neighborhood children or his peers at school. The neighborhood children "bordered on delinquency" by his account, and he was not willing or interested in being involved in their activities. The family moved several times, bettering their housing status, eventually moving to Evergreen Park, Illinois, when he was approximately age 10. He describes this as a middle class suburb of Chicago.
Mr. Kaczynski attended kindergarten and grades one through four at Sherman Elementary school in Chicago. He attended fifth through eighth grade at Evergreen Park Central school. As the result of testing conducted in the fifth grade, it was determined that he could skip the sixth grade and enroll with the seventh grade class. According to various accounts, testing showed him to have a high IQ and, by his account, his parents were told he was a genius. He claims that his IQ was in the 160 to 170 range. Testing supposedly conducted at that time has not been made available for review. Mr. Kaczynski described this skipping a grade as a pivotal event in his life. He remembers not fitting in with the older children and being the subject of considerable verbal abuse and teasing from them. He did not describe having any close friends during that period of time.
He attended high school at Evergreen Park Community High School. He
did well overall from an academic standpoint but reports some
difficulty with math in his sophomore year. He was subsequently
placed in a more advanced math class and mastered the material,
then skipped the 11th grade. As the result, he completed his high
school education two years early, although this did require him to
take a summer school course in English. During the latter years of
high school he was encouraged to apply to Harvard, and was
subsequently accepted as a student, beginning in the fall of 1958.
He was 16 years old at the time.
Mr. Kaczynski completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics,
graduating in June 1962, at the age of 20. He began his first year
of graduate study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the
fall of 1962. He completed his Masters and Ph.D., by the age of
2 5 . Following graduation, he accepted a position as assistant
professor in the Math Department at the University of California at
Berkeley, and remained in that position from September 1967 until
June 1969.
During his high school years, Mr. Kaczynski was not involved in
many activities. He did play the trombone and speaks with pride
about the lessons he took from a well known trombone instructor. He
denies any involvement in sports or interest in group activities.
After starting college, he was hospitalized briefly and diagnosed
as suffering from infectious mononucleosis. He recovered without
significant sequelae.
Mr. Kaczynski describes being happy with the birth of his younger
brother, and he and family report a relatively strong relationship
between the boys (when age differences were taken into
consideration), throughout Mr. Kaczynski's school years.
Mr. Kaczynski's employment history is somewhat limited and consists of
a variety of jobs held for relatively short periods. In the
summer before college, he was involved in part time activities in
maintenance and repair at a local elementary school. The summer after
his freshman year of college, he worked at a spice packing plant.
During graduate school in Michigan, he worked as a teaching fellow
for approximately three of the five years. As noted, he then
accepted an assistant professor position in the Math Department at
Berkeley. Following resignation from that position, he returned to
live with his parents in Lombard, Illinois, and began looking for
land, where he could establish a more isolated existence. In 1969
he had some temporary employment at warehouse jobs and factories
while looking for the land. From 1971 until the time of his
arrest, he was for the most part unemployed and living off the
land, with some limited financial support from his family.
Intermittently, he worked to obtain needed money, which included
employment in the fall of 1972 and spring of 1973 in masonry and
groundskeeping jobs. In 1978 and 1979, he worked a few months at
a foam cutting company in Lombard, Illinois, where his father and
brother were employed. He was fired from that job after
inappropriate behavior towards the female manager and subsequently
worked briefly at the Prince Castle Restaurant & Equipment Company.
Mr. Kaczynski had no periods of service in the military and
indicated he was deferred from the draft due to his status as a
student and later as a teacher.
Prior to his current legal situation, Mr. Kaczynski has had no
significant criminal record of arrests or incarceration. He did
receive a traffic ticket for passing a stopped school bus about 25
years ago. This required him to appear at the Justice of the Peace
Court to resolve the ticket. No attorney representation was
involved, he pled guilty, and paid a fine of $30. He has never
retained an attorney for any other reasons. He has never served as
a juror nor been a plaintiff in a legal action.
Mr. Kaczynski denies any significant history of substance use or
abuse, including alcohol or nicotine. This is confirmed by other
sources of collateral information.
Mr. Kaczynski describes no religious affiliation [text redacted].
Since living on his own, he has not affiliated with any religion.
[text redacted]
Mr. Kaczynski has no history of inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations or ongoing treatment. He does have a history of brief contacts with mental health systems in various places. Although he had interactions with guidance counselors around academic issues in junior high and high school, it appears he was not involved in any type of counseling. As referenced earlier, he underwent a battery of psychological testing in the fifth grade, the results of which initiated the decision for him to be advanced academically ahead of his peer group. After entering Harvard, he voluntarily became involved a psychological study of young men. He underwent some psychological testing and completed a written
autobiography at that time. Results from that study will be discussed in the psychological testing portion of this report.
While at the University of Michigan he sought psychiatric contact
on one occasion at the start of his fifth year of study. As
referenced above, he had been experiencing several weeks of intense
and persistent sexual excitement involving fantasies of being a
female. During that time period he became convinced that he should
undergo sex change surgery. He recounts that he was aware that
this would require a psychiatric referral, and he set up an
appointment at the Health Center at the University to discuss this
issue. He describes that while waiting in the waiting room, he
became anxious and humiliated over the prospect of talking about
this to the doctor. When he was actually seen, he did not discuss
these concerns, but rather claimed he was feeling some depression
and anxiety over the possibility that the deferment status would be
dropped for students and teachers, and that he would face the
possibility of being drafted into the military. He indicates that
the psychiatrist viewed his anxiety and depression as not atypical.
Mr. Kaczynski describes leaving the office and feeling rage, shame,
and humiliation over this attempt to seek evaluation. He
references this as significant turning point in his life.
Beginning in the spring of 1988, Mr. Kaczynski made several
contacts with mental health systems around the issue of
establishing relationships with women. He indicates that in 1988
he was suffering from insomnia and a renewed interest in getting
advice and moral support to establish a relationship with a woman.
He describes picking a psychologist's name out of the phone book
and writing her a letter about his interest. He indicates that his
decision to seek this type of counseling resulted after having a
dream about a young woman. Upon awakening he had the idea that
perhaps at age 45 it was not too late for him to establish a
relationship, and at that point he thought of leaving his isolated
life in Montana and finding a job and a female for himself. As
noted, he sent a detailed letter to the therapist and saw her once.
He had a positive experience in the session and subsequently sought
employment. He states that during the session the therapist,
Elizabeth Gilbertson, had mentioned the thought of her arranging a
meeting with him and some of her female clients. He subsequently
wrote her a letter with the hopes of reminding her to do so, but
she did not pick up on his implied message. He also came to the
realization that he could not afford to see her regularly, although
he could have afforded one more visit. Subsequent to that session,
he wrote to the Mental Health Center in Helena, requesting that he
be assigned a therapist or counselor with whom he could correspond
by mail. Mr. Kaczynski indicates that this could not be worked out
and he remained depressed for the next several months. Although
the depression lightened eventually, it remained there to some
degree until 1994.
In 1991 Mr. Kaczynski contacted a local general practitioner, Dr.
Glen Wielenga, in Lincoln, concerning insomnia. Mr. Kaczynski
indicates the doctor suspected he was depressed, but he was
somewhat dissatisfied with Dr. Wielenga's assessment. Dr. Wielenga
did prescribe Trazadone at a dose of 50mg. at bedtime. Mr.
Kaczynski took it for three days. It made him sleep, but he
experienced daytime drowsiness and gas from it, and discontinued
the medication. He subsequently wrote to the Mental Health Center
in Great Falls, asking for recommendation of a few people he could
contact in regard to finding a psychiatrist, but did not follow
through and his insomnia remitted without treatment.
Records indicate that Mr. Kaczynski saw Dr. Gilbertson as noted
above. He also made contact via letter to Dr. Melnick, a
psychiatrist in Missouri . He was subsequently unable to afford her
fees.
Around this same time, in the spring of 1991, he set up an
appointment with Carolyn Goren, M.D., in Missoula, Montana. He
sought evaluation and treatment for symptoms of palpitations and
stress. Prior to his visit, he sent Dr. Goren a letter outlining
his concerns. He was seen on 04/29/91, and subsequently had one
follow up visit some months later. After his initial visit, Mr.
Kaczynski continued to monitor his blood pressure, which remained
within normal limits, and provided these values to Dr. Goren on a
semi annual basis for several years. No significant cardiac
problems were identified during his evaluation time. Collateral
information also supports that Mr. Kaczynski sent a letter to the
Director of the Golden Triangle Community Mental Health Center in
October 1993 concerning his problem of insomnia and asking for
location of a suitable psychiatrist that he could see on a reduced
fee. There was no follow through with an appointment. Mr.
Kaczynski had no other mental health contacts prior to the period
after his arrest on the current charges. [text redacted].
Following his visit to Dr. Goren and his belief that perhaps the
potential of an ongoing relationship existed with her, he made the
decision to acquire a more conventional career. He decided to
attend school at the undergraduate level to obtain a degree in
journalism. He corresponded with the University of Montana and
subsequently was required to take the Graduate Record Exam. Even
after he determined that there was not a possibility of an actual
relationship with Dr. Goren, he took the exam anyway and reportedly
scored quite well. He never matriculated to the University.
In reviewing available background information on Mr. Kaczynski's
life, it was useful to review his two lengthy autobiographical
documents. At the time he went to Harvard and became involved in
a psychological study of students there, he was asked to write the
first autobiography. He completed this in one or two days, in
1959. Twenty years later, over a period of several months, he
wrote a 216 page autobiography of his life.
In the autobiography in 1959, Mr. Kaczynski describes an uneventful
early childhood, and indicates that he was somewhat rebellious
towards his parents, who were quite lenient with him. He describes
his relationship with his parents as quite affectionate and denies
any involvement in delinquent behavior. He notes the testing that
occurred in fifth grade and the impact on his life of skimping the
sixth grade. Despite that, he claims that he did establish a few
friendships in junior high. [text redacted]. In addition to playing the trombone in the school band for a few years, he also collected coins. He
denies any dating during junior high or high school. Upon entering
Harvard, he was struck with the realization that he was no longer
smarter than all the other students. Nonetheless, he did above
average work, excelling in math. Later, he notes that during the
last few years, his relationship with his parents had deteriorated
and often resulted in arguments. He describes his mother as having
an "artist's temperament" and indicates he respected her more than
his father. He describes his father as an extrovert, who had a
number of community interests. At the end of the autobiography, he
lists a variety of information that he "forgot to include." Of
note, he references quarreling a lot with his brother, but
generally having a friendly relationship, although he viewed
himself as being superior in intellect and in strength of will. He
noted he enjoyed building structures out of wooden blocks and
playing with his chemistry set. He references one friend, whom he
describes as a "rather dull fellow with average intelligence and not too interesting." He viewed himself as being collectively regarded as a shy, hard working student.
The autobiographical notes completed in 1979 provided a much more
detailed account of Mr. Kaczynski's view of his history. This is
divided into various age periods and separated into the periods
zero through age nine; age 10 to 15; age 16 to 20; age 20 to 24;
age 24 to 27; and then from age 27 on (to age 37). The original
copy is handwritten.
It is of note that after leaving his job at the University of
California at Berkeley, Mr. Kaczynski spent approximately two years
attempting to locate a piece of wilderness land upon which he could
live, isolated from society. In 1971 he succeeded in building a
small cabin on a piece of land that he purchased in conjunction
with his brother, in Lincoln, Montana. From 1971 until his arrest
on 04/03/96, Mr. Kaczynski's primary residence was HCR 30, Box 27,
Lincoln, Montana 59630. The cabin was situated a short distance
off a road, but the approximately one and one-half acre of land
provided him solitude and ready access to wilderness area.
Although he had neighbors in the vicinity, he was able to maintain
minimal contact with them if he so chose. During that time period,
he made an effort to live off the land and over a period of years,
developed increased sophistication with identification of edible
plants, gardening, food preservation, hunting, and game
preservation, and developed some necessary skills in the area of
tool making and sewing. The cabin was not equipped with any
plumbing and his water supply was provided by a creek located near
the cabin. He did not have any electricity at the house although
hook up was available nearby. During the early years of his
residence there, he had a car and subsequently for a short time a
pick up truck. After that, he maintained a bicycle for
transportation or walked into town, where he had access to public
transportation. The cabin was located approximately four miles
outside of Lincoln. Mr. Kaczynski remained there, except for
several short periods where he traveled and sought employment to
earn some money. He was provided with a minimal stipend from his
parents throughout this time period and used the money he had
originally earned at Berkeley and other intermittent jobs to
support himself - He estimated that it generally cost him less that
$400 a year to live, after he became established in his routine.
In June 1969, after leaving his job a Berkeley, Mr. Kaczynski moved
to Lombard, Illinois to stay with his parents. That summer he and
David traveled to Canada, looking for a piece of wilderness land
for Mr. Kaczynski to buy. He applied for permission to purchase
land in British Columbia. During that time, David was enrolled at
Columbia University. Following his graduation in 1970, David moved
to Great Falls, Montana. Throughout the summer of 1970, Mr.
Kaczynski continued to look for wilderness land in Alaska and
subsequently learned that his application for land in Canada was
denied. He had a short period of employment for a few months at
the end of 1970 with Abbot Consultants in Elmherst, Illinois. In
the summer of 1971 he purchased his land in Lincoln, where he built
his cabin with minimal assistance from his brother. During the
period of late 1972 until December 1973, Mr. Kaczynski worked at a
variety of jobs in Chicago and Salt Lake City, Utah. He returned
to his cabin in Montana in June 1973. In September 1974, for two
to three weeks, he worked at a gas station in Montana, earning a
few hundred dollars. In January 1975 he traveled to Oakland,
California, and returned to his cabin in March. In May 1978 he
returned to Chicago in search of work and obtained employment at
Foam Cutting Engineers, where his father and brother were employed.
He continued in that job for about a month, until he was fired. He
was subsequently employed by Prince Castle from September 1978
until March 1979. After quitting his job at Prince Castle, he
lived with his parents in Lombard, Illinois and in the early summer
of 1979 returned to his cabin in Montana. He remained there until
mid 1980, when he traveled to Canada, again in search of wilderness
land. Upon his return and with his lack of success in finding
wilderness, he settled into his cabin where he remained in
residence until the time of this arrest on the current charges.
While residing in his cabin, he would regularly travel to town for
supplies, go to the Post Office, and use the Library. Periodically
he would travel beyond Lincoln. This was usually accomplished by
bus.
Sometime in the 1980s, Mr. Kaczynski decided to study Spanish. He
claims he acquired an old Berlitz Spanish instruction book for a
few dollars and used that as the basis for his studies. His
writings show that he practiced his Spanish by doing translations
and corresponded with an Hispanic, [text redacted] to assist in
practicing the language. Review of information from his cabin
shows that he also translated material that he viewed to be more
sensitive into Spanish in his journals.
Over the time period from 1969 until his arrest, Mr. Kaczynski
recorded many of his thoughts, ideas, and activities in writing and
maintained these writings in his cabin. He also maintained
correspondence with his family over a number of years and saved
much of that correspondence. Review of these extensive writings
provides a narrative and his own analysis of his life and
behaviors.
The following information is a composite of that obtained through
review of the extensive writings completed by Mr. Kaczynski.
Throughout his writings and conversations, he focuses on the fact
that he was moved from the fifth to seventh grade. He identifies
this as the cause of his lack of development of social skills, a
problem that continues with him to the present. Between the
seventh and 12th grade, he perceived "a gradual increasing amount
of hostility I had to face from the other kids. By the time I left
high school, I was definitely regarded as a freak by a large
segment of the student body." He describes a number of incidents
in his junior high and high school years, including a discussion of
making a small pipe bomb in chemistry, which gained him some
notoriety. He described himself as having frustrated resentment
towards school, parents, and the student body" which often was
given outlet through snotty behavior in the classroom which often
took a sarcastic or crudely humorous turn."
[text redacted] He admits that he was "probably a very difficult
teenager to live with" and that his parents "were in some respect
generous and unselfish." He describes developing a "system of
morality that evolved into an abstract artificial construction that
could not possibly be applied in practice" but never telling
anybody about this system because he knew they would never take it
seriously. At the same time, he describes looking for a way to
justify hating people. At times in his writings, he focuses, in an
extraordinary amount of detail, on passing or short lived
relationships or potential relationships with females. This is illustrated by his discussion of his relationship with [text redacted]
when he was 10, [text redacted] when he was 16, [text redacted] when he was 17, [text redacted] when he was 32, "Ms. Z" when he was in graduate school, and [text redacted] when he was 36.
Mr. Kaczynski writes about his experiences at Harvard and in
essence describes a very isolated existence, with only infrequent
interactions with other students. It was not until his sophomore
year that he made a few brief friendships, but due to circumstances
they did not persist. As noted, in his sophomore year he
participated in a research Study at Harvard, conducted by Professor
Murray, which looked at the psychological functioning of young men
at Harvard.
Mr. Kaczynski claimed in his writing, that during his college years
he had fantasies of living a primitive life and fantasized himself
as an agitator, rousing mobs to frenzies of revolutionary
violence. He claims that during that time he started to think
about breaking away from normal society. He describes that
beginning in college he began to worry about his health in
particular ways, always having a fear-that a symptom could result
in something serious. He also claims that during high school and
college he would often become terribly angry and because he could
not express that anger or hatred openly "I would therefore indulge
in fantasies of revenge. However, I never attempted to put any such
fantasies into effect because I was too strongly
conditioned ... against any defiance of authority. To be more
precise, I could not have committed a crime of revenge even a
relatively minor crime because of my f ear of being caught and
punished was all out of proportion to the actual danger of being
caught." He describes that as a result, he had little comfort from
his fantasies of revenge. He describes a vivid memory of a
nightmare in his senior year at Harvard wherein he saw his trombone
teacher standing in a room looking like a noble old man, he then
saw a mist and heard angels, and when the mist cleared the teacher
had been transformed into a bent, senile, old wreck. He describes
at length his inability to figure out whether or not he was
attractive to women and references a passing comment of a friend of
his family's at the age of 15, that made him believe he was quite
attractive.
During the time period after leaving Harvard, he began to study
information about wild edible plants, and began to fear the
possibility of being drafted. He spent some time hiking and
learning about the wilderness.
Upon completion of his work at Harvard, Mr. Kaczynski chose to go
to the University of Michigan because it was the only one of the
three graduate schools to which he had applied that provided him
with a teaching fellowship. He found the teaching---experience
difficult and the quality of the program not to his liking. He
became involved in some research and succeeded in publishing
several papers concerning mathematical theory and problem solving.
He describes his work at Michigan as being viewed as exceptional by
the instructors. Nonetheless, he also describes having virtually no
social life there.
It was during that period of time that he was staying at a rooming
house, managed by a graduate student, [text redacted]. He began to
experience difficulty with the noise from the other rooms,
particularly the sounds resulting from sexual activity of other
renters. He reported the noises he heard in the house to the
University System, with the hope that action would be taken against Mr.
[text redacted]. He describes three experiences where he perceived he
overheard the landlord providing negative information about him
which subsequently resulted in a negative outcome. The first
involved an Engineering student by the name of [text redacted], who was coming over to get help with math problems. Although Mr. Kaczynski
couldn't clearly hear a conversation, he eventually heard a
statement by [text redacted] indicating that he had "only come to get help with math. He perceived that Mr. [text redacted] must have said something negative to [text redacted] about him. On the second occasion, he had given an individual information about rooms to rent at the house where he was residing. Again, he heard a voice which he thought belonged to the individual he had spoken with, but he never came up to see him, and the next time he saw him, he was snubbed by him. On the third occasion, he had received a letter from his mother referencing that the daughter of some of their friends was interested in the woods
and might like to look him up; they had given her his address.
Subsequently, several weeks later he thought he overheard a woman's
voice in the foyer area of the house and Mr. [text redacted] say "oh hi [text redacted]" and then he said something negative about him, and the woman left without ever visiting him.
[text redacted]
He writes, "During my years at Michigan I occasionally began having
dreams of a type that I continued to have occasionally over a
period of several years. In the dream I would f eel either that
organized society was hounding me with accusation in some way, or
that organized society was trying in Some way to capture my mind
and tie me down psychologically or both. In the most typical form
some psychologist or psychologists (often in association with
parents or other minions of the system) would either be trying to
convince me that I was "sick" or would be trying to control my mind
through psychological techniques. I would be on the dodge, trying
to escape or avoid the psychologist either physically or in other
ways. But I would grow angrier and finally I would break out in
physical violence against the psychologist and his allies. At the
moment when I broke out into violence and killed the psychologist
or other such figure, I experienced a great feeling of relief and
liberation. Unfortunately, however, the people I killed usually
would spring back to life again very quickly. They just wouldn't
stay dead. I would awake with a pleasurable sense of liberation at
having broken into violence, but at the same time with some
frustration at the fact that my victims would not stay dead.
However, in the course of some dreams, by making a strong effort of
will in my sleep, I was able to make my victims stay dead. I think
that, as the years went by, the frequency with which I was able to
make my victims stay dead through exertion of will increased." In
the same period of time he experienced low morale and mood.
In the summer after his fourth year, he describes experiencing a
period of several weeks where he was sexually excited nearly all
the time and was fantasizing himself as a woman and being unable to
obtain any sexual relief. He decided to make an effort to have a
sex change operation. When he returned to the University of
Michigan he made an appointment to see a psychiatrist to be
examined to determine if the sex change would be good for him. He
claimed that by putting on an act he could con the psychiatrist
into thinking him suitable for a feminine role even though his
motive was exclusively erotic. As he was sitting in the waiting
room, he turned completely against the idea of the operation and
thus, when he saw the doctor, instead claimed he was depressed
about the possibility of being drafted. He describes the
following: As I walked away from the building afterwards, I felt
disgusted about what my uncontrolled sexual cravings had almost led
me to do and I felt - humiliated, and I violently hated the
psychiatrist. Just then there came a major turning point in my
life. Like a Phoenix, I burst from the ashes of my despair to a
glorious new hope. I thought I wanted to kill that psychiatrist
because the future looked utterly empty to me. I felt I wouldn't
care if I died. And so I said to myself why not really kill the
psychiatrist and anyone else whom I hate. What is important is not
the words that ran through my mind but the way I felt about them.
What was entirely new was the fact that I really felt I could kill
someone. My very hopelessness had liberated me because I no longer
cared about death. I no longer cared about consequences and I said
to myself that I really could break out of my rut in life and do
things that were daring, irresponsible or criminal. He describes
his first thought was to kill someone he hated and then kill
himself, but decided he could not relinquish his rights so easily.
At that point he decided: I will kill but I will make at least some
effort to avoid detection so that I can kill again.,, He decided
that he would do what he always wanted to do, to go to Canada to
take off in the woods with a rifle and try to live off the country.
"If it doesn't work and if I can get back to civilization before I
starve then I will come back here and kill someone I hate. 11 In his
writings he emphasized what he knew was the fact that he now felt
he had the courage to behave irresponsibly.
Mr. Kaczynski describes in his writing and on interview, that these
thoughts went through his mind in the time it took to walk about
one block. This new understanding persisted from that point on in
his life. He developed a plan to complete his degree and to work
for two years, so as to save enough money to live in the
wilderness. As already noted, this plan was accomplished through
teaching for two years in Berkeley and subsequently locating land
and building his cabin in Montana. During that time period he
writes that he would have to discipline himself to avoid reading
newspapers except occasionally because if 'I read papers regularly
I would build up too much tense and frustrated anger against
Politicians, dictators, businessmen, scientists, communists, and
others in the world who were doing things that endangered me or
changed the world in ways I resented.?'
In the early 1970s Mr. Kaczynski wrote an essay summarizing some of
his ideas and made an effort to circulate it to others who might
share them. He received no responses. In essence, the essay
outlined his response to a book written by Jacques Ellul called
"The Technological Society." In correspondence to Professor Ellul,
he describes reading the book at least six times. He discussed both
that and ideas put forth in another book "Autopsy for Revolution. if
In his own essay, Mr. Kaczynski presented his ideas that the
continued scientific and technical progress within society would
inevitably result in the extinction of individual liberty. He
describes that the power of society to control the individual was
rapidly expanding and references issues such as propaganda,
educational guiding of children's emotional development, operant
conditioning, direct physical control of emotions via electrodes
and "chemitrodes," biofeedback training, memory pills and other
drugs, genetic engineering, development of super human computers
with intellectual capacities beyond anything humans are capable of,
and electronic devices for surveillance. His proposal was to found
an organization dedicated to stopping federal aid to scientific
research, to prevent the inevitable outcome of the "ceaseless
extension of society's powers."
He wrote in his journal about him not fitting into organized
society and not wanting to fit into it, and seeking avenues of
escape from it. In his words in the early 1970s, he wrote "True I
would not fit into the present society in any case but that is not
an intolerable situation. What makes a situation intolerable is the
fact that in all probability, the values that I detest, will soon
be achieved through science, an utterly complete and permanent
victory throughout the whole world, with a total extrication of
everything I value. Through super human computers and mind control
there simply will be no place for a rebellious person to hide and
my kind of people will vanish forever from the earth. It's not
merely the fact that I cannot fit into society that has induced me
to rebel, as violently as I have, it is the fact that I can see
society made possible by science inexorably imposing on-me."
Near the end of his autobiography in 1979, Mr. Kaczynski describes
his motives for writing, to include that he intended to start
killing people and that when caught, he was concerned people would
perceive him to be a "sickie." His writings were an effort to
prevent the facts of his psychology from being misrepresented. He
also describes some type of relief, sexual or otherwise, he obtains
by writing. He describes his sources of hatred as his perceived
social rejection and the "fact that organized society frustrates my
very powerful urge for physical freedom and personal autonomy." He
also describes experiencing anger from other sources and then
turning his hatred towards organized society.
Mother continued description of Mr. Kaczynski's history and
development is provided by a reading of the extensive
correspondence with his family. After determining that a major
cause of his frustration and discomfort in life was the
psychological abuse by his parents, he carried on an very
ambivalent relationship with them as evident through his letters.
These show a wide range of affect and are often degrading,
controlling, and yet at the same time continue over a number of
years. He persistently seeks apologies from his parents for what
they have done to him, but no type of apology they offer satisfies
him or is viewed as sincere or acceptable. The relationship with
his brother David, is also clearly outlined. Interspersed in the
correspondence are letters to various local and national government
agencies regarding requests for information about radiation,
parasitic infections, sonic booms, etc.
Mr. Kaczynski's mother, Wanda, and his brother, David, were
interviewed together during the evaluation. They were allowed ample
time to provide any information that they believed might be
pertinent about Mr. Kaczynski's life prior to arrest. Evident was
a sense of guilt on David's part, for feeling compelled to assist
in having his brother arrested. Wanda Kaczynski clearly was
experiencing significant distress as she tried to develop an
understanding of what had happened with her son over the years.
Both of them provided a significant amount of detail about various
instances and events in Mr. Kaczynski's life. His mother identified
her amazement that "out of the blue" Mr. Kaczynski would express
extreme anger and go into excessive detail about relatively minor
events. She used an example where she had yelled at both sons
about their need to put dirty socks in a hamper. Twenty years later
she received a letter from Mr. Kaczynski in which he scolded and
demeaned her for not understanding that it was normal for
adolescents to have sloppy rooms. Both Wanda and David Kaczynski
recounted several periods of acute withdrawal by Mr. Kaczynski. The
initial incident occurred on the plane, when Mr. Kaczynski and his
father were returning from a visit to Harvard. Apparently he was
angry and withdrawn and refused to talk. A second episode occurred
while David and Mr. Kaczynski were on a trip, hiking in the woods.
Mr. Kaczynski apparently sat down on a log, and by David's account,
was essentially nonresponsive for several hours. After that period
of time he seemed to resume normal activity. The third episode
occurred when his parents were visiting in Montana, at David's
apartment. Apparently Mr. Kaczynski experienced that episode in the
living room and remained unresponsive throughout the late afternoon
and evening hours. It is notable that the family may not have
perceived this as particularly unusual at the time, in that they
all went to bed without resolution of the situation. It was evident
during my interview with them, that they have a tremendous need to
to understand the events that have happened, and in that light
present material in a somewhat conclusary fashion. Nonetheless,
they were able to provide additional detail about a variety of
events Mr. Kaczynski had written about in his journals or had
discussed on interview.
Collateral information indicates that over an extended period of
time, ranging from the early 1970s, Mr. Kaczynski is alleged to
have been involved in a variety of acts of vandalism and violence.
A description of those events provides a complimenting view of the
history described in his autobiography and journals. His writings
obtained in the cabin also include detailed accounts of the
activities alleged to have occurred. The materials are voluminous,
organized, and some of them are in Spanish or coded with a
complicated code allegedly developed by Mr. Kaczynski. After
solidification of his ideas in the fall of 1966, it appears that he
organized his life and behavior around his belief system. He
reacted against individuals in the area by ruining equipment,
stealing things, or attempting to harm individuals through use of
wires and traps. His writings describe him thinking seriously
about and planning to murder a scientist in 1971. During the later
1970s, he began experimenting to create explosive devices that
could succeed in killing individuals. He also describes thoughts of
harming people whom he felt had humiliated him. Specific examples
of this described in collateral information and during interviews,
include his plans to mutilate the face of [text didacted], after
he felt she degraded him by her lack of interest in a continuing
romantic relationship.
His writings show him to be associated with placing a bomb at the
University of Illinois in May 1978 which partially exploded. It is
alleged that in May 1979 he placed a bomb contained in a cigar box
which exploded when John Harris, a student at Northwestern
University, opened it. It is alleged that in November 1979 he
succeeded in getting a bomb aboard American Airlines Flight 444
from Chicago; the bomb exploded en route, causing an emergency
landing. It is alleged that in June 1980 he mailed a bomb to Percy
Wood, which exploded causing injury. It is alleged that in October
1981 he placed a bomb at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City,
which detonated without injury. It is alleged that in May 1982 he
sent a bomb to Professor Patrick C. Fischer at Vanderbilt, which
was opened by his secretary, Janet Smith, causing serious injuries.
It is alleged that in July 1982 he placed a bomb that exploded when
it was moved by Professor Diogenes Angelakos, Director of Research
at the University of California at Berkeley. It is alleged that in
June 1985 he mailed a bomb to Boeing, which was detonated without
in injury. It is alleged that in May 1985 he placed a bomb at the
University of California at Berkeley which resulted in John Hauser
being seriously injured. It is alleged that in November 1985 he
mailed a bomb from Salt Lake City to Dr. James McConnell, who
along with his assistant were injured. It is alleged that in
February 1987 he placed a bomb disguised as a road hazard at CAAMS,
Inc., in Salt Lake City which exploded and injured an employee. It
is alleged that in December 1994 he mailed a bomb from San
Francisco that exploded and killed Thomas Mosser in North Caldwell,
New Jersey. It is also alleged that he mailed a variety of
correspondence to individuals and newspapers describing the
activities as perpetrated by an anarchist group called FC (Freedom
Club). It is alleged that he mailed correspondence to several
individuals and newspapers to outline demands to have the
documented entitled Industrial Society and Its Future" published.
In regard to his current offenses, he is charged With mailing a
bomb to Rentech Computer Company which exploded on 12/11/85,
killing Hugh Scrutton. He is also charged with seriously injuring
Charles Epstein a geneticist at the University of California and
Professor David Gelernter, a professor of Computer Sciences at Yale
in New Haven, Connecticut by bombs which exploded respectively on
06/22/93 and 06/24/93. He is charged with the death of Gilbert B.
Murray, as the result of a bomb mailed to him which exploded in
Sacramento, California. Extensive information regarding the nature
of the bombs and intended use of the bombs was available from the
writings of Mr. Kaczynski.
Mr. Kaczynski was arrested on 04/03/96 at his cabin in Montana. He
was detained while the cabin was searched and was subsequently
transported to a jail facility in Montana. Thereafter he was
transferred to Sacramento County Jail in Sacramento, California.
In regard to his legal representation post arrest, it is noted that
at the time of his arrest Mr. Kaczynski inquired about the process
of obtaining a Federal Defender as his attorney. He was
subsequently represented by Michael Donohoe until he was moved to
Sacramento. At that time a defense team consisting of Quin Denvir,
Judy Clarke, and Gary Soward was established to represent him on
the charges discussed above. For a several month period in the
fall of 1997, he was moved from the Sacramento County Jail to FCI
in Dublin, California due to his difficulty adapting to the noise
of the jail in Sacramento. He was returned to Sacramento prior to
trial so as to have closer access to his attorneys.
Prior to this evaluation, a number of other defense and prosecution
retained clinicians had the opportunity to either interview Mr.
Kaczynski, review his writings, or administer testing, and their
declarations were made available. Data reviewed included copies of
neuropsychological testing conducted by David Watkins, Ph.D, Karen
Froming, Ph.D., and Ruben Gur, Ph.D.; a Summary of Neuropsychiatric
Evaluation of Theodore Kaczynski dated 11/15/97, prepared by Raquel
Gur, M.E)., Ph.D., and Ruben C. Gur, Ph.D.; and a listing of the
names, addresses, and phone numbers of the defense and prosecution
retained experts. As noted, the examiner had the opportunity to
speak by phone with several of these clinicians.
Shortly after Mr. Kaczynski's arrest while still housed in Montana,
Dale war-son, Ph.D., administered a battery of psychological tests
to Mr. Kaczynski. No report of his findings is available, but the
rest results were interpreted and expanded upon by two other
defense experts, Ruben Gur, Ph.D., and Karen Froming, Ph.D. On
06,1-1-5/96 and 06/16/96, Mr. Kaczynski was interviewed by Raquel Gur,
M.D., Ph.D., and neuropsychological testing was conducted by Ruben
Gur- It was Dr. Raquel Gur's impression that Mr. Kaczynski met the
diagnostic criteria for Schizophrenia, Paranoid Type, and Dr. Ruben
Gur's impression that the testing was not inconsistent with this.
After sharing their opinions with Mr. Kaczynski, he refused to talk
with them further and expressed his wish for his defense attorney
to avoid further use of their services or bringing their findings
to light.
Dr. Froming also interviewed Mr. Kaczynski in February 1997 and
complete additional neuropsychological testing. She also reviewed
previous testing done after he entered Harvard. Phone interview
revealed that Mr. Kaczynski also had been administered the TAT
(Thematic Apperception Test) during that period, but it had never
been scored. She scored it and indicated that the themes he
presented throughout the test consisted of people being dominated
by others, that his responses showed no personal interactions
through any of the cards, and showed a complete absence of
affiliation. She opined that Mr. Kaczynski was suffering from
Paranoid Schizophrenia. She indicated that Mr. Kaczynski refused
to talk with her further after she shared her opinion with him.
David Foster, M.D., evaluated Mr. Kaczynski in late 1997 and opined
that Mr. Kaczynski had an aversion to evaluation by psychiatrists
and he suffered from Paranoid Schizophrenia. Mr. Kaczynski refused
to talk with him further after he shared his opinions and was
absent over the Christmas holiday period.
The declaration of Xavier Amador, Ph.D., was also reviewed.
Although he did not see Mr. Kaczynski, he opined that he suffered
from Schizophrenia and claimed Mr. Kaczynski's reluctance to
submit to psychiatric evaluations and treatment were a hallmark of
Schizophrenia.
The prosecution retained experts Phillip Resnick, M.D., and Park
Dietz, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., did not have access to Mr. Kaczynski
for interview, but based on review of erials and interview of
people in the Lincoln, Montana area, they opined that Mr. Kaczynski
would be capable of being evaluated by government psychiatrists and
they saw no evidence that he suffered from delusions. They viewed
his psychiatric problems as falling in the Schizoid or Schizotypal
range of personality disorders. John T. Kenny, Ph.D., critiqued
the neuropsychological testing that had been conducted with Mr.
Kaczynski. He did not view the results to be specific to a
diagnosis of Schizophrenia.
Phone interview of Sherry Woods, a librarian in Lincoln, Montana,
was conducted during this evaluation. She was given an opportunity
to share her observations about Mr. Kaczynski. Ms. Woods described
that she liked Mr. Kaczynski, but she recognized his discomfort
around people and that others would perceive him as different. She
indicated she told new staff about him in order to help accommodate
his differences in support of his continued Library use. She
described him as extremely polite, quite and soft spoken, although
she initially found his appearance as somewhat frightening. She
described his ability to identify with her young child, whom she
indicated shared some of the kinds of problems that Mr. Kaczynski
may have had himself as a child. She noted that he patted her son
on the shoulder twice, which is the only physical contact she ever
saw him display over the 13 years of their acquaintance.
She described Mr. Kaczynski as living a life style consistent with
his beliefs and admired him for that. She enjoyed talking with him
about his beliefs and indicated he had very strong feelings against
government - Although she had the idea that their conversations
never changed his opinions, he patiently listened to her ideas and
made her feel that her thoughts were worthwhile. He would come to
the Library on the average of every week or two, and usually stayed
from one to two hours in the reference room. She would attempt to
read his mood when he entered the Library and so there were times
when it was clear he was willing to talk, and other times when he
wanted to be left alone. He ordered numerous books through the
inter library loan program, including some that she described as
deeply intellectual. He read a wide variety of books and magazines
on birds, wildlife, biographies, and hypnotism. On one occasion
when she had been feeling particularly burdened, he brought to her
attention that he had written a letter to the librarian in Helena,
Montana, and decided he would request his books through her to save work for Ms. Woods.
It was her belief that in the year prior to his arrest, he started
changing and this scared her. She viewed him as more intense and
focused, and less interested in interacting. She believed that
this change was due to his concern for a friend of his who was an
illegal alien and had been hurt on the job and then deported. At
one point he showed her a letter he was writing to some government
official regarding this subject, and she was surprised he gave it
to her. He indicated to her that he was meeting with friends in
Colorado or California to try to help his friend. During that time
period he appeared more withdrawn and would spend two to three
hours at a time "writing like crazy" and then he quit coming into
the Library. She does indicate that over the years, he occasionally
helped around the Library by boxing books, shoveling snow, cleaning
up, or painting. At one point the Library planned an open house
and Mr. Kaczynski came to that function. Ms. Wood indicated that
she did visit Mr. Kaczynski in jail. He has been corresponding
intermittently to her, but she indicates it is actually she who is
trying to maintain the correspondence as a means of support. In the
last several letters prior to Christmas, she perceived that he was
feeling down so she has been writing more often. She believes that
the significance of his situation is all "coming home to roost."
COURSE OF EVALUATION: This Court Ordered evaluation took place
between 01/11/98 and 01/16/98. Medical examination was not
completed by this examiner. Review of his 'records show that Mr.
Kaczynski has undergone physical examination and laboratory studies
both while in custody at FCI Dublin and the at Sacramento County
Jail. Those records were available for review. In summary, Mr.
Kaczynski is a 55 year old, white male, who is 5'911 tall and
weighed 153 pounds as of 09/09/97. Blood pressure was noted to be
130/80 and pulse 54. Outside of a refractive error and slight
bradycardia, physical exam was within normal limits. Review of
medical history indicated no known medication allergies. He had
some history of seasonal allergies to ragweed, a tonsillectomy at
age six, removal of congenital cyst of the upper jaw at age 13,
removal of impacted wisdom teeth at age 22, removal of a benign
skin lesion of the left neck in 1991, and fracture of the left
fifth finger, resolved. He also gave a history of some
palpitations but denied that this was a significant problem now
except when he felt very anxious or stressed. Occasionally he has
suffered from constipation but generally manages this with his
diet. He intermittently suffers from insomnia. He also gave a
history of hemorrhoids. Mr. Kaczynski denies any ongoing chronic
medical problems, although he does indicate that over a period of
approximately five years he monitored his blood pressure. This
showed blood pressure values to be within an acceptable range.
Family medical history is positive for cerebrovascular accident in
his maternal grandmother at the age of 40 [text redacted]. His father was diagnosed as having metastatic lung cancer and prior to his death suffered from Reynauds Syndrome. [text redacted] Mr. Kaczynski is currently on no medications but does take one multivitamin daily and uses ibuprophen for muscle pain secondary to exercise. He wears glasses for reading. He indicated that he generally felt well physically throughout this period of evaluation.
Review of medical records indicates that on 01/07/98, Mr. Kaczynski
attempted suicide by asphyxiation. He used his underwear to fashion
a tourniquet which he used in an attempt to asphyxiate himself - He
suffered an abrasion to the right side of his neck. He describes
getting dizzy and experiencing some dimming of his vision. At that
point, he considered the negative potential outcome of being "brain
damaged" and not succeeding in his suicide attempt and discontinued
his efforts. It has been determined that he did not suffer any
medical sequelae from that attempt. When this incident was
discovered the following day by identification of the abrasion on
his neck, he was moved from his housing status on the second floor
to the eighth floor and placed on suicide watch. He was evaluated
by Sacramento County Jail physicians at that time and diagnosed as
having an Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood secondary to
stress from his legal situation. Other diagnoses were deferred.
Routine laboratory studies conducted following his suicide attempt
were within normal limits, except for an elevated triglyceride
level that was considered to be nonfasting. He remained on suicide
watch until 01/12/98.
Pertinent history in regard to the suicide attempt included the
fact that Mr. Kaczynski had felt frustrated and depressed over the
way his trial was progressing. He had developed conflicts with his
attorneys which he viewed as impossible to resolve. He perceived
that he would not be able to represent himself or obtain alternate
counsel and decided to kill himself instead of proceeding to trial
with a defense strategy that he did not want.
Information provided through the attorneys, Sacramento County Jail
personnel, and the Jail records, indicate that Mr. Kaczynski has,
with the exception of his suicide attempt, been a cooperative and
easy to manage prisoner. His housing has been single cell, with
limited access to exercise, and essentially no contact with other
prisoners. He quickly understood the rules and routines of the jail
setting and demonstrated an awareness of how to access medical care
or intervention for other reasons. As noted, he did report
significant sleep disturbance in the jail, which he attributed to
excessive noise during the night time hours. He verbalizes a need
f or a full eight hours of sleep and it is unclear how accurate that
assessment is. He did discuss the problem with Jail staff and for
a short period of time was given a prescription for Melatonin. He
claims some confusion occurred about dispensing the medication, and
he was given an alternate medications He did not take that
medication, and decided not to pursue medications to aid his sleep
cycle. Mr. Kaczynski reports that once he was moved to FCI Dublin,
his sleep improved. Upon return to the Jail he was housed in a
quieter area and has not had significant problems with insomnia
since that time.
Mr. Kaczynski's mental status exam remained fairly consistent
throughout the week of interviews. Description will be interspersed
with pertinent historical mental status information. Mr. Kaczynski
appeared as a slender build, gray haired, white male, who showed
adequate hygiene and was dressed in orange jail clothing and a T
shirt - He carried his glasses with him and utilized them while
reading and writing during the interviews. He was oriented to
person, date, time, place and situation. He understood the type and
purpose of the evaluation and expressed his intent to cooperate.
Throughout the evaluation he answered questions to the best of his
ability, was able to discuss information, and relate a narrative
without prompting. No abnormality of gait was noted. No
psychomotor retardation was evident. There was no evidence of
tremor, tics or unusual mannerisms. Eye contact was good, although
when asked a question that he perceived as difficult, or one to
which it appeared he was not sure how he should respond, he tended
to look down and avoid further eye contact until his answer was
prepared. During those times, he would also at times clench his
hands together and pat them on the table, and appeared to be
actually in some distress in his efforts to formulate a response.
This only happened on a few occasions throughout the interviews.
Speech was of normal rate and tone.
He did demonstrate some need for excessive explanation and often
focused on details. In addition, the information he initially
supplied in response to questions was frequently given verbatim
from the information available in his voluminous writings. When
pressed to expand on the issue, he presented some minor trouble in
rewording his answer or in expanding or explaining it, but
persisted with the examiner in an effort to accomplish the task.
There was no evidence of the use of neologisms or clang
associations. The volume of his speech was appropriate from a
conversational standpoint and he would identify if he had any
problems hearing a question or conversation above the noise of the
jail. He seemed intent on clearly understanding questions posed to
him. No evidence existed during the exam of any hearing problem.
He showed the capacity to remain in the interview process f or
periods of several hours without demonstrating undue anxiety or
restlessness. On one occasion he did identify to the examiner that
he was nervous during the interview and he had not felt that
experience with other individuals who were interviewing him
regarding mental health issues. This topic was discussed, he was
able to relax, and it did not interfere with progression of the
evaluation.
Mr. Kaczynski denied any current suicidal ideation. He talked
openly about his previous suicidal ideation and attempt on
Wednesday. He admitted that he had felt desperate and could not
perceive a suitable option. He chose to attempt to die instead of
proceed with the trial process. He indicated that the experience
in the attempt, in and of itself, had dissuaded him from further
attempts utilizing that method and he does not anticipate having
access to medication or sharp instruments with which to try suicide
by an alternate means. He does admit that if he becomes suicidal
again, he would not be likely to discuss this with anyone, and
indicated that he did not believe that his efforts were stemming
from depression. He was able to entertain the idea that if he were
to develop suicidal ideation as the result of significant mood
problems, he would be more willing to seek help or intervention.
Mr. Kaczynski denied any current homicidal ideation, although he
admitted to having significant anger towards a number of people.
Evaluation of his affect showed little variation from what would be
expected in this type of evaluation setting. He showed some
anxiety but denied depression now or in recent weeks. He did admit
to moderate feelings of depression early in his period of detention
and discussed several periods of depression throughout his life.
He indicated that he believes in the period between 1978 and 1979
he was experiencing some degree of depression, accompanied by
insomnia. He attributed this to a stressful life situation
including a difficult situation he described on his job. He
indicated that he had started a relationship with a female manager
at the foam cutting plant where he was working with his brother and
father. After three dates that relationship had failed [text didacted].
He remembers contemplating suicide by hanging at that time, then describes that he became full of rage and instead decided to take a knife and mutilate the woman. He proceeded to the parking lot at the work site and got into her car. At that time he changed his mind and again felt very sad. A second period of depression, that he relates was of longer duration, lasting from 1988 to 1994. Again he had intermittent
trouble sleeping and felt that during that time he was under a great degree of stress. He denied any period of depression since that point in time. As noted above, Mr. Kaczynski did seek medical evaluation of insomnia which he believes was related to depression, on one occasion in 1993, and was prescribed Trazadone, but did not continue that prescription. He described his mood since the year prior to his arrest as consistently being about six on a scale of one to 10. He denied any periods of elevated mood and demonstrated none throughout the evaluation period.
Intelligence, as assessed within the interviews, appeared to be
above average. Memory was excellent for immediate, short term, and
long term recall for factual information. Concentration within the
interviews was good. Mathematical ability to add, subtract, and
multiply showed no evidence of problems. Mr. Kaczynski denied ever
experiencing any type of hallucinatory phenomena. He was asked
about auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory,, and tactile
hallucinations, and persistently denied experiencing them now or in
the past. In response to routine review of similarities and
proverbs, he showed an ability for abstract thinking. Thought
processes showed no evidence of looseness of association. Some
tangential thinking was intermittently evident throughout the
interviews. As noted, he had a need to provide excessive detail in
an organized fashion. There was no clear evidence of thought
blocking within the interviews. Despite pauses in his ability to
respond to questions, he did not show loss of his train of thought.
Mr. Kaczynski did return repeatedly to the theme that he had been
severely abused during childhood. On exploration of this issue, he
described the abuse to be severe verbal psychological--abuse. His
perception seemed to be inconsistent with the data he provided to
support his point of view, in that he over valued the negative
impact of very minor statements and rather routine behaviors. He
also demonstrated some suspiciousness and paranoia in the
interviews, in that he continued to anticipate that the interviewer
had a hidden motive or meaning to a question, and during each
session would both verbally and in writing ask for additional
detail and present additional arguments Of Positions or opinions
that he had espoused during a prior session.
Mr. Kaczynski presented a clearly organized belief system that he
was being harassed and harmed by modern technology. He stated that
he believed that the system as it exists is bad and rebellion
against it is justified. He further stated that freedom and
personal dignity have greater importance that comfort and security.
This belief system was explored at length with Mr. Kaczynski and it
was evident that it had developed in his early 20s, during a period
of time when he was feeling particularly isolated. This appear to
stem from his acceptance of a variety of ideas that he had culled
from reading books such as the "Technological Society" referenced
above. It is interesting that he had not only latched onto the
ideas that were presented, but had expanded them to the extreme and
accepted the suggestions and premises, many of which were only
opinions stated by the authors, as if they were fact. He has
subsequently devoted his activities and time in rebellion against
a future as he accepted it would be. In essence, the ideas that he
collected and wrote about in the early 1970s remain the basis for
his current belief system. He f eels compelled to live a life of
extreme isolation and to focus his energy against the aspects of
society that are attempting to control the masses. This includes a
focus on advertising, genetic engineering, computer technology,
business, certain aspects of education, chemical companies, etc. He
expresses philosophical and personal concerns about these issues
and feels personally threatened by the potential advances in these
areas. Included in this is his inability to critically read
newspapers, magazines, and books to determine if statements carry
any actual merit. He tends to collect pieces of literature,
opinions, and comments that support his views and use them as
justification for continuation of his ideas. Mr. Kaczynski has
intertwined his two belief systems, that society is bad and he
should rebel against it, and his intense anger at his family for
his perceived injustices. He talks openly about his ability to
direct his anger from one set of ideas to the other quite fluidly.
Upon extended interview, it was evident that Mr. Kaczynski is
extremely sensitive to even minor criticism and tends to perceive
this, or even an absence of encouragement or positive response from
an individual, as a deliberate attempt at humiliation or
harassment. He also tends to seek support and interaction in
ineffective ways and will frequently write an individual believing
that an innocuous question will provide a hint of the type of
response that he is looking for from the person receiving his
correspondence. Evident also is his inability to identify common
social cues in the environment. Historically, this appears to have
been a problem even before solidification of his ideas in the late
1960s and early 1970s. There is evidence of ideas of reference in
review of Mr. Kaczynski's history over an extended period of time.
Incidents within the environment involving noise or human activity
are perceived by him as personally directed and he responds with
extreme rage and a wish for revenge. As outlined in the body of
this report, historically during certain time periods he has
described examples of what appear to be ideas of reference in his
belief that individuals who are talking at some distance from him,
have him as a topic of their conversation and are speaking
negatively about him, and are impacting in a destructive or hostile
way on his well being.
Despite Mr. Kaczynski's ability for abstract reasoning in response
to proverbs and similarities, he tends to concretely interpret the
statements of individuals. He becomes quite focused on the words of
a comment, to the exclusion of focusing on the actual meaning of
the phrase. Although he demonstrated the capacity to use humor
within the interviews, he could not interpret light comments or
attempt at teasing within the interviews and needed to have an explanation to clarify the meaning of such interactions. When
asked about the basis of his belief system he attempted to provide
excessive supporting evidence. When challenged on the initial
premise, he appeared perplexed and it was evident that he did not
challenge the belief system on his own regardless of existing
evidence.
An interesting behavior within the extended interviews, possibly
related to his intelligence and familiarity with the mental health
evaluation process since he has seen so many evaluators, was his
effort to attempt to guess the correct response to a question by
utilizing information from previous declarations and reports. When
questioned, he attempted to answer in the direction opposite to
what had been stated in the previous evaluation. If questioned
about this, however, he became anxious that his initial plan was in
error and that the interpretation in the previous report was
actually not accurate. He would then become very concerned and
confront the examiner as to why, with the assumption that the
examiner was taking his response to be an affirmative for a
pathological symptom instead of the absence of such. This behavior
did raise some question about the honesty of his self-report in
response to questions about specific symptoms of mental illness.
It does appear that Mr. Kaczynski's investment and convictions
about the outcome of modern technology and the alleged abuse by his
family are consistent with fixed belief in that he does not
challenge them in response to new information. Both of these
systems could be viewed as meeting the criteria of nonbizarre
delusional beliefs. The certainty of this, however, is clouded by
the duration of these beliefs and. the adaptation he -has made by
extreme social isolation.
Mr. Kaczynski adamantly denies any experiences of thought insertion, thought broadcasting, mind control, or command hallucinations. He does describe a variety of fantasies and nightmares, and it is unclear through this evaluation, whether his report of those as occurring only while he is sleeping is accurate. Some of his writings discuss his ability to use his will to control the outcome of these experiences, and raises the question as to whether these are actually hallucinatory experiences rather than dreams and fantasies as he labels them.
Mr. Kaczynski's judgment is viewed as being poor, both from the
basis of review of collateral information and observations within
The interviews. He was unable to modify the presentation of his
responses within the interviews to present information in a less
negative light.
Evident throughout the interviews was marked ambivalence and this
was apparent throughout his writings. He clearly exhibited the
capacity to hold opposite and conflicting feelings toward the same
person or issue, and showed no insight into this. He frequently
expressed both hatred and a wish for revenge and love and affection
for the same individual. He did show the capacity for sadness in
interviews and would frequently tear up when remembering fleeting
relationships he had with individuals. In that regard, it was noted
that he tends to form very rapid intense emotional attachments to
women, but also men. [text didacted]. Historically, he has developed love relationships that were never reciprocated with individuals and maintained them for extended periods of time, idealizing them and at time devaluing them. An example is a relationship he wished he had developed with when he was a young student at Harvard. He was able
to identify that even at the age of 43, he had tracked her down and
written her regarding the details of that relationship, which had
never actually developed. He expressed regret that he had not heard
back from her. He also demonstrated a propensity to focus on
passing comments in regard to his self-image and to utilize those
comments and incorporate them in an unusual way into his thought
processes. An example is referencing a comment made by an older
Italian woman when he was 15, that he was beautiful boy, especially
his eyes. It was not until 1994 at the age of 50, that he further
explored this issue and asked another woman, whom he did not know
well, whether he was physically attractive. He indicated she
responded he was "run of the mill" and at that point in time he no
longer wondered why he had never developed a successful
relationship with a woman. As described, he had grappled with that
issue for more than 30 years because he had been told he was
physically attractive at the age of 15 and he held onto that
belief; so he could never understand why women were not attracted.
Having now been told by another female in 1994 that he was simply
average in looks, it immediately provided him with an explanation
for why he had never established a relationship with a woman.
Mr. Kaczynski was able to demonstrate a very detailed capacity to
handle information, but showed little insight into the nature of
his difficulties or the ways to approach current problem solving.
Although when asked whether he could consider a variety of options,
he would reply "yes," he would persist in demonstrating why he
would not choose to do so, even if the explanation presented was
inconsistent with available information.
Mr. Kaczynski is a prolific writer. There is much repetition in his
writings, which he does not appear fully able to appreciate. He
currently exhibits a preoccupation with a need to negatively
portray his family, and has in the midst of trial preparations,
spent over four months writing an angry accusatory manuscript to
"set the record straight." This consists of a rehashing of all the
perceived injustices and a detailed focus on descriptions of events
and conversations- Again, throughout this document, his ambivalence
is evident. He openly describes his propensity towards anger and
the satisfaction he feels from an act of revenge. He describes
periods of stress in his life that seen related with him focusing
on projects such as writing the Refutation, developing a new
experiment, or dealing with a perceived slight or humiliation.
Coupled with this, he has had numerous periods of dysthymia and
insomnia. He has demonstrated no change in his appetite and no
significant gain or loss of weight. His current sleep cycle appears
adequate.
Review of the issue of competency to stand trial began with a
review of the events that led up to this evaluation. An initial
meeting was held with all of the attorneys involved in this case to
review the status of the proceedings thus far. Subsequently both
the prosecuting and defense attorneys were interviewed separately
to obtain their observations of the defendant and his abilities to
follow courtroom proceedings and assist in his own defense.
Through a supplemental Court Order, the examiner had the
opportunity to review letters (12/18/97 and 01/05/98) and en camera
proceedings regarding hearings that had occurred on 11/21/97
(referenced by the defendant as 11/25/97). Transcripts regarding en
camera hearing on 12/18/97, 12/19/97, 12/22/97, 12/25/97, 01/05/98,
and 01/07/98 were reviewed as well as the public transcripts for
11/21/97, 01/05/98 and 01/07/98.
Mr. Kaczynski was arrested on 04/03/96 and initially was in custody
at the a county jail in Montana. At that time he was represented by
Michael Donohoe, of the Federal Defenders, Office. Mr. Kaczynski
describes forming a quick and close relationship with Mr. Donahoe [text didacted]. He identifies that throughout the several months he was held in Montana, he received a variety of letters through his attorney from
private attorneys indicating an interest in representing him. He
reports that Mr. Donahoe sorted through these letters and brought
a letter from Tony Serra to his attention, as one he might look as
seriously. After reviewing the letter, Mr. Kaczynski deter-mined
that he would continue to utilize Mr. Donoahoe. He believed that
Mr. Donahoe would continue with his case even after he was moved to
Sacramento. As the time approached for that move, Mr. Donahoe told
him that he would not be continuing with his case. This
precipitated an angry response from Mr. Kaczynski, although he
claims that he was able to modify that the next day.
Upon arrival in Sacramento, Mr. Kaczynski was assigned to the team
of Federal Defenders currently working on his case. He describes
developing a close personal relationship with his defense team
the investigators and paralegals. He describes them as rating the place of his family. He indicates that his friendship with his attorneys has been excellent, but he has serious conflicts with them about his case. He is able to name the members of his defense team and identify them by sight. He indicates that someone from the team visits him once every few days and someone from the office sees him daily except weekends. Members of the team take messages to and from him.
Mr. Kaczynski indicates that early on he identified that he did not
want to use a mental health defense in his case. He describes that
nonetheless the question of psychiatric evaluation arose early in
his period of detention. He did not like the idea of talking to a
psychiatrist because he believes that "science has no business
probing the workings of the human mind." Early on, he reluctantly
agreed to some psychiatric and psychological evaluation by defense
experts because he believed by taking neuropsychological tests he
could prove that he was not mentally ill. He also indicates his
belief that information obtained from those evaluations would
remain an attorney/client work product and would not be released.
He believes that the question of competency to stand trial in his
case arose because of his suicide attempt and because he expressed
the conflicts he is having 'with his attorneys. His recent upset
stemmed from his belief that he had been deceived by his attorneys
in that declarations from their experts had been made available to
the prosecution and information from those declarations came out in
a hearing in November 1997. Observations by the prosecution and
defense attorneys indicate that at the time Mr. Kaczynski became
aware of this, he became agitated in the courtroom and threw a pen
across the table. He subsequently addressed a letter to Judge
Burrell expressing his wish for legal advice from an outside source
to help him resolve conflicts with his attorneys. He also
expressed his wish for his attorneys to be prevented from using a
12.2(b) defense and to have Mr. Soward removed from his defense
team. He admitted that he had originally given his consent for a
12.2 (b) defense but expressed his wish to withdraw that - consent. He
proposed that he might represent himself, with stand by counsel, or
that a new attorney could be appointed to replace his present team.
He further discussed why he could not endure the use of a 12.2(b)
defense, indicating that because of the impact the frequent
psychological abuse by his parents and schoolmates had created on
him, he was now feeling subjected to a similar situation where he
was subject to something he perceived as an injustice and was
feeling helpless to defend against it or escape from it. He
claimed that his attorneys were subjecting him to the same type of
punishment that his parents had.
Mr. Kaczynski waited several weeks before submitting his letters
(three) to Judge Burrell and indicates he did so in order to await
completion of negotiations between the prosecution and defense,
which could have resulted in the lack of necessity for a trial. He
submitted the letters after the negotiations fell through. In these
letters he also expressed his belief that his attorneys had
originally-promised to help him pursue "certain personal concerns
Of my own, even if these were inconsistent with my attorneys,
professional concerns to do what is in my best interest in a legal
sense. In particular I was led to believe that I would not be
portrayed as mentally ill without my consent." Through the use of
a conflict resolution attorney, Mr. Clymos, these issues appeared
to be resolved in the eyes of the attorneys and the Court. on
01/05/98, at the beginning of the first day of the trial, Mr.
Kaczynski provided information to Judge Burrell indicating that he
needed to talk to him about a serious matter. He stated, "Your
Honor before these proceedings begin, I would like to revisit the
issue of my relations with my attorneys. It's very important, I
haven't stood up because I'm under orders from the marshals not to
stand up. " An ex parte and en camera discussion was held, wherein
Mr. Kaczynski was able to identify that he did not want what
followed in the discussion to constitute a waiver of any part of
his attorney/client privilege. He provided the judge with his
written account of his history of his relationship with attorney
Tony Serra. He indicated his perception that again his attorneys
had been less than honest with him. He referenced the earlier
dispute with his attorneys which he claimed arose from the fact
they had deceived him, and asked the Court to contact Mr. Serra to
determine whether he was willing to represent him. Mr. Kaczynski
presented the position that if his information was not accurate, he
would apologize to his attorneys, but if it was correct then the
conclusion would be inescapable that his attorneys have continued
to deal with him in an underhanded fashion and in that case he
could not cooperate with them because he could not rely on the
truth of what they told him.
Mr. Kaczynski accused his attorneys of deliberately deceiving him
in order to sabotage his attempts to consider a change of counsel.
He went on to claim that that issue was not the only problem
creating conflict. He expressed his concern that although the
12.2(b) defense had been withdrawn, his attorneys still intended to
present evidence of mental illness through the use of lay witnesses
at the guilt/innocence phase of the trial. He claimed that one of
the sources of conflict between him and his attorneys was the fact
that their values and attitudes were contrary to his and that he
was under the impression that Mr. Serra's attitudes and values
would be much more similar to his own. The Court then determined
to appoint Mr. Kevin Clymos to represent Mr. Kaczynski's interest
on the issue. Mr. Kaczynski indicated that his wish was to change
counsel but then indicated that he was not sure he would want Mr.
Serra as a replacement because he had not yet had the opportunity
to speak to him. He continued that the root of his problem was
that his attorney (Ms. Clarke) thought he was crazy and that is why
she was insistent on representing him as crazy. The Court
indicated that they would put Mr. Kazcynski's statement in the
record and he objected, saying that his statement was conjecture
and highly speculative. After speaking with Mr. Clymos, Mr.
Kaczynski indicated that [text didacted].
In the 01/07/98 hearing, continued discussion took place and Mr.
Kaczynski indicated that he was willing to permit his attorneys to
go ahead with the mental health defense in the sentencing phase
because that was the best agreement he could get and he did not
want to break up the defense team. He was going to defend himself
with what was essentially "a symbolic victory" by eliminating the
mental health defense in the guilt/innocence phase of the trial.
During extended discussion at that hearing Mr. Kaczynski first
indicated his intent to proceed with present counsel, even though
he disagreed with the defense in the guilt/penalty phase. At the
end of the hearing he expressed his wish to consult with Mr. Serra
about representation.
On 01/08/98 Defense Attorney Clarke addressed the Court indicating
that Mr. Kaczynski was making a request that he be permitted to
proceed in the case as his own counsel. He expressed that it was
a difficult decision but believed he had no choice but to go
forward as his own attorney. Ms. Clarke indicated this was a very
"heart felt reaction to the presentation of the mental illness
defense, a situation which he simply cannot endure, so it is
requested the Court permit him to proceed on his own behalf. Mr.
Kaczynski did not request a delay in the trial and indicated that
he would go forward on his own behalf as soon as the jury was
sworn. After extended discussion regarding several issues of law,
the Court determined that a competency evaluation should be
conducted to assist in determining Mr. Kaczynski's competency to
stand trial and represent himself. The defense indicated their
position that he not only was wishing to refuse to allow them to
present a mental illness defense at the penalty phase of the trial,
but it was their impression that he could not bear f or them to
present that defense. Mr. Kaczynski voiced his opinion that he
objected to having a competency evaluation because it was his
position that he was competent. The Court subsequently-indicated
that it would proceed with ordering the evaluation and did.
Limited observations were available concerning Mr. Kaczynski's
behavior in court, in that he waived his presence at most court
hearings prior to jury selection. Prosecution observations during
jury selection were that he was attentive and interacted with his
attorneys. Defense attorneys did not raise the question of
competency during the jury selection process. They were on record
with their opinion that they had been able to accommodate Mr.
Kaczynski's mental disorder and viewed him as competent to stand
trial.
In discussion with Mr. Kaczynski about the issue of jury selection,
he expressed a clear understanding of the selection process and
indicated that he had provided his comments and review to his
appointed counsel. He expressed his understanding of how the jury
in his case had been selected and was able to discuss the pros and
cons of the jury process in resolution of a legal proceeding. He
expressed his preference to have a trial by jury even a situation
where he would have the option to be tried by the judge. He also
expressed his understanding that in a trial involving a potential
death penalty, that the trial would have to proceed with a jury.
In specific discussion with Mr. Kaczynski around. the issue of
competency to stand trial, he was able to clearly articulate the
problems in his relationship with defense attorneys in regard to
choosing a defense in his case. He expressed an understanding why
psychiatric issues, including a psychiatric evaluation, might arise
in his case, by again noting his history of psychological verbal
abuse beginning in adolescence-that had continued as an issue for
decades. He indicated that his mother and brother, in their
interviews with the media, had portrayed him as mentally ill in an
effort to cover up the history of abuse in his family. He believed
that his attorneys portraying him as mentally ill would indicate
they were helping his brother, an individual against whom he was
experiencing considerable anger. He also indicated that his
attorneys had used deception to get him to see the psychiatrist and
psychologist defense experts. He indicated his own goal of refuting
the image the family had portrayed of him since his arrest.
Mr. Kaczynski further indicated that he was aware of these
potential conflicts with his attorneys much earlier but had focused
with the defense team on the motion to suppress evidence during the
first several months of 1997, knowing that should that be
successful, the issue of mental illness would not need to be
pursued. At present he indicates that he was not claiming that he
was free of any psychiatric disorder and he would not object to the
issue of a psychiatric disorder being raised; what he was concerned
about was that the information would not be portrayed accurately
and some of the facts that had been presented in declarations were
already incorrect. He felt his statements had been taken out of
context to make him sound paranoid. It was also his-belief that
his attorneys, in their wish to win the case and try for minimum
penalty, were adamant about presenting a mental illness defense. He
indicated his own goals were to also receive the least penalty
possible and to be acquitted if possible, but he could only pursue
this goal through something like a mental illness defense if he had
an 80% chance of succeeding and being released. He indicate if that
was the case, he would concede to a mental illness defense but it
would be by his choice. He did not view himself as having an 80%
chance of success. At present he felt his attorneys were forcing
that defense upon him. He expressed a clear understanding of the
12.2 (b) defense as not being an insanity defense and clearly
articulated an understanding of the statute as allowing use of
information regarding mental disease and defect bearing on the
issue of guilt.
Mr. Kaczynski was able to explain a clear understanding of the
insanity defense and was aware that his attorneys would require his
permission to give notice of that defense. He claimed an ability
to consider the use of the insanity defense, qualifying it by
stating he would only consider that if he had a reasonable belief
that in a short period of time (five years) he could be released.
It was his impression, however, that if found to be insane 'he would
spend his life in a prison hospital facility, an outcome he was
unwilling to accept. He expressed a preference for death over life e
in prison, but at the same time denied having an interest in being
put to death.
Mr. Kaczynski is also aware that his attorneys are capable and are
perceived by the judge and prosecution as being such. He regretted
his initial statement to the judge that he would not represent
himself and felt that post his unsuccessful suicide attempt and a
period of time to rethink the issue, he now had the energy to
commit to attempting to represent himself adequately. He had no
doubt that his skills would fall short of those of his present
attorneys, but expressed his firm belief that although he could
elect to use a mental illness defense, he was choosing not to do
So. He realized his chance at success of being acquitted were
slim, but felt that he could vindicate himself by saying he was not
crazy in court. In that way, he felt he would only have one strike
against him instead of two. He was able to compare the impact of
having the prosecution present him as mean and dangerous versus the
presentation by the defense of him being mentally ill and less than
capable. He believed that the jury would somewhat discount the
prosecution's presentation, as it was to be expected, but the
mental illness presentation was potentially far more damaging to
him personally.
During extended discussions, Mr. Kaczynski did indicate his belief
that his attorneys were conventional and "part of the system." He
imagined that Mr. Serra, who had been portrayed as much more of a rebel probably had views that were more against the system and had
more in common with him. [text didacted] he persisted throughout the evaluation period in expressing interest in exploring representation by Mr. Serra as a possibility. At the same time he realized that it was late in the trial process to change attorneys, and that the Court was not willing to appoint new counsel at this time. It was his perception that it would take Mr. Serra numerous months to prepare for trial. He also expressed his wish to resolve his legal situation in a prompt manner. He viewed his choices as self -representation or continuing with his current attorneys. He indicated he could not do the latter if they were able to proceed with a 12.2(b) defense over his objection.
Mr. Kaczynski was able to outline other conflicts he had with his
attorneys, including the issue of publicity. He had been
interested in writing letters to counter the image being presented
by his family of him in the media. He discussed this with his
attorneys and although he felt some pressure to conform, he had
agreed with them not to write letters to the media and draw
additional public attention to him at this point in the trial
process. Nonetheless he spent approximately four months preparing
a rebuttal to all he perceived as inaccurate in the public
portrayal of him, and focused extensively on portraying his brother
David in a negative light in these writings. He denied any intent
on his part to attempt to delay the trial by making a suicide
attempt. He described his perception that a successful attempt at
the time he tried (the evening before trial) would have "made a
statement," but that the opportunity for that was passed, in that
he would now be too closely watched. He expressed his own opinion
that he was competent to stand trial and his wish to be found as
such, although he considered that, if found incompetent, the four
month restoration period would potentially allow time for Mr. Serra
to prepare a defense. He was able to consider the two schools of
thought about legal representation, which included representing the
client's best interest versus representing the client's expressed
interest. It was his belief that representation should support the
client's expressed interest.
Discussion with Mr. Kaczynski about his case revealed that he has
an accurate understanding of the charges against him and the
possible penalties if convicted. He explained the role of various
participants in the legal process in some detail. This included the
role of the judge, jury, prosecutor, and defense attorney. He
expressed a full understanding of the plea bargaining process. He
reviewed his own capabilities for self -representation and indicated
that he had debated one of his attorneys in a hearing situation and
felt- he had bested him. He also claimed he had some teaching
experience to fall back on in addressing the jury. He admitted his
own perception that he would not do as well handling things
extemporaneously as he could if he had time to prepare his
responses. He expressed an understanding of the evidence available
in his case. After much consideration he was able to respond to the
question of what image he wished to present of himself--during the
trial. Initially he had only been able to protest against the
image to be portrayed by the defense attorneys. It took him some
time to be able to determine that he wanted to present himself as
rational, a person having a valid point to make;, a decent person
who felt cornered; as socially vulnerable; in some ways a victim
personally and via v the system; an individual who had his back
against the wall; a person who lived a beautiful way of life in the
woods; and a person whose psychiatric disorder could serve as a
mitigating factor. When questioned as to how this image differed
from that potentially planned to be presented by the defense
attorneys, he was unable to articulate a difference, but focused on
Ills concern that his attorneys would not accurately present the facts. In essence, he wanted to present his slant on the factual
This appeared consistent with his voluminous writing,
wherein he attempts to dispute the descriptions and "facts" of the
information provided by the media and his family. He was able to
understand that his plan in presenting the image outlined above
would require use of the 12.2(b) defense at least at the penalty
phase, if that was reached.
Mr. Kaczynski expressed an awareness of the order of presentation
in a trial such as his. He understood that he would have to listen
through the prosecution's presentation of details of the alleged offenses, and expressed his opinion that he could tolerate that,
although it might anger him. He had an understanding of the burden
of proof and that he could choose to testify. He indicated he would
prefer not to testify and denied any interest in using the
courtroom to espouse his views. He was able to articulate that
although his chances of acquittal were slim, he still wished to
attempt acquittal. He recognized that although he could avoid any
portrayal of him as mentally ill or chance of denigration of his
life style by equating it with mental illness, by pleading guilty
and not going to trial, he recognized that a trial was necessary to
proceed with an appeal on the suppression issue. The latter still
offered a glimmer of hope, which he intended to pursue.
REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: Limited testing was available from
Harvard, where Mr. Kaczynski had been involved in the Murray Study.
The opportunity existed to review the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory profile. It was noted that the Si scale
(introversion) had not been scored. Because a copy of the original
answer sheet was provided, the scale could be scored. Significant
in the profile was marked elevation on the introversion scale and
a lesser elevation on the depression scale.
Mr. Kaczynski completed four psychological tests during the week of
this evaluation, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory on 01/12/98,
Beck Depression Inventory and the Draw a Person Picking an Apple
From a Tree Test on 01/15/98.
On the MMPI-2 he presents a profile that is probably valid. He
acknowledged more unusual experiences and perceptions than do most
individuals, but not to a degree to suggest exaggeration or
falsification. Instead, he appeared to approach the test items in
an honest and straightforward manner, which included open admission
of some strange thoughts, odd perceptions, and feelings of
isolation and alienation. His validity profile is consistent with
individuals who have psychotic disorders that are mainly in
remission at the time of test administration. Overall, the profile
should be an accurate reflection of his personality
characteristics.
People who respond in similar ways on the clinical scale 0
(elevated in his profile with score of 74) are often described as
introverted, shy, and socially insecure. They are uncomfortable
with others and may avoid people, even at times when they could be
helpful to him. They are likely to dislike and avoid social
activities, and will actively keep others at a distance. They are
described by others as cold and distant, and are unlikely to
express their feelings directly. Despite their avoidance of
others, they are very sensitive to what people think of them and
may be troubled by the lack of relationships. Such people tend to
worry and feel anxious, possibly with episodes of depression. They
tend to have rigid and inflexible attitudes, becoming irritable
when questioned or confronted.
People with the 4-6 two point code pattern (as evident in Mr.
Kaczynski's profile with Scale 4=69, Scale 6=68) are described as
viewing the world as threatening and feeling misunderstood or
mistreated by others. Such people can be hostile, irritable, and
demanding. They are commonly very self-centered and are not
concerned about the rights of others. Indeed, they are often
resentful of the success of other people and suspicious of their
motives. In addition, these people can be impulsive and
manipulative, frequently getting into conflict with family and
authorities. They often have unstable family lives, personal
relationships, poor work and educational histories, and legal
problems. This profile is associated with stable characteristics
and such people are very resistant to treatment interventions.
They often deny that they have problems and are evasive about
discussing them, sometimes refusing to talk about personal
shortcomings at all. They avoid close relationships and have
trouble getting along with those people with whom they do come in
contact, including family members. Such people have vague goals and
are indecisive about many aspects of their lives.
Similar to the MMPI-2, Mr. Kaczynski's responses to the Millon
Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Second Edition might be described as
forthright and self-revealing. His pattern of item endorsement
does not suggest overt attempts to exaggerate nor- minimize
psychological problems, and to the contrary appears to reflect a
balance between self-protective and potentially self-effacing
responses. The resulting clinical scale profile is viewed as a
useful indication of his current personality functioning.
Modest elevations are present on clinical scales: Schizoid (1)=73;
Avoidant (2)=71; Sadistic Aggressive (6B)=78. Persons with similar
test results typically exhibit difficulties primarily characterized
by hostile alienation. These persons often espouse overt disregard
for or anger at significant others and other people in general.
They may avow few or no attachments to others and deny experiences
of either positive sentiments or feelings of guilt or shame. They
tend to relate to others primarily through threats or hostile
posturing, or overt aggression, but may prefer outright avoidance
of social contacts. They are often seen as dogmatic and
unyielding, and may espouse unusual social, political or religious
ideas. They often view others as devalued and unimportant and may
act in ways that others see as cold, unfeeling, or callous. Formal
disorder in the flow and form of thought is not generally
associated with this pattern of results, and marked sensory
disturbances are not typically noted.
On the Beck Depression Inventory, a self-administered test designed
to measure the depth or intensity of depression, he scored six
which places him in the range of no or minimal depression. This is
consistent with clinical presentation and his denial of any acute
depression at this time.
The Draw a Person Picking an Apple from the Tree test was used to
obtain a snap shot of Mr. Kaczynski's functioning at the time of
the interview. He showed no evidence of a mood disorder, obvious
thought disorder, intellectual dysfunction or organicity based on
review of his drawing. He demonstrated good use of color and space
and energy; the picture was logical, and demonstrated integrity,
problem solving and realism. The drawing was highly detailed and
appeared as a drawing done by an adult. There was not evidence of
perseveration or rotation in line quality, and the drawing of the
person were well developed.
COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT Neuropsychological testing including
intellectual and memory testing was completed in May 1996, and was
not repeated during this evaluation. Much of the previous review of
this testing focused on whether any evidence of neuropsychological
dysfunction was evident that supports the presence of mental
illness. It is noted that the intent of neuropsychological testing
is not to accomplish clinical diagnosis. For the purpose of
competency to stand trial assessment, this examiner focused on the
results of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R)
and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), administered on
05/01/96.
The WAIS-R results were Verbal Score of 138, Performance Score of
124, and Full Scale Score of 136. The split between Verbal and
Performance IQ is large, but not significant, in that there is no
impairment in the performance score and no specific deficits in any
subtests. His scores reflect a very strong verbal ability level,
with a lower, but still above average performance ability.
The results of the WMS-R are generally consistent with the overall
intelligence testing with an exception of Visual Memory Score.
This subtest is significantly lower that the others, but is at the
average level, while the others are significantly above average.
It appears that this score was low due to the effect of only one
subtest, Visual Paired Associates I- The cause of this could not
be ascertained during this evaluation period but the results do not
impact significantly on the question of competency to stand trial.
IMPRESSIONS: According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
the American Psychiatric Association, Fourth Edition I currently
view Mr. Kaczynski as follows:
Axis I: Schizophrenia, Paranoid Type, Episodic with Interepisode
Residual Symptoms, 295.30 (Provisional)
Axis II: Paranoid Personality Disorder, With Avoidant and
Antisocial Features, 301.0 (Premorbid)
Axis III: Status Post Tonsillectomy; Removal of Congenital Cyst of
the Upper Jaw; Status Post Extraction of Wisdom Teeth;
Status Post Fracture of Left Fifth Finger
Review of extensive collateral information and materials obtained
through interviews, support at least on a provisional basis, a
diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Paranoid Type, Episodic with
Interepisode Residual Symptoms. Schizophrenia is a significant and
complex major mental illness that is characterized by a mixture of
characteristic signs and symptoms, in association with significant
social and occupational dysfunction. The paranoid type of
Schizophrenia is remarkable for the presence of preoccupation with
one or more delusions, or auditory hallucinations in the context of
relative preservation of cognitive functioning and affect. In Mr.
Kaczynski's case, the symptom presentation involves preoccupation
with two principle delusional beliefs. A delusion is defined as a
false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality
that is firmly sustained despite what all most everyone else
believes, and despite what constitutes inconvertible and obvious
proof or evidence to the contrary. Delusional thinking occurs on a
continuum and it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between
over valued ideas or preoccupations and delusional thinking. It is
helpful at times, to review the belief system in association with
the individuals behavior over time. In Mr. Kaczynski's case, it
appears that in the mid to late 1960s he experienced |