Unabomber Sets Legal Claim to Manifesto

Theodore J. Kaczynski, 64, has launched a legal battle claiming that the federal government's proposal to auction censored versions of his writings violates his first amendment rights.

Mr. Kaczynski's appeal to reclaim his intellectual property, writings and correspondence that were seized by the federal government, is a setback to his victims who seek restitution and closure.

More than 40,000 pages of Mr. Kaczynski's writings, including a 35,000 word anti-technology manifesto, were taken from Mr. Kaczynski's remote cabin in Montana after his arrest in April 1996.

The government now has an inventory of Mr. Kaczynski's personal belongings. These include the writings, over 250 books, a hunting bowstring, arrows in a quiver, two axes, a scabbard and a state driver's license.

The government's original intent was to assign a monetary value to the items seized from Mr. Kaczynski's cabin and then give this amount of tax payer's money to victims seeking restitution. The government was to keep the property indefinitely.

In July 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the government's original plan "plainly fails to serve the victims and their families." The court instructed the government to implement a plan to maximize the monetary return of Mr. Kaczynski's possessions or return the property to its original owner.

The government then decided to auction the Unabomber's possessions, a plan that was approved by a federal judge in Sacramento as a way for victims seeking restitution to collect the money owed to them. The judge also ordered that any references to Mr. Kaczynski's victims be deleted from the writings before they were sold.

Mr. Kaczynski's possessions include journals that detail 16 mail bombings from 1978 to 1995, attacks that killed 3 people and injured 3 dozen more. The writings include notes on the process as well as Mr. Kaczynski's observations of the suffering of victims and their families. They also include correspondence between Mr. Kaczynski and his family.

Four of Mr. Kaczynski's victims are seeking restitution, a court order states a total of $15 million. They were reluctant to agree to an auction. They feared public sale of Mr. Kaczynski's possessions would only perpetuate his notoriety. The desire to prevent the writings from being returned to Mr. Kaczynski left the victims with no choice.

The auction is likely to bestow more publicity upon Mr. Kaczynski, who is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado. If his appeal is approved, the Unabomber's manifesto would be released in full - a successful fruition of Mr. Kaczynski's intent that the documents be preserved in their original form for the public to read.

Mr. Kaczynski's appeal is a discouraging development for all victims and families of victims of his 18-year bombing campaign.

The convicted bomber has been behind bars for nine years yet the victims have as of yet not been able to collect restitution. The newest appeal from the convicted bomber is likely to make the wait even longer.

Already the appeal has stalled dispersion of funds from the sale of Mr. Kaczynski's interest in his Montana land. The $7,025 collected remains in escrow during the appeal and can not be distributed to the victims.

The auction and the pending appeal have also outraged victims who aren't seeking damages.

David Gelernter, a professor of computer science at Yale University, is one of them. In 2005, Mr. Gelernter addressed the court in a letter asking that "the criminal's property will be destroyed" to avoid creating a "P.R. bonanza, starring the criminal himself."

In a recent e-mail to The New York Times, Mr. Gelernter stated he had only pity and contempt for anyone looking to purchase Mr. Kaczynski's items. He also emphasized that the other victims had a right to seek damages and receive what they want.

Mr. Kaczynski's brother, David, is at odds with the idea that his brother's items will be sold, in his words, as "murderabilia." He also expressed that he is in favor of any process that will help the victims of his brother's crimes.

When Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. approved the auction, he rejected Mr. Kaczynski's argument that the sale of censored writings would violate the First Amendment.

Mr. Kaczynski's appeal has been followed by a request for the court to assign him counsel with expertise in First Amendment litigation. His current lawyer, John P. Balazs, said his client intends to donate the writings to a library.

Sources:

"Unabomber Wages Legal Battle to Halt the Sale of Papers" Serge F. Kovaleski, The New York Times, Jan 22, 2007.

"Personal Items of Unabomber Will Be Sold for Restitution" Jesse McKinley, The New York Times, Aug 12, 2006.

United States Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov