Unabomber Ted Kaczynski found dead in prison at 81

The infamous Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, aged 81, was found dead in his prison cell, according to federal officials. Kaczynski was responsible for the deaths of three individuals and injuries to 23 others during a mail-bombing campaign that spanned from 1978 to 1995. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to life without parole in 1996. The former Harvard-trained mathematician was eventually apprehended in a cabin in Montana.

Kaczynski’s life and crimes captured the attention of the American public, resulting in numerous television documentaries. He spent the last three decades in various prisons across the United States, with his most recent stay at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Prison guards discovered his body on Saturday morning, and the cause of death remains unclear.

“Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures,” the spokesperson said. Kaczynski was then “transported by EMS to a local hospital and subsequently pronounced deceased by hospital personnel”.

Before his health declined, leading to his transfer to the Butner facility in December 2021, Kaczynski had been held at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998. His violent actions left several victims permanently maimed and altered the way Americans sent mail.

Kaczynski’s crimes were discovered after he demanded that the Washington Post and the New York Times publish his manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future, in September 1995. The newspapers agreed to print the manifesto at the FBI and the US attorney general’s recommendation, as Kaczynski promised to end his violent campaign if a national paper published his work.

The 35,000-word document criticized modern life and technology, arguing that it led to a sense of alienation and powerlessness among Americans. Kaczynski’s brother and sister-in-law recognized the writing style and informed the FBI, who had been searching for the Unabomber for years. In April 1996, authorities finally apprehended Kaczynski in a small cabin outside Lincoln, Montana, filled with journals, a coded diary, explosives, and two completed bombs.

Although Kaczynski’s manifesto appeared political, he never claimed to be acting for the greater good. Instead, he insisted that his actions were driven by a desire for revenge. His criminal activity began after being fired from the family business by his brother for sending abusive limericks to a female coworker who had rejected him after two dates.

Kaczynski’s first attacks targeted Northwestern University in Illinois, injuring two people. In November 1979, an altitude-triggered bomb he mailed exploded aboard an American Airlines flight, causing smoke inhalation injuries to twelve passengers. The FBI nicknamed him the Unabomber due to his initial focus on universities and airlines. Over the years, he attacked 13 more times, killing three people: Hugh Scrutton, Thomas Mosser, and Gilbert Murray.

Since Kaczynski’s capture, there has been continuous speculation about his motivations. A childhood IQ test revealed a score of 167, and he attended Harvard University at just 16 years old. The FBI described him as “a twisted genius who aspires to be the perfect, anonymous killer,” and a prison psychiatrist diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic. However, Kaczynski maintained that he was sane and knew what he was doing, even attempting suicide in prison after his legal team tried to introduce an insanity plea. In a 1999 interview with Time magazine, he stated, “I’m confident that I’m sane, personally.”