DATE=01/16/98
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
NUMBER=6-10537
TITLE=THE COMPLICATED UNABOMBER TRIAL
BYLINE=ANDREW N. GUTHRIE
TELEPHONE=619-3335
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
INTRO: THE TRIAL OF THE MAN ACCUSED OF BEING THE UNABOMBER, A
PERSON WHO DURING AT LEAST TWO DECADES SENT MORE THAN A DOZEN
BOMBS THROUGH THE MAIL, KILLING THREE PEOPLE AND INJURING MANY
OTHERS, IS BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED PROCEEDINGS IN
JUDICIAL HISTORY.
THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE CASE HAVE ELICITED A GOOD DEAL OF
COMMENT IN THE NATION'S PRESS AND WE ARE JOINED NOW BY
_______________ WHO HAS A SAMPLING IN TODAY'S U-S OPINION
ROUNDUP.
TEXT: THEODORE KACZYNSKI IS A FORMER MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR AND
STAR STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, WHO
BECAME INCREASINGLY ISOLATED FROM SOCIETY. FOR MORE THAN 20
YEARS, HE LIVED IN A REMOTE CABIN IN THE MONTANA WILDERNESS.
FROM THERE, FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY, HE MAILED PACKAGES
CONTAINING BOMBS TO VARIOUS PEOPLE IN ANEFFORT TO RETARD THE
NATION'S TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION.
HE WAS FINALLY CAUGHT AFTER HE SENT A LONG, RAMBLING STATEMENT OF
HIS PHILOSOPHY TO TWO OF THE NATION'S LEADING NEWSPAPERS, "THE
WASHINGTON POST" AND "THE NEW YORK TIMES," WHICH PRINTED IT AFTER
A PLEA FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. MR. KACZYNSKI'S
BROTHER RECOGNIZED THE WRITING STYLE AND SOME OF THE THOUGHT AND
REPORTED HIS BROTHER TO THE AUTHORITIES.
SUBSEQUENTLY, MR. KACZYNSKI'S LAWYERS TRIED TO HAVE THE
GOVERNMENT ACCEPT A GUILTY PLEA FROM THEIR CLIENT, SO THAT HE
COULD SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN PRISON RATHER THAN FACE A
DEATH SENTENCE BUT THE GOVERNMENT DECLINED. THEN MR. KACZYNSKI
TOLD THE JUDGE HE WANTED TO FIRE HIS LAWYERS, AND REPRESENT
HIMSELF, AND HE RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO PSYCHIATRIC TESTS TO
DETERMINE HIS MENTAL COMPETENCE TO STAND TRIAL.
WITH THE TRIAL ON HOLD WHILE THE TEST RESULTS ARE ANALYZED, WE
BEGIN WITH A SAMPLING OF OPINION ON THE CASE SO FAR FROM "THE
[CLEVELAND, OHIO] PLAIN DEALER."
VOICE: HOW THE JUSTICE SYSTEM DEALS WITH MENTALLY ILL
DEFENDANTS IS TROUBLING ENOUGH, BOTH TO PEOPLE WHO THINK
IT'S TOO TOUGH AND THOSE WHO THINK IT'S TOO LENIENT.
HOW, THEN, SHOULD THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH A DEFENDANT WHO
IS MANIFESTLY WEIRD IN LAY TERMS BUT PERSISTS IN A
CERTAIN LOGIC -- WHO RESISTS AN INSANITY DEFENSE THAT
COULD SAVE HIS LIFE AND ACCEPTS PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION
ONLY, APPARENTLY, TO DERAIL THAT DEFENSE? ASSUMING HE
FOLLOWS THROUGH ON THE EVALUATION TO WHICH HE AGREED
THURSDAY, WHO CAN ASSUME IT WILL RESOLVE ALL
DIFFICULTIES? ..... BESIDES, PROSECUTORS OWE [MUST DEAL
FAIRLY WITH MR.] KACZYNSKI'S BROTHER, WHO LED
AUTHORITIES TO HIM IN AT LEAST THE HOPE, AND MAYBE THE
EXPECTATION, THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY.
THEIR RENEGING COULD DISCOURAGE OTHERS FROM TURNING IN
CRIMINALS.
TEXT: IN FLORIDA, "THE MIAMI HERALD" WORRIES THAT WITH ALL THE
TWISTS AND TURNS THIS TRIAL HAS ALREADY TAKEN, IT WILL BECOME
MORE OF A SPECTACLE THAN A SERIOUS COURT PROCEEDING.
VOICE: THE FEDERAL-COURT TRIAL OF ACCUSED UNABOMBER THEODORE
KACZYNSKI RAISES ISSUES AS NEW AS TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY
-- AND AS OLD AS THE M'NAGHTEN RULE. THAT'S A LEGAL
DOCTRINE DATING FROM 1843 BUT STILL WIDELY USED IN COURT
TO DETERMINE WHETHER A DEFENDANT IS MENTALLY FIT TO
STAND TRIAL. AS [THE RULE IS SUMMARIZED] ....'AN
ACCUSED IS NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE IF, AT THE TIME OF
COMMITTING THE ACT, HE WAS LABORING UNDER SUCH A DEFECT
OF REASON FROM DISEASE OF THE MIND AS NOT TO KNOW THE
NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ACT HE WAS DOING, OR, IF HE
DID KNOW IT, THAT HE DID NOT KNOW HE WAS DOING WHAT WAS
WRONG.' THE WORDING MAY SOUND QUAINT TODAY, BUT
M'NAGHTEN AND SIMILAR TESTS ARE STILL IN USE FOR GOOD
REASON: THEY PROVIDE A REASONABLE WAY TO SORT AMONG
PERSONS WHO TRULY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CONDUCT
AND THOSE WHO ARE. .... IS MR. KACZYNSKI ECCENTRIC? NO
DOUBT. MENTALLY ILL? QUITE LIKELY. LEGALLY SANE? BY
[THE] M'NAGHTEN, [RULE] YES. MOREOVER, HE'S ALSO AWARE
ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT FEIGNING INSANITY MIGHT SAVE HIS
LIFE - - **AND** [ITALICS FOR EMPHASIS] TO FEAR THAT
IT WILL DISCREDIT HIS IDEAS.
TEXT: "THE NEW YORK POST" AGREES WITH "THE HERALD" THAT HE IS
SANE ENOUGH TO STAND TRIAL.
VOICE: .... BASED ON AN EXAMINATION OF HIS WRITINGS AND HIS **
MODUS OPERANDI**, [ITALICS FOR LATIN WORDS] WE AGREE
WITH HIM. [MR.] KACZYNSKI ISN'T INSANE. HE'S EVIL.
THAT VITAL DISTINCTION IS IN DANGER OF BEING MUDDIED BY
THE SENTIMENTALITY OF THE THERAPEUTIC CULTURE. .....
HIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE AND AFTER HIS CAPTURE BELIES THE
IDEA THAT HE IS
INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE LOGIC AND CONSEQUENCES OF HIS
ACTIONS.
TEXT: "NEWSDAY" IS DISGUSTED, AND WONDERS WHY THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, IS PUSHING FOR A TRIAL SO IT CAN PUT THIS MAN TO
DEATH, RATHER THAN PUT HIM IN PRISON FOR LIFE, AS HE LAWYERS
WANTED, AND SAVE THE MONEY OF A LENGTHY TRIAL.
VOICE: IS JUSTICE SERVED BY GOING THROUGH WITH A TRIAL SIMPLY
TO PRESERVE THE POSSIBILITY OF EXECUTING THIS DEFENDANT
IF A JURY FINDS HIM GUILTY? NO WAY. MUCH BETTER FOR
THE PROSECUTION TO ACCEPT A GUILTY PLEA THAT WOULD CARRY
A CERTAIN SENTENCE OF LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.
TEXT: LASTLY, IN CALIFORNIA, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" WORRIES HOW
THIS VERY COMPLICATED ISSUE OF A DEFENDANT'S SANITY IS BEING
RESOLVED, NOT ONLY IN THIS CASE, BUT IN OTHERS.
VOICE: .... IN PRETRIAL MANEUVERINGS, [MR.] KACZYNSKI HAS
FOUGHT ANY SUGGESTION THAT HE HAS MENTAL PROBLEMS. HE
NOW INSISTS THAT HE IS SUFFICIENTLY COMPETENT TO HANDLE
HIS OWN DEFENSE, WITHOUT THE HELP OF PROFESSIONAL
COUNSEL. HIS LAWYERS, WITH WHOM HE HAS STRONGLY
DISAGREED, HAD BEEN PREPARED TO PUT ON A DEFENSE THAT
THEIR CLIENT SUFFERS PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA. .....
THERE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE ECHOES OF THE TRIAL OF COLIN
FERGUSON, [A JAMAICAN IMMIGRANT] WHO DEFENDED HIMSELF IN
THE FATAL SHOOTING OF SIX PEOPLE ON THE LONG ISLAND RAIL
ROAD. HE FLOODED THE COURT WITH NONSENSICAL ARGUMENTS
..... HE WAS CONVICTED AFTER A TRIAL THAT WAS CALLED 'A
THEATER OF THE MENTALLY ILL' BY ONE OF THE LAWYERS WHOM
FERGUSON FIRED. JUDY CLARKE, ONE OF [MR.] KACZYNSKI'S
LAWYERS, SAID A MENTAL ILLNESS DEFENSE IS A 'SITUATION
IN WHICH HE SIMPLY CANNOT ENDURE.' PERHAPS, BUT IF THIS
LONG DRAMA WERE TO END IN FARCE WITH THE COURTROOM
RAVINGS OF AN UNBALANCED DEFENDANT, THE CHARACTER OF
JUSTICE WOULD NOT BE SERVED.
TEXT: ON THAT NOTE, WE CONCLUDE THIS BRIEF SAMPLING OF EDITORIAL
COMMENT ON THE BIZARRE TRIAL, THUS FAR, OF THE MAN ACCUSED OF
BEING ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST DANGEROUS SERIAL MAIL BOMBERS.
NEB/ANG/KL
16-Jan-98 3:19 PM EST (2019 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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