Inside Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s life in prison after his arrest, and how he died in 2023

Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, spent nearly two decades evading the FBI before he was finally arrested at his remote Montana cabin in 1996, so what happened to him after he was caught, and how did he actually die?

Ted had carried out a series of bomb attacks between 1978 and 1995, killing three people and injuring 24 others, according to the FBI. After his arrest, he was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ted was finally caught after his brother David and sister-in-law Linda recognised similarities between his writing and the Unabomber’s manifesto. David contacted the FBI, and agents arrested Ted at his Montana cabin on April 3, 1996. The FBI later said investigators found bomb-making materials, thousands of pages of handwritten material and a live bomb inside the cabin.

After nearly 20 years, the Unabomber case was finally over.

So, what happened to Ted Kaczynski after his arrest?

According to The Washington Post, Ted Kaczynski was taken into federal custody and later indicted on charges relating to four bombings. His case eventually went to Sacramento, California, where the UNABOM Task Force had been based.

Before his trial, Ted wanted to dismiss his lawyers because they planned to introduce evidence about his mental health, as per  The New York Times. He wanted to present his own defence instead. The court rejected his request.

In January 1998, BBC News reported that Ted attempted suicide shortly before his trial was due to begin. He survived and underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. Psychiatrist Dr Sally Johnson diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, although that diagnosis was later disputed by other psychiatrists. As per the Los Angeles Times, Ted was ultimately ruled competent to stand trial.

On January 22, 1998, just as his trial was about to begin, Ted pleaded guilty. He admitted responsibility for the bombings covered by the charges. He also admitted to placing or mailing 11 additional bombs for which he had not been charged.

The guilty plea meant he avoided the possibility of the death penalty. Ted was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was also ordered to pay millions of dollars to victims and their families. Some of his belongings were later auctioned, with the money going towards those payments, as per NBC News.

In 2001, Ted tried to withdraw his guilty plea. He argued that the judge had effectively pressured him into accepting the deal. And that he had wanted to represent himself. His appeal was rejected by a federal appeals court, so his life sentence remained in place.

Where did Ted Kaczynski spend his final years?

For more than 20 years, Ted was held at ADX Florence, the federal supermax prison in Colorado. He spent much of his time alone in his 12-by-7-foot cell, reading, writing, studying languages, exercising and corresponding with people around the world.

Yahoo! News reported that in one 2000 letter, Kaczynski wrote, “I consider myself to be in a (relatively) fortunate situation here. As correctional institutions go, this place is well-administered. It’s clean, the food is good, and it’s quiet, so that I can sleep, think and write (usually) without being distracted by a lot of banging and shouting.”

He also communicated with other prisoners, including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.

Ted also continued writing while in prison and published books including Technological Slavery in 2010 and Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How in 2016.

How did Ted Kaczynski die?

Ted Kaczynski’s health declined significantly in his final years. In March 2021, he was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He was later transferred from ADX Florence to the Federal Medical Centre in Butner, North Carolina, where he could receive medical treatment.

NBC News reported that he underwent biweekly chemotherapy until March 2023, when he stopped treatment because of the side effects and his poor prognosis. An autopsy later found that the cancer had spread to his liver and both lungs.

Ted Kaczynski died on June 10, 2023, aged 81. He was found dead in his prison cell at the federal medical centre in Butner, North Carolina. The FBI confirmed that he died there on that date, and his death was ruled a suicide.

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