David Kaczynski Speaking at 2006 Annual
CADP Dinner
David Kaczynski is Executive Director of
New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (NYADP)
and the brother of Theodore Kaczynski - the
so-called Unabomber - who was arrested in
1996 after David and his wife Linda approached
the FBI with their suspicions that Theodore
might be involved in a series of bombings
that caused three deaths and numerous injuries
over 17 years. Despite his diagnosis of paranoid
schizophrenia, Theodore was charged capitally
and only avoided the death penalty after
his family waged a two-year campaign to convince
the US Justice Department that Theodore's
delusions had precipitated his violent behavior.
Under pressure from the media and advocacy
groups including the National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill, the Justice Department
offered a plea bargain that spared Theodore's
life, but it never publicly acknowledged
that Theodore's mental illness was a mitigating
factor.
In 1998, David and Linda received a one
million dollar reward from the Justice Department
for their role in the Unabomber investigation,
which they subsequently dedicated - minus
attorney's fees and taxes - to the victims
and their families. With help from the Community
Foundation for the Capital Region, they set
up the Unabomber Survivors Fund, which distributed
$680,000 to victims of the assaults.
In 1999, David and Linda traveled to California
and lobbied unsuccessfully for clemency for
Manny Babbitt, a mentally ill Vietnam War
veteran. Babbitt, a poor African-American,
was turned in by his brother Bill to the
Sacramento police, who promised that Manny
would receive help for his mental illness
and not get the death penalty.
Since Manny's execution, David has given
numerous speeches and appeared on several
national television shows voicing his opposition
to the death penalty. In 1999, David and
Linda were honored by the New York State
Bar Association with its annual Justice Award
- the organization's only presentation to
non-lawyers.
Prior to joining NYADP, David was assistant
director of the Equinox shelter for runaway
and homeless youth in Albany, where he counseled
and advocated for troubled, neglected and
abused youth in the Capital District. As
director of NYADP and as a board member of
the National Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, he is currently focused on a campaign
to ban the death penalty for people with
serious mental illnesses.
Through his life and his work, David has
sought solutions to human problems through
understanding and compassion as opposed to
violence and coercion. His story touches
on the things we must learn and the balances
we must achieve to keep our sense of humanity
alive through adversity and crisis.
David is currently writing a book on violence
and healing with Gary Wright, who was seriously
injured by one of Theodore Kaczynski's bombs
in 1987.
For more information or to purchase dinner
tickets, visit www.coadp.org.
