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David Kaczynski

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David Kaczynski
Kaczynski in 2008
Born
David Richard Kaczynski

(1949-10-03) October 3, 1949 (age 75)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
College of Great Falls
OccupationTeacher
Known forRole in the arrest of Ted Kaczynski
SpouseLinda Patrik
RelativesTed Kaczynski (brother)

David Richard Kaczynski (born October 3, 1949) is an American charity worker. He is the younger brother of the late domestic terrorist and mathematician Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, and was heavily involved in his arrest.[1][2]

His memoir, Every Last Tie: The Story of the Unabomber and His Family,[3] details both his relationships with his brother and their parents, and his wife Linda's decision to report their suspicion that Ted was the Unabomber to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which ultimately led to his arrest. The decision prompted Ted to cease all communication with his family, including rejecting all of David's attempted correspondence during his imprisonment.[4]

Biography

Early life

File:Kaczynski brothers and father-Color-Restored.jpg
David Kaczynski (right) with his brother Ted and father

David Kaczynski is a graduate of Columbia University, class of 1970.[5][6] Between December 1966 and May 1967, he wrote ten articles for the Columbia Daily Spectator[7] and was promoted to the associate news board in March 1967.[8] Kaczynski worked as a schoolteacher in Lisbon, Iowa, in the mid-1970s.[9]

Like his older brother, David Kaczynski rejected society and lived for an extended period in isolation. In 1984, Kaczynski bought a plot of land in remote Brewster County, Texas, dug a hole in the Chihuahuan Desert soil, partially covered the opening with metal sheets and lived there for several years. In 1990, following the death of his father, he returned to society and married his former high school sweetheart, Linda Patrik.[10]

Role in Unabomber's arrest

After the anonymous Unabomber demanded in 1995 that his manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future, be published in a major newspaper as a condition for ceasing his mail-bomb campaign, The New York Times and The Washington Post published the manifesto, hoping somebody would recognize the writing style of the author.[11]

David's wife, Linda Patrik, first suspected Ted and urged David to read the manifesto when it was published. David recognized Ted's writing style, and the criminal defense lawyer the couple hired notified authorities. On April 3, 1996, police arrested Ted in his rural cabin in Lincoln, Montana. David had received assurances from the FBI that his identity as the informant would be kept secret, but his name was leaked to the media. In addition, he sought a guarantee from federal prosecutors that Ted would receive appropriate psychiatric evaluation and treatment. The Justice Department's subsequent pursuit of the death penalty, and Attorney General Janet Reno's initial refusal to accept a plea bargain in exchange for a life sentence, was seen by David and other members of his family as a betrayal. Such a plea bargain was eventually reached, and Ted was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Kaczynski has since said that the decision to report his brother was painful but he felt morally compelled to do so as a way to prevent more victims.[12]

David Kaczynski received a $1 million reward from the FBI for the Unabomber's capture. The reward was funded by a Congressional appropriation for the Justice Department and was, at the time, one of the largest rewards issued in a domestic case. In 1998, Kaczynski told the Associated Press that he planned to distribute the majority of the reward money to the bombing victims and their families, adding that this "might help us resolve our grief over what happened."[13] Kaczynski went on to set up the Unabomb Survivors Fund, which donated $630,000 (after legal fees and taxes) to the victims of his brother's bombings.[14]

Career

Prior to turning his brother Ted in to authorities, David Kaczynski worked as an assistant director of a shelter for runaway and homeless youth in Albany, New York, where he counseled and advocated for troubled, neglected, and abused youth. His brother's confrontation with the death penalty later motivated David Kaczynski to become an anti-death-penalty activist. In 2001, Kaczynski was named executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (as of 2008, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty). While the mission of NYADP originally focused only on ending the death penalty, under Kaczynski's guidance in 2008, it broadened its mission to address the unmet needs of all those affected by violence, including victims and their families. After leaving the NYADP, Kaczynski served as executive director of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in Woodstock, New York.[15]

Personal life

Kaczynski is married to Linda Patrik. He is a practicing Buddhist and a vegetarian.[16] In 2009, he published an essay about his relationship with his brother Ted, from childhood to adulthood, which appeared in a collection of essays.[17]

Kaczynski appeared in Netflix documentary Unabomber: In His Own Words (2020 TV mini-series). He was portrayed by Robert Hays in the 1996 television movie Unabomber: The True Story,[18] and by Mark Duplass in the 2017 television series Manhunt: Unabomber.[19]

References

  1. ^ AOL News Archived 2011-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Hernandez, Raymond (1996-04-05). "On The Suspect's Trail: The Family; Brother Who Tipped Off the Authorities Leads a Quiet, Simple Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  3. ^ "Every Last Tie | Duke University Press". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  4. ^ Chris Bergeron (September 2, 2007). "My brother's keeper: David Kaczynski discusses his role in capture of Unabomber". The Repository. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  5. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (1996-05-26). "Prisoner of Rage – A special report. From a Child of Promise to the Unabom Suspect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  6. ^ "Bookshelf | Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  7. ^ "Author Results for David Kaczynski". Columbia Spectator Archive. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Spectator Editors Award Promotions". Columbia Daily Spectator. Vol. CXI, no. 87. 20 March 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  9. ^ "The Unabomber - Cornell College". Archived from the original on 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  10. ^ Brooke, James; Barboza, David (12 April 1996). "The Brothers Kaczynski: How 2 Paths Diverged". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  11. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (September 19, 1995). "Times and The Washington Post Grant Mail Bomber's Demand" Archived 2018-07-29 at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times.
  12. ^ Interview on WXXI (AM), Rochester, NY, March 13, 2002.
  13. ^ Seligmann, Jean; Endt, Friso; Sigesmund, B. J. (August 31, 1998). "A million reasons to grieve". Newsweek. Vol. 132, no. 9. p. 61. eISSN 0028-9604. – via EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (subscription required)
  14. ^ Chris Bergeron (September 2, 2007). "My brother's keeper: David Kaczynski discusses his role in capture of Unabomber". The Repository. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  15. ^ "About the author" bio for 2016 book
  16. ^ Matthew Purdy (August 5, 2001). "Our Towns; Crime, Punishment and the Brothers K." The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  17. ^ Andrew Blauner, ed. (2009). Brothers: 26 Stories of Love & Rivalry. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-39129-7.
  18. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris (11 September 1996). "USA rips from headlines with 'Unabomber' movie". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  19. ^ Manhunt: Unabomber (TV Series 2017– ), archived from the original on 2017-09-07, retrieved 2017-09-09
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