IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Case No:
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA,
Plaintiff,

v.

THEODORE JOHN KACZYNSKI,

Defendant,
________________________________________/

SENTENCING MEMORANDUM
ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

COMES NOW, the Plaintiff, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, by and

through undersigned counsel, MICHAEL CITELLI, Statewide Prosecutor, submits this

sentencing memorandum in support of a pursuance of the death penalty upon THEODORE

(henceforth referred to as “Ted”) JOHN KACZYNSKI, the Defendant. This memorandum is

filed in respect to Florida Statutes §775.082 and 921.141.

Fla. Stat. §775.082(1)(a) provides that “a person who has been convicted of capital felony

shall be punished by death if the proceeding held to determine sentence according to the

procedure set forth in §921.141 results in a determination that such a person shall be punished by

death, otherwise such a person shall be punished by life imprisonment and shall be ineligible for

parole. Ted Kaczynski has already been found guilty of his crimes. This proceeding is to

determine whether or not death shall be his punishment for said crimes. As the defendant has not

objected to a right to a sentencing proceeding by jury, his fate is in their hands. According to Fla.

Stat. §921.141 the jury must unanimously find for at least one aggravating factor for the death

penalty to be considered. If so, the final decision will rest upon that evidence “relevant to the

nature of the crime and the character of the defendant and shall include matters relating to any of
the aggravating factors enumerated in subsection (6) and for which notice has been provided

pursuant to s. 782.04(1)(b) or mitigating circumstances enumerated in subsection (7).”

Ted Kaczynski has pled guilty to all charges against him, including 13 federal bombing-

related charges, while identifying himself as the Unabomber who killed, harmed, and terrorized

Americans over the course of 18 years.

I.

AGGRAVATING FACTORS

Ted has never before been convicted of a felony, nonetheless he acted knowingly in

creating a great risk of death to many persons. He was always very bright, shining within the

minds of his contemporaries: whether they be family members, classmates, school faculty or

even neighbors. His own mother described him as sympathetic to “animals in cages or otherwise

helpless.” Not only was he cited as well-adjustable child by his elementary school

administrators, but he was an academic genius scoring as high as 167 on his IQ at a young age.

His high school friends even regarded him as the “smartest kid in class.” If these facts does not

say enough he graduated high school at 15, and was also admitted to Harvard College at age 16.

This is uncommon today and back in 1958 even more-so. He graduated in 1962 with 3.12 GPA

and then went on to the University of Michigan earning both his master’s and doctoral degrees.

Afterward, he had a stint teaching at the university. In leaving the university he moved to

Montana where he learned to depend on nature for his survival, while at the same time engaging

with the community library keeping with his academic and literary endeavors. As his attitude

became hostile toward the public he took it upon himself to craft bombs from everyday waste

and household items, making sure to avoid leaving any trace of himself upon them. He then

strategically organized the mailing of those bombs to the ends of subsequent death and
destruction. All this is to say that he was a very intelligent individual, and knew exactly what he

was doing. He also knew that the areas he sent the bombs would be highly populated as he has

lived in a college environment and has the common sense enough to know what kind of damage

he would do, in fact, he intended it.

A primary goal of his in sending out those bombs was to enlighten society as to the

dangers of the budding world of technology. In doing so, he targeted universities and airlines.

The disruption of those daily organizations works as a hindrance to the lawful exercise of

governmental function or enforcement of the law in that it deterred the studies of soon to be

government officials (thus delaying their admittance and contribution to government practices),

but also, in the case of airlines, it staggers the delivery of postal services through cargo while

also denying pilots and crew the ability to ensure safety as required by the Federal Aviation

Administration. He also hinders the ability of law enforcement to effectively protect and serve.

How are they to defend society from threats when those threats are unforeseeable?

In regard to the characterization of his felony: it can easily be deemed heinous, atrocious,

and cruel. As aforementioned, he was sympathetic to helpless animals and thus knew and felt

strongly against the wrongs done to them. And yet, a human life is considered to be abundantly

more valuable in society. Regardless of this fact, Kaczynski acted in a heinous, atrocious, and

cruel manner by targeting unknowing and innocent civilians. Are all civilians guilty of what the

Industrial Revolution and advancement of technology have done to change the landscape of the

world today? Kaczynski attacked the innocent to bring about attention to and the

accomplishment of his selfish goals. He was unsympathetic and let his hostility rain down on a

poor and unsuspecting people, thus forcing them to live in fear for 18 years.
 Not only was he responsible for three separate homicides, but in all injury and paranoia

he caused he acted in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner. His extraordinary intelligence

would not allow him ignorance as to what is right and what is wrong. He knew and hoped to

maim and kill. The lives of those individuals had no bearing on his actions. He was unfeeling.

None of the terror or destruction he caused left him sympathetic. This fact is obvious in that he

sent out 16 different bombs to a variety of different locations. This fact lends credence to him

being calculated and premeditated. He picked specific areas, built a bomb for each, and took it

upon himself to go to the post office and mail it out. How could it not be premeditated or

calculated? Every move he made required extensive and effortful thought. He knew exactly what

he was doing.

II.

MITIGATING FACTORS

Ted Kaczynski had maintained spotless record up to the point committing the crimes we

base this argument upon. Regardless of his life of innocence, it’s his 18 year campaign reign of

terror that has now defined him and it is upon this that he must be judged.

In justification of what he did: my opponent will label him as having acted under the

influence of extreme mental or emotional distress. He will argue that Ted’s rough childhood

traumatized him to the point of irrationality in adulthood. That childhood including a hives

breakout which isolated him in a hospital for some time at a very young age, skipping a grade

and being ridiculed by the older kids as a result of it, his alleged potential but never confirmed

autism claimed by his mother, graduation at 15 and subsequent entry into Harvard at 16. The

worst of these damning instances occurred during his final developmental years – lived out in

college. He participated in an experiment where after students wrote essays on their beliefs,
hopes, and dreams: those essays would be used to hurt them. The verbal ridicule was defined as

“vehement, sweeping, and personally abusive attacks.” As the participants responded in rage, the

recording of the occurrence would be played back to them.

This cycle of verbal abuse and identity destruction went on for three years, every week.

He had obviously endured a lot but what he lived through, though compelling, cannot justify the

taking of human life. His ultimate motivation was to retaliate against “the system” for bleeding

into and stealing from nature. The system may be comprised of government officials, innovators,

corporations or what have you. The only thing it would not be is the people it serves. As

previously discussed. they have no choice but to take the world as it is if they expect to survive

and thrive. Not to mention all of the other participants of the experiments turned out fine. How

dare Ted Kaczynski blame them for the oppression of nature? It is easy to see that he is also

taking revenge against the hand that was dealt to him in the sadness of his life experiences, but

again it is no justification. Others have gone through similar circumstances and have risen above

the hardship, rather than succumbing under its pressure and turning to vengeance.

It is rational to be bitter, but obviously wrong to take that bitterness in the direction that

he did. There were other ways of tackling the problem and he picked one of the most hurtful

because he was rational enough to determine that weak point and take advantage of it. His

mental and emotional disturbance did not deter his ability to excel within his academics nor did it

deteriorate his ability to experience and enjoy the world. What pushed him to violence was his

sadness over the damage nature experienced. But this holds absolutely no connection to his

childhood/young adulthood trauma. To say so is not observant of the facts of Kaczynski’s life

and therefore, incorrect.

 Kaczynski was able to fully appreciate the criminality of his conduct and was not at all

impaired in his ability to follow the law. His academia and intelligence deny him those

considerations. He was very bright and thus knew how to hide his criminality while still doing

massive damage. He can very easily be considered a genius as he was able to avoid capture for

18 years while keeping his attacks at a constant. The strategies he held to kept him safe and

accomplished his goals. They are evidence to soundness of mind in self-preservation, strategic

attacks, and awareness of his own criminality. His avoidance is too strong to claim he could not

understand the gravity of his actions.

III.

CONCLUSION

All in all, there is no denying Kaczynski had a hard life. On the one hand, he was very

fortunate to be as intelligent as he was. He achieved what he wanted in school; although, he did

not receive the greatest paying job. So in turn he moved to the wilderness and learned to live off

the land. Because of society’s ever abounding encroachments on nature, he was somewhat

denied the peace of mind it provided him. His reaction was far more extreme than what it should

have been, and with the intelligence he possessed, it is clear he knew as much. He knew how to

hurt society and willingly pursued terror to accomplish his ends. The law did not matter to him

nor lives of innocent people. What mattered to him were his own selfish ambitions and upon

those he made all of his decisions. He is rational and cannot be excused for his actions. His

conduct in where to attack, how to attack, when, and how to avoid capture all speak to his

rationality and knowledge as to the criminal nature of his actions. He has no excuse. He killed

three innocent people and injured 23 others. Do not let him walk away from his responsibility.

Let not the mitigating factors my opponent alleges dissuade you as to the gravity of what he did.
Let the facts of his actions determine what he deserves. Consider the death penalty with the

utmost sincerity of the situations exposed to you.

Dated: October 30, 2017

Respectfully submitted,

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

By________________________

MICHAEL CITELLI

Statewide Prosecutor

PROOF OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of this Sentencing Memorandum was sent to the
relevant parties, Ted Kaczynski at Florida State Prison, 23916 NW 83rd Avenue, Raiford, FL
32026 and the Florida Supreme Court, 500 S Duval St., Tallahassee, FL 32399 by way of First
Class Mail through the U.S. Postal Service on this date of October 30th, 2017.

Respectfully submitted,

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

By________________________

MICHAEL CITELLI

Statewide Prosecutor