did the government FAIL to give Theodore' Kaczynski's a fair trial in the unabomber case? probably true
but TWO wrongs dont make a right
sunday, october 24, 1999
page 23
Court to Hear Request By Kaczynski for Trial
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23 (AP) A Federal appeals court has agreed to hear Theodore' Kaczynski's request to withdraw his guilty plea for the Unabomber killings, go to trial and face a possible death sentence.
Mr. Kaczynski, a Harvard-trained mathematician who became a forest recluse, pleaded guilty in 1998 to mail bombings that killed three people wounded 23. Mr. Kaczynski's statements have connected the attacks to his campaign against technological tyranny.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed on Friday to consider whether Mr. Kaczynski's guilty plea was voluntary; whether he was properly denied the right to represent himself, and whether a defendant, in a death penalty trial, has a right to prevent his court-appointed lawyer from presenting evidence of mental impairment as a defense.
The Justice Department had agreed to the guilty plea and life sentence after a psychiatric examination concluded that Mr. Kaczynski was a paranoid schizophrenic but was competent to stand trial. The examination had been arranged by Mr. Kaczynski's lawyers over his objections.
Mr. Kaczynski had wanted to present a defense based on his views about technology and the environment. But his efforts to represent himself or bring in a lawyer who would argue his chosen defense were rejected by Judge Garland Burrell of Federal District Court in Sacramento, who said the requests were too late and would delay the case unduly.