The judge in the trial of Theodore Kaczynski, accused of being the Unabomber, strongly indicated Friday that he would allow Kaczynski’s lawyers to call expert witnesses to testify about how their client’s mental condition may have affected his ability to understand his actions.
Although he did not rule definitively, U.S. District Court Judge Garland Burrell Jr. left little doubt he would say no to the prosecution’s request that the defense be denied all expert testimony. The prosecution made the request because Kaczynski refused the court’s order to submit to a mental examination by government-appointed psychologists.
The defense argued that Kaczynski’s mental illness left him with a profound fear of psychological examination and that made it impossible for him to follow the judge’s instructions.
The defense suggested a compromise under which experts would be allowed to testify about Kaczynski’s mental competency based only upon his statements, writings and other data, and not upon any information gathered during direct examination of him.
Burrell told lawyers for both sides that he was inclined to go along with that compromise provided the prosecution was not hindered in its ability to present its case.
He asked the two sides to work out details of a deal and report to him next week.
The apparent decision to allow some form of expert testimony was a significant victory for the defense, which is confronted with a huge amount of government evidence indicating Kaczynski is behind the nearly two-decade-long bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 29 others.
Lead defense attorney Quin Denvir submitted legal briefs this week to show that Kaczynski suffered from paranoid schizophrenia with an added disorder that leaves him terribly fearful of mental health professionals.
To support their argument, Kaczynski’s lawyers produced statements from three experts who examined the defendant directly or reviewed his writings and the results of tests administered on him.
One of the experts, David Foster, a medical doctor, said that early in his examination of Kaczynski, the accused man turned to him and said, “You are the enemy.” Then Kaczynski broke off all contact with Foster.
Another expert, neuropsychologist Karen Bronk Froming, said she gave Kaczynski a battery of psychological tests and the results convinced her the defendant suffered from schizophrenia.
She made it clear that she thought Kaczynski’s high intelligence and his ability to write reasoned, sometimes quite clear essays, should not lead to a conclusion that he was sane.
“Mr. Kaczynski’s superior intellect should not be confused with sound mental health,” she wrote. “While his intelligence enables him to think in more elaborate and convoluted ways, and appear verbally intact superficially, his inferences and logic are clinically distorted.”
The heart of the defense’s case appeared to be the contention that Kaczynski’s diminished mental capacity made it impossible for him to fully form an intent before he acted.
Even if this argument fails to convince a jury to acquit Kaczynski, testimony about his mental state could be vital in saving him from execution.
Kaczynski, a 55-year-old former mathematics professor at the University of California Berkeley, has been charged in connection with 16 bomb attacks that killed three and injured another 29 between 1978 and 1995.
In the present case, Kaczynski is being tried for four of those bombings that killed two Sacramento men and wounded two others.
Kaczynski also faces a separate trial in connection with a New Jersey bombing that killed an advertising executive.
Kaczynski has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
