ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609230052
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SACRAMENTO, CALIF.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Theodore Kaczynski kept a daily journal in which he admitted carrying out all 16 bombings attributed to the Unabomber, making such entries as ``I mailed that bomb'' and ``I sent that bomb,'' a prosecutor said Friday.
``These documents are the backbone of the government's case,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cleary said. The journals also discussed the results of the bombings and had entries reflecting Kaczynski's ``desire to kill,'' he said.
The disclosure came at a hearing to set a trial date for the Berkeley math professor-turned-hermit. Kaczynski, 54, did not attend the hearing.
Late Friday, U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell approved a defense request to delay setting a trial date until late November. Burrell said the defense needs more time to analyze the facts and develop legal strategy.
The trial in California involves only four of the bombings: the deaths of a computer store owner in 1985 and a timber industry lobbyist in 1995, and the maiming of a University of California geneticist and a Yale University computer expert in 1993.
Cleary said the government will use forensic evidence to connect Kaczynski to materials used in mailing the bombs. The judge interrupted the prosecutor before he could elaborate.
Later, Burrell cautioned both the prosecution and the defense at future hearings to avoid mentioning ``information that could undermine the defendant's right to an impartial jury.''
Federal agents arrested Kaczynski on April 3 at his cabin near Lincoln, Mont., after his brother compared Kaczynski's letters to the family with the Unabomber's long manifesto and alerted the authorities.
Cleary said the daily journals, seized from the cabin, contain ``Kaczynski's detailed admissions'' to each of the 16 explosions, which killed three people and wounded 23. The prosecutor said the entries read, ``I mailed that bomb. I sent that bomb.''
Defense attorneys argued that they have not had enough time to sort through the 1,600 pounds of records gathered in the 17-year investigation.
``This case is the largest case, the biggest case, the most complex case that's ever been filed in this district,'' federal defender Quin Denvir told the judge.
But Cleary said many of the documents were unrelated to the trial. He held his hands in the air to illustrate that the fundamental evidence is a stack of papers only a foot high.
``This is not a circumstantial case,'' Cleary said. ``This is not a case that involves 22,000 documents.''
Denvir was joined by Judy Clarke, the federal defender for eastern Washington and Idaho, who made her first appearance in court on the defense team.
Prosecutors said Clarke, who defended Susan Smith of Union, S.C., and helped her avoid the death penalty in the drowning of her two young sons, was brought in because the defense is preparing for a death penalty case.
Attorney General Janet Reno will make the final decision on whether to seek the death penalty. Cleary said his office will file its recommendations within a couple of weeks.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Theodore Kaczynski Charged as Unabomberby CNB