Kaczynski Wrote of Plans to Kill, U.S. Says

Theodore Kaczynski wrote in his journal “I intend to start killing people” and compared himself to Charles Whitman, the famous University of Texas tower killer of 16 in the 1960s, according to government documents filed Wednesday.

“They are bound to make me out to be a sickie,” the Unabomber suspect allegedly wrote in a journal entry. The text of the entry was submitted by a government psychiatrist to prove that Kaczynski is not mentally ill.

“I intend to start killing people,” said the entry. “If I am successful at this, it is possible that, when I am caught [not alive, I fervently hope!] there will be some speculation in the news media as to my motives for killing people (as in the case of Charles Whitman, who killed some 13 people in Texas in the ‘60s).

“If such speculation occurs, they are bound to make me out to be a sickie, and to ascribe to me motives of a sordid or ‘sick’ type,” Kaczynski wrote, adding that he was angry at the prospect that “my psychology will be misrepresented.”

The debate over Kaczynski’s mental state has intensified in recent days as defense lawyers Quin Denvir and Judy Clarke have fought for the chance to bring on experts who will say that Kaczynski suffers from schizophrenia.

The government is fighting the attempt, saying that Kaczynski’s refusal to undergo a court-ordered mental examination by government experts has undermined their ability to challenge the defense.

According to the statement by psychiatrist Phillip J. Resnick, Kaczynski allegedly wrote that he was trying to prevent media analysis by writing “an account of my own personality and its development that will be as accurate as possible.”

“If I succeed in killing enough people, the news media may have something to say about me when I am killed or caught,” he said. “I would point out that many tame, conformist types seem to have a powerful need to depict the enemy of society as sordid, repulsive or ‘sick.’ ”

Another government psychiatrist, Dr. Park Elliott Dietz, said the defense has failed to prove that Kaczynski himself doesn’t want to be examined by government doctors.

“We will know whether he refuses only when given the opportunity to meet him,” Dietz said.

Clarke and Denvir did not return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday evening. A hearing on the dispute is scheduled Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile Wednesday, the search for jurors passed the halfway point with 32 prospective jurors tentatively qualified to serve on the panel.

At least 64 prospective jurors are needed before attorneys begin structuring the final panel of 12 and six alternates through the use of challenges.

U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. and the lawyers for both sides have been quizzing prospects for five days. Those tentatively accepted have expressed strong feelings for and against the death penalty, but agreed that they could be open to opposing views if it becomes necessary.