Kaczynski Psychiatric Tests to Begin Oct. 25

Psychiatric testing of Unabomber defendant Theodore Kaczynski is set to begin Oct. 25 in a prison cell with a one-way mirror, but probably without videotaping, a federal judge said Friday.

But U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. left unresolved a number of issues related to the mental tests, including the number of doctors and the length of the exams. He said he will rule on those by Wednesday.

Prosecutors, who said they need the exams to prepare their case against a possible mental defect defense, want two doctors and lengthy testing; the defense says only one psychiatrist is necessary and tests should be limited.

Burrell also said he was inclined to reject the government’s request that the testing be videotaped.

Federal prosecutor Robert Cleary said videotaping was necessary to ensure that the psychiatric tests were conducted fairly and to record “nonverbal communication” that could be significant to the case. He did not elaborate.

Defense attorney Gary Sowards said traditional medical protocols include audio recording, but not videotaping. “There is absolutely no need to videotape this,” he said.

Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that a one-way mirror would be set up to allow defense experts to monitor the tests.

Kaczynski, 55, accused in a 10-count indictment of using bombs to kill two people in Sacramento a decade apart and injuring two others, is being held in isolation at a federal prison in Pleasanton. His trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 12 in Sacramento.

He also faces separate charges in New Jersey in the 1994 bombing death of an advertising executive.