Unabomber Sentencing Moved Up to May 4

Theodore Kaczynski, who in return for life in prison confessed to waging an 18-year campaign of terror as the Unabomber, will be formally sentenced May 4, officials said Friday.

The sentencing, the result of a plea bargain that abruptly ended his trial Jan. 22, had been scheduled for May 15 but was moved up after probation officers finished their evaluation report early.

Kaczynski, a former university math professor whose package and letter bombs killed three people and injured 29 between 1978 and 1995, was arrested in 1996. He is being held in Sacramento County Jail.

The sentencing hearing, while largely a formality, will provide an opportunity for victims and their families to address the court--the first time they will have done so since the trial began.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Leesa Brown confirmed that some of the victims will speak, although which ones has not been confirmed. Kaczynski will also have an opportunity to speak, although it was not clear if he will.