Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” was diagnosed with rectal cancer in March 2021, and his autopsy report reveals that he was noted to be depressed and sent for psychiatric evaluation a month prior to his suicide in June 2023. The report also details Kaczynski’s death as a suicide by hanging with a shoelace in his solitary cell at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Questions have been raised about whether his suicide was preventable and why he had access to a shoelace in his cell, despite his high-profile status within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The autopsy report also highlights Kaczynski’s history of mental health disorders and his depression leading up to his suicide. The report notes that he had been found hanging from a handicap rail in his room, was pulseless initially, and was resuscitated before being transferred to Duke University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Kaczynski’s rectal cancer diagnosis was at stage 4, and the autopsy revealed that the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs, causing massive blood loss during resuscitation.
Kaczynski, a Harvard-educated mathematician, was infamous for his deadly bombing spree that lasted from 1978 to 1995, killing three people and injuring 23 others. His campaign of homemade pipe bombs targeted universities, an American Airlines flight, and other entities, earning him the nickname “Unabomber” from the FBI. Despite allegedly expressing suicidal ideations in the past, Kaczynski had no prior history of suicidal attempts, according to the autopsy report.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment specifically on Kaczynski’s case or the conditions of his confinement following his suicide. However, the BOP has guidelines for suicide prevention and training at each facility, especially for inmates in detention or disciplinary segregation who may be at higher risk for suicidal behavior. A Justice Department inspector general report in February found numerous operational deficiencies in preventing inmate suicides, leading to unsafe conditions in BOP facilities.
Kaczynski was previously placed on suicide watch in 1998 when he attempted to hang himself while awaiting trial, despite insisting that he was not mentally ill. To avoid the death penalty, he eventually pleaded guilty to his crimes and was transferred to the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. While receiving treatment for his rectal cancer at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, Kaczynski refused further chemotherapy due to negative side effects and his poor prognosis, as noted by medical examiners in his autopsy report.
The circumstances surrounding Ted Kaczynski’s suicide and his access to a shoelace in his cell have raised concerns about the BOP’s ability to prevent inmate suicides and ensure the safety of high-profile prisoners. Kaczynski’s death reveals the complexities of mental health care and suicide prevention within the prison system, especially in cases involving individuals with a history of mental health disorders. Despite the BOP’s protocols for preserving evidence and investigating deaths by suicide, questions persist about whether more could have been done to prevent Kaczynski’s tragic end.
