Education
Columbia University.
Columbia University.
After the anonymous Unabomber demanded in 1995 that his manifesto, "Industrial Society and Its Future," be published in a major newspaper as a condition for ceasing his mail-bomb campaign, the New York Times and the Washington Post both published the manifesto, hoping somebody would recognize the writing style of the author David"s wife, Linda Patrik, first suspected Theodore and urged David to read the manifesto when it was published. David recognized Ted"s writing style, and the experienced criminal defense lawyer the couple hired notified authorities.
On April 3, 1996, police arrested Ted Kaczynski in his rural cabin in Lincoln, Montana.
David had received assurance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that his identity as the informant would be kept secret, but his name was leaked to the media. In addition, he sought a guarantee from federal prosecutors that Ted would receive appropriate psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
The Justice Department"s subsequent active pursuit of the death penalty for Ted and Attorney General Janet Reno"s initial refusal to accept a plea bargain in exchange for a life sentence was seen as a betrayal by David and other Kaczynski family members. Such a plea bargain was eventually reached, and Ted was sentenced to serve life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.
David has said in broadcast interviews since his brother"s arrest that notifying federal authorities of his brother"s possible involvement in the Unabomber case was a painful decision, but he felt morally compelled to do it in order to save lives that might have been taken had the bombings continued.
David Kaczynski received a $1 million reward posted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the Unabomber"s capture. The reward was funded by a Congressional appropriation for the Department of Justice and was, at the time, one of the largest rewards issued in a domestic case. David told the Associated Press that he planned to divvy up the majority of the reward monies among Ted"s victims and their families adding that doing such "might help us resolve our grief over what happened."
David was assistant director of the Equinox shelter for runaway and homeless youth in Albany, where he counseled and was an advocate for troubled, neglected and abused youth in the Capital District.
Ted Kaczynski"s confrontation with the death penalty later motivated David to become an anti-death penalty activist.
In 2001, David was named executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (as of 2008, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty). While the mission of NYADP originally focused only on ending the death penalty, under David"s guidance, in 2008, it broadened its mission to address in a progressive manner the unmet needs of all those affected by violence, including victims and their families.
David is a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University.