BOSTON – Harvard University alumni attending their 50th class reunion this week are getting updates on classmates, but one person stands out among those sharing news about career moves, retirements and grandkids – Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
Kaczynski graduated in 1962 and is locked up in the federal Supermax prison in Colorado for killing three people and injuring 23 during a nationwide bombing spree between 1978 and 1995. In an alumni directory, he lists his occupation as “prisoner” and says his awards are “Eight life sentences, issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, 1998.”
It’s an update the alumni association now regrets.
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“While all members of the class who submit entries are included, we regret publishing Kaczynski’s references to his convictions and apologize for any distress that it may have caused others,” the Harvard Alumni Association said in a statement Wednesday evening.
The alumni association said all class members, including Kaczynski, were invited to submit entries for the class report, distributed for reunion activities during commencement week.
A Harvard spokesman said the update was submitted by Kaczynski but could not immediately say how the university confirmed that. A message seeking comment was left with Kaczynski’s attorney.
Kaczynski is a Harvard-trained mathematician who also got master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan.
He lived as a recluse in a Montana cabin, railed against technology and led authorities on the nation’s longest and costliest manhunt. He was caught in 1996 when his brother recognized his idiosyncratic writings and tipped off authorities.
Kaczynski pleaded guilty two years later to avoid a trial at which his lawyer had planned to offer an insanity defence. The guilty plea also saved him from the death penalty.
Items seized from his cabin were auctioned last year by the U.S. Marshals Service for more than $200,000 to benefit his victims.
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