Theodore John Kaczynski (born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber, is an American convicted murderer and political philosopher who had a campaign of mail bombings that killed three and wounded 23. He sent bombs to several universities and airlines from the late 1970s through early 1990s.

In his Industrial Society and Its Future (commonly called the "Unabomber Manifesto") he argued that his actions were a necessary (although extreme) ruse by which to attract attention to what he believed were the dangers of modern technology. The Unabomber was the target of the most expensive investigations in the FBI's history.

For his actions, Kaczynski was charged with numerous federal offenses stemming from his mail bombing campaign. In his April 24, 1995 letter to the New York Times, he promised "to desist from terrorism." To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski entered into a plea agreement, under which he pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Kaczynski's moniker as the Unabomber developed as a result of an FBI codename. Before his real identity was known, the FBI used the handle "UNABOM" ("university and airline bomber"), which resulted in variants such as Unabomer, Unibomber, and Unabomber when the media started using the name.

Labels: crime, ludite, terrorism, Unabomber

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16 1971 – September 13 1996), also known by his stage names: 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling hip-hop artist, with over seventy-five million albums sold worldwide including over fifty million in the United States alone. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes qualms with other fellow rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts with the law. Many fans, critics, and industry insiders rank him as the greatest rapper ever.

Labels: celebrity, crime, murder, music, Tupac Shakur

On 27th June 2005 BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to 10 murders in the Wichita, Kansas area. He was later sentenced to serve 10 consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole for 175 years.

Rader was particularly known for sending taunting letters to police and newspapers over the 30 years he remained at large. Ironically (or perhaps inevitably) one of these messages was traced to a personal computer at his Lutheran church resulting in his capture on February 5th 2005.





This British documentary was produced just months before the arrest of BTK and gives a fascinating perspective on exactly what was known of this criminal prior to his arrest and provides an interesting contrast to the A&E documentary below, which was produced after the BTK trial and sentencing.





The BTK killer's last known communication with the media and police was a padded envelope which arrived at FOX affiliate KSAS-TV in Wichita on February 16 2005. A purple, 1.44-MB Memorex floppy disk was enclosed in the package. Police found metadata embedded in a Microsoft Word document on the disk that pointed to Christ Lutheran Church, and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis". A search of the church website turned up Dennis Rader as president of the congregation council. Police immediately began surveillance of Rader.

This A&E documentary was produced post sentencing...





On August 18th 2005, Rader faced sentencing. The victims' families made statements, followed by Rader, who apologized for the crimes. He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, which requires a minimum of 175 years without a chance of parole. Because Kansas had no death penalty at the time the murders were committed, this was the maximum sentence allowed.




At his sentencing hearing on August 18, 2005, BTK killer Dennis Rader gave a rambling statement for 25 minutes addressing the court.



He was sentenced to serve 10 consecutive life sentences (one life sentence per victim), without possibility of parole for 175 years. This includes nine life sentences each without the possibility for parole for 15 years, and one life sentence without the possibility for parole for 40 years.

Labels: BTK, crime, Dennis Rader, Kansas, serial killer, usa, Wichita

On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, La.

From a local newspaper:

" Beer, which sells at 15 cents a bottle during normal times, was sold for 25 cents. Cigarettes went up to 20 cents a package and it was almost impossible to get a sandwich, two slices of bread and a small piece of ham, at any price.

Cars were parked so close together on the streets, when an ambulance from Dallas arrived to get the body of Clyde Barrow, the driver had to call upon the local police to find a parking place.

An amateur photographer who had taken pictures of the car, bodies, guns and officers who partecipated in the killings, was doing a land office business. Some out-of-town newspaper men who didn't have their own photographers, were paying $5 each for them."

Labels: bonnie and clyde, crime, usa, weapons