 A federal grand jury indicted Kaczynski in April 1996 on 10 counts of illegally transporting , mailing , and using bombs . He was also charged with killing Scrutton , Mosser , and Murray . Initially , the government prosecution team indicated that it would seek the death penalty for Kaczynski after it was authorized by United States Attorney General Janet Reno . David Kaczynski 's attorney asked the former FBI agent who made the match between the Unabomber 's manifesto and Kaczynski to ask for leniency — he was horrified to think that turning his brother in might result in his brother 's death . Eventually , Kaczynski was able to avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty to all the government 's charges , on January 22 , 1998 . Later , Kaczynski attempted to withdraw his guilty plea , arguing it was involuntary . Judge Garland Ellis Burrell Jr. denied his request . The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that decision . 
