The Ethics of Archiving "Murderabilia"

Abstract

To collect only the pleasant, the democratic, the pleasing records that document our past-the aspects of American life that make us all proud-would be so simple. However, this is not life-nor should it be-and these types of records do not give a complete picture of our culture and our history. These were the thoughts of Julie Herrada, the then Assistant Curator of the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan, when she wrote to Ted Kaczynski in 1997 requesting all of his personal writings and materials that he had in his possession. The papers that Kaczynski eventually sent to Herrada were housed in the Labadie Collection, an archive that had long made it its mission to document the radical and social protest movements in American history, acquiring materials on antiwar, transgender, anarchist, and alternative sexuality movements (none of which would be considered mainstream). Concerns over controversial acquisitions, media interference, third-party privacy rights, and donor requests all played a significant part in Herrada's experience, and add an invaluable dimension as a case study to any further discussion of such issues.The University of Michigan and the Ted Kaczynski Papers, 1997-1999Ted Kaczynski was arrested in 1996 on charges of being the notorious Unabomber for two decades. During his violent campaign he mailed bombs to individuals involved in fields related to science, genetic engineering, forestry, airlines, and universities. Before his arrest in 1996, three people were killed and twenty-four were injured (Herrada, 2003-2004, p. 35). Kaczynski was captured in 1996, and after a long trial, pleaded guilty on January 22, 1998. He was sentenced to four life sentences plus 30 years in prison (D. Johnson, 1998). Kaczynski later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he was coerced into the plea agreement, but his appeal was denied (Egelko, 2001).So how did Julie Herrada come to acquire the unusual collection of correspondence that Kaczynski had in his jail cell in Colorado? Soon after Kaczynski's arrest, Herrada saw the potential for scholarly research that his radical writings might hold. In 1997 she wrote to Kaczynski's attorney and basically asked for all his writings (Dodge, 2005). At the time she contacted him, Kaczynski was part of a media frenzy. His writings and crimes had garnered the public's continuing, morbid fascination. Herrada pointed out in an interview for Library Journal that her job involved keeping track of events followed in the radical press and collecting new materials accordingly (Library Journal, 2002). Noting the increasing interest of the radical and anarchist press in his writings, she indicated that she could not ignore the opportunity.Four months after writing to Kaczynski's attorney (Judy Clarke), she received word that he was interested and wanted information on the library and its mission. Soon after, Kaczynski sent all the correspondence that he had written and received since his arrest (Herrada, 2003-2004, p. 38). After that, papers started arriving every 6 to 8 weeks (K. Johnson, 2001). Kaczynski sent the correspondence before any deed of gift was signed-he was only allowed to keep a small portion of letters in his cell, and fearing their destruction, sent them to Herrada (Herrada, 2003-2004, p. 38).The first ethical issue in this acquisition was the validity of the acquisition itself. Herrada's accession of this collection was directly in line with the Society of American Archivists' Code of Ethics' statements on collecting policies (as it existed at the time). According to Section III of the Code (Collecting Policies), acquisitions should be made in accordance with a written policy statement ... and consistent with the mission of the archives (The Society of American Archivists, 1992, Section III). The collection must be within the collecting scope, and not acquired for any other reason. While Kaczynski was obviously a well-known and controversial figure, it was not his fame or the potential media attention that the institution would garner that interested Herrada. …