The Unabomber suspect has agreed to plead guilty in return for a life sentence without parole, according to American federal officials.

BBC Correspondent Tom Carver reports (Dur 1'04")

Theodore Kaczynski agreed to the terms after his previous conditions during plea bargaining were rejected by the Justice Department.

Kaczynski, 55, could still face trial in the states where the bombings occurred.

The anti-technology Unabomber killed three people and injured 29 more over 18 years with explosives either mailed or delivered to their victims.

Kaczynski wanted to conduct his own defence

But the plea bargain, expected to be put before the court in Sacramento, California, on Friday, resolves all federal charges against Kaczynski.

The key development that changed the course of the case was the finding that Kaczynski, while competent to stand trial, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

This was the major change that Justice Department officials had looked for as a basis for altering Attorney General Janet Reno's decision last spring to seek the death penalty.

Family's argument

Kaczynski lived in this remote shack in Montana

Kaczynski's family has long argued that the man accused of killing three and injuring 29 over 18 years of bombings was a paranoid schizophrenic.

But Kaczynski himself had resisted examination by government psychiatrists until last week.

He only agreed to be tested by a Bureau of Prisons psychiatrist in a bid to prove he was competent to defend himself.

Steve Futterman reports from Sacramento (1'-33")

Kaczynski had also wanted to sack his two lawyers, who planned to base his defence on mental illness.

Right to appeal

In December, Kaczynski had offered a plea to avoid the death penalty but wanted to reserve the right to appeal whether the government could use evidence seized in his Montana cabin.

The evidence included a completed bomb and a journal describing the Unabomber's attacks.

He had also sought federal help persuading local prosecutors not to seek his execution and had assurances that he would not be incarcerated in a federal mental hospital prison.

Kaczynski's conditions were dropped during the latest round of bargaining.
 

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