Georgia Inmate Sentenced to 80 Years for Mailing Bombs to Federal Courthouse and DOJ
STATESBORO, Ga. — A Georgia inmate has been sentenced to 80 years in federal prison for building and mailing two functional bombs from behind bars, targeting a federal courthouse in Alaska and the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
The Justice Department announced the sentencing Tuesday, calling the crimes a deliberate attempt to instill fear and retaliate against prison conditions.
Inmate Identified
Officials identified the inmate as David Dwayne Cassady, 57, who now goes by Lena Noel Summerlin. At the time of the crimes, Cassady was serving time in a Georgia state prison in Tattnall County for previous convictions, including kidnapping and aggravated sodomy dating back to the early 1990s.
Details of the Bomb Plot
Court documents revealed that both bombs were functional and capable of exploding. They were created inside prison and mailed directly from the facility.
The plea agreement said Cassady admitted to mailing the devices “in retaliation for prison conditions.”
Defense and Sentencing
Cassady’s attorney, Tina Maddox, argued in a sentencing memo that the crimes were “acts of desperation born out of unrelenting abuse, hopelessness, and mental distress.”
Despite the defense’s plea, prosecutors emphasized the grave risk posed to not only the intended targets but also postal workers and others unknowingly handling the packages.
“This defendant’s devices were not only a threat to the recipients, but to every individual that unknowingly transported and delivered them,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling.
Criminal Background
Cassady has a long criminal history spanning more than three decades, with convictions for multiple violent crimes.
With the new federal sentence, the inmate is unlikely to ever leave custody.
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