STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — An inmate already serving time has received an additional 80-year sentence in federal prison. Authorities reported that this prisoner constructed two bombs while incarcerated and sent them to the Anchorage federal courthouse in Alaska and the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Federal prosecutors revealed the sentence for David Dwayne Cassady, 57, who was serving time in a Georgia state prison when the explosives were created. Cassady admitted guilt to two charges of attempted malicious use of explosive materials.
Defense attorney Tina Maddox indicated that Cassady suffered from severe anxiety and gender dysphoria, describing the offenses as “desperate acts triggered by ongoing abuse, feelings of hopelessness, and mental strain.” The attorney stated that Cassady, a transgender woman, now identifies as Lena Noel Summerlin, as noted in a court filing from July 8.
The indictment outlines that both explosive devices were assembled within a state prison located in Tattnall County, Georgia, and dispatched from there. The specifics of how the explosives were made or sourced are not provided in the document.
The plea agreement confirms that the bombs were operational and capable of detonation. The inmate confessed to sending them as a reaction to the conditions within the prison.
Having been incarcerated in various Georgia prisons since the early 1990s, the inmate’s criminal history includes over a dozen offenses such as kidnapping and aggravated sodomy, as recorded by the Georgia Department of Corrections.
“This defendant’s devices were not only a threat to the recipients, but to every individual that unknowingly transported and delivered them,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said in a statement.
The defendant “intended to incite fear” in the targets and among the public, said Rodney Hopkins, the inspector in charge of the Atlanta division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
