Incident Summary:
12/16/1989: Walter Leroy Moody, Jr., the sole member of Americans for a Competent Federal Judicial System, sent a mail bomb to the Mountain Brook, Alabama, United States home of Robert Smith Vance, a judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The bomb detonated when Vance opened the package, killing him and severely injuring his wife Helen.
Overview
GTD ID:
198912160008
When:
1989-12-16
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Alabama
City:
Mountain Brook
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Government (General) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals |
| Specific Description |
Robert Smith Vance |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Letter Bomb |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Pipe bomb placed in a small brown package triggered to detonate when opened |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Additional Information |
Walter Leroy Woody, Jr. sent an anonymous letter to Brenda Wood at WAGA-TV in Atlanta claiming that this attack was perpetrated by the Americans for a Competent Federal Judicial System. In the letter, Moody specifically referenced the rape and murder of Julie Love, a White woman who was kidnapped by two African Americans in Atlanta one year earlier. Authorities believed that Robert Vance was targeted because of his pro-Civil Rights stance. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
1 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 1 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
1 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| "Moody Convicted in Mailbomb Deaths," United Press International, June 28, 1991. |
| "Letter May Be Tied to Bombings; Missive Assails Courts, Threatens More Killings," Washington Post, December 29, 1986. |
| Tony Kennedy, "Jury Convicts Moody on All Charges in Mail-Bombing Deaths," Associated Press, June 28, 1991. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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