Georgia Inmate Who Mailed Bombs From State Prison Sentenced To 80 Years In Federal Prison

A Georgia state prisoner who built and mailed homemade bombs to federal offices while incarcerated has been sentenced to 80 years in federal prison.

David Dwayne Cassady, 57, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted malicious use of explosive materials, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced Tuesday.

Cassady constructed two destructive devices while incarcerated in a now-shuttered Georgia Department of Corrections state prison in Reidsville, and sent them through the mail to the U.S. Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Both devices were intercepted before causing harm.

“This defendants devices were not only a threat to the recipients, but to every individual that unknowingly transported and delivered them,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina said in a statement. “The Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will continue to take action against those who seek to harm the public.”

Postal inspectors said the devices were designed to incite fear and could have endangered anyone in their path.

“Cassady has been sentenced to a significant amount of time in prison as he intended to incite fear to his targets and amongst the general public,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The sentencing represents the hard work of Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners to keep the sanctity of the mail system safe.”

Cassady was already serving a life sentence in state prison for crimes including kidnapping.

In the federal case, U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall sentenced Cassady to 480 months on each count of attempted malicious use of explosive materials, with the terms to run consecutively. He was also sentenced to five years of court-ordered supervision after his release, but as there is no parole in the federal prison system, he will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI Anchorage Office, Homeland Security Investigations Federal Protective Service, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Corrections Office of Professional Standards.