See No Evil, Hearst No Evil: Former Symbionese Liberation Army Member Kathleen Soliah Released From Prison

Sara Jane Olson - formerly known as Kathleen Soliah - has been released on parole after serving seven years in prison for attempting to kill two Los Angeles police officers with pipe bombs in 1975, and a concurrent six year sentence for shooting a bank customer during a robbery that same year.

Before her arrest, Soliah had lived off the radar as a soccer mom, going by the name “Sara Jane Olson.” Before her eventual arrest in 1999, she had kept busy reading newspapers to the blind, volunteering in soup kitchens, aiding victims of torture and starring in as Susan B. Anthony in the community theater production. 

The Symbionese Liberation Army, active between 1973 and 1975, was involved in a notorious Hibernia Bank robbery perhaps best known for having included heiress Patty Hearst, whom the organization had kidnapped, sexually assaulted and brainwashed.

The California Department of Corrections has allowed Soliah to serve parole in Minnesota as per her request.

Which begs the question: How does one determine rehabilitation and punishment for a crime? And should the passing of years - spent in remorse and committing charitable acts - lessen punishment? And if Solilah was, like Patty Hearts, abused and brainwashed as a member, does that have an impact on how she should be tried? You tell us.

It’s something to ponder, especially given the fact that the S.L.A. was initially preoccupied with the treatment of black inmates in the American prison system.

Anyway. Here’s the famous video of Patty during the bank heist:

Former Symbionese Liberation Army Member Released From Prison [NYT]