Kathleen Soliah (d/b/a "Sarah Jane Olson")

[goldenearring]

I read that, having plead guilty to aiding and abetting the planting of enough dynamite to blow up 15 city blocks under a police car in California, over 20 years ago, our dear fellow Minnesotan, "Sarah Jane" has now changed her mind (again) and requested a trial and to withdraw her guilty plea.  Kathleen Soliah was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, one of the most radical terrorist nut groups of the 70s, in America.  Some of you may recall another name more quickly:  heiress Patty Hearst.  She was involved in the SLA and actually testified against Kathleen Soliah, giving Sarah Jane (her assumed name after going underground and moving to Minnesota) a much more difficult fight to prove her innocence.  It is so hard to believe that there are actually groups here that are fighting for her, even though they believe she did it.  They say that she should not be held accountable for her actions because, after all, she's turned her life around and is a good soccer mom, etc. now.  Anybody got any insight/opinions on situations like this or on this particular one if you happen to know much about it?  (I'm about 95% sure the majority of my facts are accurate.)

[workerbee2]

but we should ALL be held accountable for the things we've done.  There are consequences to every action and I think she should accept her just desserts.  For heaven's sake, she was a TERRORIST!

"...and justice for all."

Elaine

[goldenearring]

My, oh my, we need you to somehow get on the prospective juror's list, Elaine, even though you'd be booted off right away, just like me!  She thought that she could get off with a slap on the hand, at first, if she plea-bargained.  Then she changed her mind and decided she wanted to go to trial.  Then, much to her [probable] consternation, the events of 9/11 made our police and firefighting forces untouchable heroes in the eyes of nearly every American and world citizen who saw a t.v.  So she figured that she would receive an "unfair" trial, because of all of the undue attention the media had been giving to the police and fire people, and pled guilty.  Immediately after she pled guilty, she walked outside the courtroom [can somebody say "idiot" please?] and gave a press interview in which she stated that "I have just pled guilty to something of which I am innocent."  Thank God for the judge in her case.  He called her back into the courtroom and said, in essence, "Listen, baby.  You can't have it both ways:  guilty in the courtroom and innocent out in the world.  What is it:  innocent or guilty?"  You could see the fire in her eyes, like when a parent tells a terrible-2'er to seit down in his highchair.  She started out recounting all of the things that she was NOT guilty of and finished up by saying, ". . . and as far as aiding and abetting . . . [blah blah blah] . . . of that I am guilty."  Publicized far and wide over the television network.  After all the tax dough she has cost us, I say, "No more.  No trial.  You made your choice.  It's over."  Let's hope the judge agrees and just sticks to the sentencing date of 12/7.  I guess it would be hard, after over twenty of years of thinking you'd gotten away with something, to find out that the piper was at your door, waiting to be paid.  What do you think her sentence will be?  I figured she'd probably get a year's probation, and then I learned that due to the felony status of the crime that the least she could get by with is 1-5 years' time.  What do you think is fair, even though I know that's hard to gauge as probably none of us is going to go back and study the news from the 70s and all facts to date?  Do you know of anybody else to whom this kind of situation has happened?

[radaro]

Hey, if they are still hunting Nazi war criminals from almost 60 years ago, why should she get off for something that happened only 30 years ago?

I don't know the details of the incident.  Were any people killed when the bomb went off?  Are they any less dead than they were 30 years ago?

[goldenearring]

I think the conspiracy was foiled before anything actually blew up; thank heaven.  I agree, and had forgotten about the Nazi war criminals still being hunted; that is a great point.  Sara Jane has her own website, too, amazingly enough.  I have refrained from looking at it, because I don't want to write a letter and have her come rig up my car, too!!  (You know what I mean?)

[spitfire78]

The ones I truly feel sorry for in this situation are her children (and her husband, if in fact he did not know about her past).  Imagine finding out that your mother did these terrible things all those years ago.  I can't even think what they must be feeling right now.  Not only is she guilty of all those things in the past, she is now guilty of screwing up several lives as well.  What a mess!

[goldenearring]

Good points, spitfire.  I got so wound up about her, that I forgot to learn anything at all about her family.  Her kids are probably grown up by now.  I think, but I'm not sure, that her husband knew about her past.  Man, isn't there a law against aiding and abetting a wanted felon, even if you are married? (I wonder why he's not on trial, or if I'm even thinking in a legally linear way here.)   I don't know about that, though.  I only hope that for the sake of not setting some bizarre new precedent, that they sentence her appropriately, enough to at least take a little bit of the fire out of her ball, so to speak.  I wonder if they ever told their kids.  I would think probably not, wouldn't you?  It seems to me that, if you think you're past a certain point, you wouldn't.  I'm not so sure I would.  I mean, think about it, "Sweetheart, mommy has something to tell you . . . "  Spirit-crushing moment for little people and  even adoring not-so-little people.  What state are you in?  Have you heard much about this brouhaha?

[workerbee2]

I have been thinking about this all weekend.  Very little in life is simply black and white; life is incredibly complex.

I believe that Kathleen/Sarah needs to acknowledge her guilt and be given a fair trial, as is her right as an American.  She should pay for her crime, and I would like to hear her say that she's sorry she did it.

However, (and here's when it starts getting more complicated), I also believe that the last 30 years of her life should be considered in sentencing.  She has not broken any more laws (that we know about, and she's presumed innocent until she pleads or is found guilty), and she has been a productive citizen.  Also, since no one was killed or injured as a result of her actions, I truly believe this is a case where justice should be tempered with mercy.  Yes, I called her a terrorist, and she was one.  But she hasn't made it her life's work

Obviously, I'm a bit conflicted about this.  I'm also glad I'm not the judge in this case.  Is anyone else of two minds about this?

Elaine

[disallusioned]

I too believe that she should be punished, yet given credit for her good behavior of the past 30 years.  If she had been in jail all this time she would have been released long before now due to good behavior.  But since she hasn't paid any price (other than probably some worries and stress over at least the first few years worrying about getting caught) then she needs to pay something, even if it's only a couple of years and then freedom once more.  I can also see that from the stateof overcrowding in our prisons, this would be looked on as a more logical step than inprisoning her for another 20+ years.
The way I see it is if you kill people, you need to do some hard time even if you're not caught for 20+ years.  According to the information provided in here, this was stopped prior to the act.  Therefore, even if she had been arrested immediately she wouldn't have had to do as much time as a murderer would have and thus can be given less time now.  I say weigh the price she would have paid then (as far as years to serve) against her clean record now, and give an appropriate balance between the two.  This goes for anyone.  If you were a war criminal and are caught 60 years later, with a clean record (ie, not killed anyone else) then what would the sentence have been, weighed against those 60years of good behavior, and find a sentence that suits.  There are a lot of factors in any case, at any point, whether they are caught immediately, 5 months later, or 5+ years later, and that all needs to be brought into the equation.  Not an easy job at all.

[goldenearring]

I don't know who's been following this case but, for some reason unknown to me, it is of high interest to me.  I was glad that her case was taken seriously, because it sends the right message.  I was shocked, though, at the severity of the sentence.  I agree, wholeheartedly with one analysis of this case that it really was better than the best possible out come she could have hoped for, all circumstances considered.  She did end up being free for 2-3 more years than she would have if things had gone the way that they should have right from the beginning.   It would appear, that her troubles are far from over yet, though, thanks to her indictment for alleged involvement in the murder of Myrna Opdahl during the bank heist.  It is troubling to know that there is one more suspect at large, and they don't know whether they'll ever find him.  Think his name is John Walker, but I could be getting him confused with the American  taliban dude.  It is scary to think that it was so easy to commit a felony, and then disappear.  Even the stories in Patty Heart's book don't seem to have been checked out with too much vigor.  Just makes me wonder . . . and it makes me grateful that somehow I managed to escape getting *too* crazy in the 70s!  These people are not all that much older than I am.  Yikes!

[whitesatin]

Soliah is getting just what she deserves.  Who else can commit murder then run free for nearly 3 decades?  Severity of the sentence?  BUNK!!!  What about the four children who lost their mother in a senseless act of violence?  The mother was only 42 years-old, had four children and was making a bank deposit for her church.  No amount of time and "good behavior" can make up for what Soliah did to the lives of the family, friends and especially the babies of this murdered woman.  Shouldn't we be able to walk into our bank without the fear of being gunned down?  What if it was you gunned down while making that bank deposit?  Think of your babies.  Do you really think those children are thinking that so much time has passed and Soliah has been a good girl for so long, we should just let it go?  NOT!

Glad to hear on the news last night that they captured the last remaining fugitive from the bank heist.

WhiteSatin

[goldenearring]

WS - She hasn't been sentenced yet for involvement in the murder.  She has only been charged with it.  That is a case separate from the one with the car bomb stuff.  Even though Patty Hearst is all over the news telling the story, it hasn't yet been proven that Sara Olson was involved.  I do agree that the evidence at this point appears to be overwhelming against her not having participated, but I would hope that they have more than just Patty's testimony to that end.  I have mixed feelings about Patty Hearst, and I think she would do anything (and so would her family) to avoid tying herself in any further.  I guess Mr. Clinton's pardon of her cleared that little problem up for the Hearst family, though, didn't it?!  I could be wrong, but I don't see that Kathleen Soliah had the benefit of as much counsel on what to do to make things right like Patty did.  Maybe that would have cleaned things up long ago.  She wasn't nuts like the Harrises, just young and stupid and scared pea green.  But, trying to discuss that here would just lead to trouble, I suppose.  My heart goes out to the Opdahl family.  They are the victims here, and it has been far too long a time that they have been trying to get justice.  But, at least they are going to have their chance.  There are others, like the parents of abducted Jacob Wetterling who has been missing for over 10 years, who may never get any satisfaction in that regard.  I do believe that we need to let Kathleen/Sara Jane have a fair trial for this murder charge, though.  Do they have film like they did on Patty?  This whole thing is really freaky.

[goldenearring]

Found the name I couldn't remember yesterday:  James Kilgore.  He is still at large, and has been for 27 years.  Heck, he could live next door to any one of us, I suppose.  Michael Bortin is the most recent fugitive tracked down.  This trial looks like it's going to be huge, when and if it ever gets underway.   Could be almost as much hype as OJ's.

I still have problems with Patty Hearst testifying.  She's calling them all "dangerous radicals," and she was right in there with them.  True Sara Olson never yet paid for her involvement in the failed pipe bombing, but she appears to be as reformed as Patty Hearst seems to be.  They were formerly sisters in crime, and that, combined with Patty Hearst's wealth-advantage, is a scary thing to me when it comes to giving fair trials.  What on earth does Patty Hearst have to gain from all of this except heightened exposure that will further her aspirations in acting, I wonder.  I hope that those bringing Sara to trial for Myrna Opdahl's murder have more evidence than just Patty Hearst.

[workerbee2]

Good old Patty has more faces than a clock factory.  She'll use whatever will get her the most sympathy.

Like GE, I'm glad too, that I "escaped" from the 70's without doing anything that reckless and stupid.  I guess having to work for a living can actually be a good thing.

Elaine (proud to be a working class person)