A cop-targeting domestic terrorist is freed; animal rights terrorists run amok
As if you needed further evidence that the U.S. continues to be soft on domestic terrorism, the unrepentant Sara Jane Olson/Kathleen Soliah has been freed after serving a puny sentence for participating in the Symbionese Liberation Army plot to kill police officers with nail bombs and then going on the lam:
Kathleen Soliah, a former member of the radical Symbionese Liberation Army, was released on parole this week from a California women’s prison after serving about six years behind bars for her role in a plot to kill Los Angeles police officers by blowing up their patrol cars.
The white-haired convict, who has changed her name to Sara Jane Olson, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Like most California inmates, Soliah earned credit against her sentence for working while in prison. She served on a maintenance crew that swept and cleaned the main yard of the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, prison officials said.
The 61-year-old Soliah, who was released Monday, must now serve a three-year parole, although prison officials declined to provide the conditions of her release.
Reached at her family’s home in Palmdale on Thursday, Soliah refused to comment. Her husband, Dr. Gerald Peterson, who was also at the house, said only that he was “relieved.”
Soliah’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said, “We’re thrilled she’s out and can return to her family. For someone who was not a danger or a threat to society, it was six years too long.”
Los Angeles police see Soliah in far harsher light.
She “attempted to murder LAPD officers by bombing two police cars,” said Tim Sands, president of the Police Protective League, which represents the city’s 9,300 rank-and-file officers. “She needs to serve her full time in prison for these crimes and does not deserve time off for working in prison. Criminals who attempt to murder police officers should not be able to escape justice simply because they have good lawyers.”
The child of a middle-class Palmdale family, Soliah joined the violent band of radicals best known for kidnapping newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in the mid-1970s. She was charged with taking part in a 1975 plan to plant pipe bombs beneath police cars in retaliation for a shootout with Los Angeles police that left six SLA members dead.
The nail-packed bombs didn’t detonate when the triggering device on one malfunctioned. Not waiting around to make her case in court though, she fled.
She changed her name to Sara Jane Olson, left California and married Peterson, an emergency room physician. The couple lived for a while in Zimbabwe before settling in St. Paul, Minn. Soliah lived the quiet life of a homemaker and mother of three daughters in a Tudor-style home in an upscale neighborhood near the Mississippi River and performed in a local theater’s Shakespeare productions.
Elsewhere in southern California, animal rights terrorists are wreaking havoc on the UCLA campus–forcing regents to sue them to get them to stop:
It was late into the night when 25 people in ski masks descended on professor Dario Ringach’s family home. Pounding on the door, frightening his small children, they screamed into megaphones, “Animal killer! We know where you live! We will never give up!”
And they apparently meant it. That year, 2006, according to court documents, animal rights activists launched a summer-long campaign of harassment against Ringach, an assistant professor of psychology and neurobiology at the University of California at Los Angeles and other scientists who conduct research with laboratory animals.
They hurled firecrackers at his house in the middle of the night and planted Molotov-cocktail-like explosives at other faculty houses, threatening to burn them to the ground.
UCLA hired private security, but Ringach feared for his family. “Effectively immediately, I am no longer doing animal research,” he finally wrote in an e-mail to his persecutors, pleading to be left alone. “Please don’t bother my family anymore.”
The University of California regents have responded by suing UCLA Primate Freedom, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the Animal Liberation Front and five people allegedly affiliated with them. It is a tactic that the regents successfully employed nine years ago.
The regents hope to win a permanent injunction similar to one granted against Last Chance for Animals in 1989. But some experts note that the regents now are battling more violent, Internet-savvy foes who thrive in online communities, post faculty “targets” on Web sites and upload how-to guides for their attacks.
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Does the CLIT Commander know about this?
was she in a federal facility or a state facility?
it’s CA, so as long as you don’t pee on a guard, you’re considered ‘good’.
Isn’t that what a normal, sane person does to someone who disagrees with them? I mean if my neighbor objects to my lights being on early in the morning, I expect him to try to burn my house down, threaten me, and do whatever else he can think of to get me to stop. He has every right to do all of these things because he believes in getting up late and he is convinced he is the center of the universe and all judgments of right and wrong flow from him.
He needs to put an NRA sticker in his front window, works better than an ADT sticker……
re my #4
Shooting lessons, a gun, and a REAL membership to the NRA to go with the sticker.
So much for the next AIDS cure;
a quick aside;
I think this is a bit more than a hypothetical situation..
The professor could show them exactly how cuddly and cute a pair of aggression trained German Shepherds can be.
He could even name one “Animal Killer”.
Best window sticker
These people need to be prosecuted and punished properly. WTF is going on in this country? We have turned into politically correct apologists. Ef’em’all and shoot ‘em or put them away for life and bulldoze their families’ houses and properties.
I’m with Old Tanker on this one. Twenty five freaks in ski masks descending on my home in the middle of the night would unfortunately be national headlines for weeks. Having the God given right to live in peace, terrorist acts would not be tolerated on my property.
….and my warning shot would have been right through the front door…..
Being more of a paranoid and with a tendency to overreaction, I think I probably would have spent a few nights sitting up with my .38 Special waiting for one of my “visitors” to pop off a couple of firecrackers, so I could pop up, shoot them, and say “but they shot at me first!”.
And therein lies the purpose of the castle doctrine. The ability of one to use lethal force to protects one’s home and family without a duty to retreat.
These people won’t pay any heed to a sticker, but a blast of 00 buck would get their attention.
Oh wait, this is California, land of gun control we’re talking about. I guess a sticker is the best you can do.
Kathleen Soliah has proven that she can function within American society. She isn’t a danger to anyone. Why keep her in jail? Probation seems much more reasonable. There’s more to incarceration than punishing people.
As for the animal rights activists, ugh. The people who would rather let AIDS ravage the international community than have a fuzzy wuzzy bunny rabbit die for the cause.
I will never understand people who don’t appreciate leather or steak.
Clever. Very clever.
Hear, hear!
Why didn’t Patty Hearst serve time for this? She was the get-away driver..Oh, that’s right, Carter petitioned Clinton to pardon her and as soon as he did, the indictments were handed down..coincidence? Yea right!
No, no, no. She was incarcerated because she proved that functioning within American society was an issue for her…
So police officers aren’t people anymore? You brute.
Tell that to the police officers whose lives she tried to snuff out.
Rusty, I imagine that if Kathleen Soliah had tried to kill your fellow co-workers, especially if you were all police, you might feel differently about her release.
No, she’s not a danger any longer, but part of the penal system is, after all, punishment. Her sentence wasn’t overly harsh for what she did, so why didn’t she have to serve the whole thing?
I’m with you on the animal rights nutjobs.
mmmmmmm, steak…
Is it the norm for people to function within society under assumed names and eluding the poice? (illegal aliens excluded)
Susan Atkins has been a model prisoner for 39 years this coming Oct 1. She has admitted guilt, shown remorse, and has mentored others..after all, there’s more to incarceration than punishing people.
I wonder why this doesn’t happen in Texas?
California, of course! A safe haven for terrorists.
That’s exactly what I have on my front door, except mine reads “Certified NRA Instructor”
30, what she did was wrong, but it was also a long time ago. She served seven years long after she had proven herself not to be a threat to society. Probation makes more sense.
And I never said that police officers weren’t people. Police officers serve such an important role in society that they should be protected by having harsher retribution for those who commit crimes against them when they’re on duty.
But no one was hurt here and she hasn’t committed a crime in thirty years. Seven years in the clink is punitive enough.
Anyways, our jails are so broken and overcrowded that keeping someone who is no danger imprisoned is a net negative to society anyways.
DO they have a”Castle” law there?
If so SHOOT those terrorists when they appear on the lawn with molotov cocktails. Shoot them DEAD.
On March 21st, 2008 at 11:04 am, Rusty said:
She committed a crime everyday for 30 years. And what do you mean, no one got hurt? Myrna Opsahl is dead as a result of that model citizen’s actions..
Hey you all get your priorities straight. Scooter Libby is the dangerous one in this country. After all he “outed” the ‘Val!’ Gotta strip him of his right to practice law and keep those left wing CIA agents safe.
Well I’m getting ready to go to work now as a sheriff deputy and will put on my bullet-proof vest. Gotta be careful of those Bush and Cheney terrorists!
“Home protected by Eddie the Eagle”
heh, and he didn’t even out her!! THROW HIM IN SHACKLES!!!!
Rusty,
I am aware that there is trouble one can get into when they are in jail but how exactly has she proven that she is no longer a threat to something (society) when she hasn’t been a part of it for seven years?
That’s subjective. She was on the lam.
The criminals who inhabit these jails are so broken that they cannot function in society. We need a place to send them. Build more jails.
She wasn’t on the lam. She changed her name and stayed in one spot. When the police came for her she turned herself in with no fuss.
I’m not saying she shouldn’t have been incarcerated. Trying to kill cops is obviously a serious offense. But what more do you want? Is seven years plus three years of having her movements monitored not enough for you?
You can’t take everyone who committed a violent crime and lock them up forever. “Build more jails” is not an answer and I refuse to believe that you don’t understand that. Incarceration is still primarily for rehabilitation purposes.
Model citizen.
It doesn’t matter what I want.
Who said anything about forever?
Build more jails. Is an acceptable response to someone who extols that the jails are overcrowded. I refuse to believe that you think any rehabilitation goes on, at any jail. These people are locked away to remove them from society. What happens after that is anybody’s guess.
As Peejz #25 said, what about Myrna Opsahl? Sarah Jane Olson pleaded guilty in 1975 to second degree murder of Opsahl a 42 yr old mother of four. Her family grieves to this day over the senseless killing of her. 30 pcs has it all right and Rusty is living in a fantasy world with an obvious lack of reality regarding the rate of recidivism in our penal system. Oh, and if changing ones name to conceal ones true identity is not hiding out then what is? She was hiding out in plain sight. Rusty must have never heard of the saying; “Couldn’t see the forest for the trees”.
Really?
So, the indictment was from Los Angeles CA, and she ended up in MN..Doesn’t look like she stayed in one place
RE: The Animal Rights Terrorists
I just had a thought: why aren’t any good citizens getting the drop on these nutjobs? I know most of us actually have jobs and can’t ‘infiltrate’ their loony ranks, but for cryin’ out loud: they’re not exactly rocket scientists. It can’t be that difficult for us to find out a little about their plans and run some interfernece.
If they begin new mass assaults against private residences, wouldn’t it be peachy if we could be there before they arrive and welcome them properly?
I know the logistics are still difficult; again, we work for a living, and they apparently don’t have anything better to do. It would just be nice if there was a ’suport group’ on hand to look out for the researchers that make our lives better and longer.
Oh, and Rusty, your arguement is holding less and less water. This fine lady you are sort of defending is a terrorists, and her sentence wasn’t all that severe. She should serve it.
Excellent posting Peejz. Had to look up Myrna Opsahl to refresh my memory about the facts. Your post #25 went right over someone’s head. Ms. Opsahl probably would have loved an extra thirty years, married to a doctor, raising her kids, even if it was in Minnesota. Bet she would have been a model citizen too.
And she served her sentence in its entirety. Six years concurrent with the attempter murders of the police officers. That was the plea bargain and she served her time. It guaranteed that she would spend at least 6 years behind bars. I bet without that plea she would have been out earlier.
Rehabilitation is one of the purposes of jail by the way. Why else are they allowed to work off site and take classes?
Kathleen Soliah, a former Palmdale resident, served about half of her 12-year term for her role in a plot to blow up LAPD cars.
a concurrent sentence (in which the period of imprisonment equals the length of the longest sentence).
This rehabilitation that you speak of is granted to some prisoners, not all.
And I have one word for you – recidivism.
Rusty still struggling with the real world:
Rehab? California state prisons have a 70% recidivism rate. Yup, rehab is the wonder cure for violent prisoners. BTW, Soliah was such a risky prisoner that she was on constant watch, as in being counted seven times a day and restricted activities. In other words she was too risky for your happy off-site classes etc. because she was a flight risk and convicted 2nd degree murderer.
I will give you one thing, re. rehab, drug users with no violent histories should be forced in drug rehab (1 yr. min.), given job skills training for the outside world and also given help finding employers that take ex-cons.
The number one trait in recidivist criminals is previous jail time. I’m not saying that rehabilitation always works, but rather that its a goal of the American penal system. Since Olsen is clearly not a threat to rob a bank, there is no reason to keep her in jail.
Context. I meant her entire sentence for second degree murder.
She was sentenced to six years to be served concurrently with her jail time for attempted murder. Since she spent seven years in jail, those six years were already covered.
Just wondering, but would you prefer she spend her entire life in jail? And if someone is clearly no longer a threat to society, how long should we keep that person incarcerated?
Re this recidivism talk, I’m not arguing that the American penal system works. It doesn’t. One part of the problem is that we send people to jail who don’t need to be there. It says a lot that a first time offender is more likely to commit a second crime if he is incarcerated and paroled rather than just put on probation or given community service. There has to be a balance between protecting society and encouraging rehabilitation and I don’t think America is even close to finding a happy balance.
Rusty, she got minimum 12 for the terrorism which was the longer of the 2 sentences, therefore she should still be sitting in jail.
6 years for the murder of Myrna Opsahl and attempted murder of police officers! You think that is justice? How about she spend 23 years behind bars for the years she spent as a fugitive, and 27 years for the amount of time she was a fugitive until the Opsahl family got their day in court.
That’s 50 years..I’d be happy with that, but I don’t get to make the decision.
What I do know is that she was given a minimum sentece of 14 years, in 2004, judge said there was “no analysis” of how the state Board of Prison Terms decided 14 years was appropriate and threw out the sentence. Her sentence was converted to five years, four months. An appeals court panel restored her full sentence as of April 12, 2007. They ruled that a lower court did not follow procedure when they allowed Olson to appeal.
So based on that, I’d someone needs to start answering some questions!
Serving one half of a jail sentence is quite common with good behavior.
And Peejz, if she isn’t going to hurt anyone, what’s the point of keeping her in jail? Did she serve enough time for her crimes? Probably not. But the situation in front of us is a woman in her 60s who hasn’t committed a crime in 30 years. Time to move on.
Why do you keep saying she hasn’t committed a crime in 30 years? Everyday she was a fugitive, she was committing a crime. She assumed a new identity, another crime..
She was given a specific sentence. That 14 years was her good behavior time..
Time to move on? Tell that to Myrna Opsahl’s family.
You know, Rusty, you really don’t know for sure that she hasn’t committed another crime.
Outside of what Peejz said, that is. Changing her identity and remaining hidden without coming forward is in fact criminal.
Besides, can you tell me for certain her terror days are behind her? I don’t care if she is in her 60’s, she can still aid and abet, as well as direct operations. Remember — alot has happened since she went in; she may feel like fighting the administration like Code Pinko Commies do.
She really should have at least served her entire sentence. Maybe that’s the cause of recidivism — bad guys know they won’t be back in all that long, so they don’t care. Perhaps if they knew they would go away for a long time….
I don’t think “assuming another identity” is a crime. If I want to go around calling myself by a different name, that’s OK.
But, anyways, no, I don’t consider being a fugitive from justice to be a crime in and of itself.
Huh? Do you mean the sentence was especially light because she was no longer a violent criminal? I agree with that. Meaning I agree with your observation as well as agree with the sentence.
And what’s the benefit of keeping her in jail anyways?
Can we do experiments on these ‘animals’?
I read these postings of some like Rusty, lgm, sausge and just shake my head in disbelief. No rythme, reason or sense made of their arguments.
Right back at ya, rightisright.
At least we can agree on how delicous steak is, right?
Well guess what..she heads back to prison to serve the term she was given..OOPS! They made a huge boo boo!
Yup. She’s back in the pen. Won’t be released until March 2009. Now that’s news I could use with my morning coffee.