The Olson debate resurfaces

Posted at 8:41 AM on March 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)

You can check Sara Jane Olson off the "whatever happened to...?" list. The former St. Paul soccer mom who was, in reality, Symbionese Liberation Army bomber Kathleen Soliah, has just been released from prison for plotting to kill LAPD officers by blowing up their cars.

"She's out of prison too soon by far," John Opsal told the Sacramento Bee today. His mother was killed in an SLA holdup that Olson participated in. "It's another in a series of slaps in the face of victims by the justice system. ... That's a good four years before when I thought she would be released."

She served her time in a prison in California, but the case still reverberates through Minnesota... particularly Minnesota politics. Many DFL leaders came to her side after her 1999 arrest. One, DFLer Sandy Pappas, a former candidate for mayor of St. Paul, tested the political hot water when she said the charges didn't amount to "real crimes." She backtracked but by then, it was too late. The case became not only a debate over whether the sins of a criminal past should be forgiven, but the underpinning of a political debate (mostly on talk shows) over whether Democrats "go easy" on crime, and have their roots in a criminal brand of radicalism.

The case even ended up as part of the 2006 campaign for the 5th Congressional District after Republicans pulled this quote made after Olson's arrest by now Rep. Keith Ellison: "I think it's dangerous to prosecute people for their political views and their political associations. I think you prosecute people for what they do, for their acts," he said.

Olson eventually pleaded guilty to the charges, then walked out of the courthouse to declare that she had just pleaded guilty to something she didn't do.

Olson could've gotten life in prison. She was sentenced to 20 years to life, served six, and is now on probation. She's been ordered to stay in California although she's asking to be allowed to move, presumably back to Minnesota where her husband and children live.

"I'm so glad that they've got their mother back. My only hope is that she gets to come back to Minnesota because I miss her, too," said longtime friend Andy Dawkins, a former state representative from St. Paul.

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Comments (14)

phew, that ihop sure is quite a hangout for mishap.

can anyone enlighten me on how tossing this, already reformed mom into the hokey was going to accomplish justice?

and with all the gangs in the US -are all those involved in the gang held responsible for crimes they personally did not commit but a gang member did commit?

Posted by c | March 21, 2008 10:15 AM

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It depends what your definition of "justice" is. That was the nature of the debate.

Posted by Bob Collins | March 21, 2008 10:39 AM

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She did her time for a crime. We can only hope she learned her lesson.

I can only image what would happen today if she was part of the same activity. In this post 9/11 world would maybe see her in Cuba.

By the way, great blog!!

Posted by mr612 | March 21, 2008 2:41 PM

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can anyone enlighten me on how tossing this, already reformed mom into the hokey was going to accomplish justice?

Who said this woman was reformed?

While it may be true that she has not shotgunned a pregnant mother for at least six years, it is also true that Ms. Soliah has not repudiated the nihilism that induced her to join a group who assassinated a black community leader in Oakland and systematically raped a coed on an almost daily basis.

Alas, it is also true that the Twin Cities Progressive community has neither repudiated Ms. Soliah nor her actions.

Posted by Greg | March 22, 2008 11:08 AM

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And what tells you that Sarah was involved in any of those crimes. A hand print on a garage door or a pipe that could have ended up on the garage or pipe at any time pre bomb assembly back then.
I agree with Sandy Pappas that said the police should be chasing crimminals who are not reformed and continue to commit crimes.

Let's say a guy in his mid thirties has been making robbing houses and preying on the elderly his profession. He steals not only money but car keys, credit cards and driver's licenses and so on. He goes and sells these items to someone else who in turn sells them to a potential terrorist, drug dealer or rapist who could sell them to another potential terrorist who commit larger crimes. His finger prints are on the evidence. Do you send this man to jail for terroristic attempts on the US?
This really happened and the guy was caught and is only getting 5 years. Who knows where all those pieces he stole ended up and who they assisted in more crime.
According to a fellow church member who knew Sarah Jane Olson for 20 years, the woman he knows resembles nothing of the personality of a bomber.

Posted by c | March 22, 2008 12:01 PM

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She pleaded guilty.

She admitted to second degree murder in the death of Myrna Opsahl, a 42 year old mother who wasn't interested in an armed revolution. She just wanted to do some business in a bank.

She never got to be a soccer mom, she never got to be a fine Shakespearean actor, she never got to write a cookbook. She's dead. And Ms. Olson got to live an affluent life, surrounded by people who think she's the victim.

If we are to determine there is a point at which there are no consequences for murder, we have to define exactly where that line is. It is interesting to me that none of the politicians who have suggested that Olson should not have been punished for her crimes -- Ellison, Pappas, Dawkins primarily -- has filed a bill in Minnesota creating a statute of limitations for murder. That is odd -- to me -- since one reason for a statute of limitations is to recognize that a focus on the past does not serve current interests, and if one argues -- as the pols did -- that Olson's prosecution did not serve current interests, one should be able to apply that standard to others who aren't your friend.

You can't have it both ways.

Anybody?

Posted by Bob Collins | March 22, 2008 12:17 PM

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"Cooper says he doesn't know exactly why Olson made her decision. He says people under a lot of stress can lose confidence that the jury will listen to them.

Olson supporter Peter Rachleff, a history professor at Macalester College, believes pressure is exactly what forced Olson into her plea."

This is why she plead guilty. Probably even the fact that she was "associated" with the group EVER caused her to feel remorse.

What was prison time supposed to teach her that she did not already learn in the last 32 years? Allowing this person to go free is NOT having it both ways. How do you know that she had such a great life? Can you imagine how sad it would be to have to say good bye to yourself and start a new life and to always be looking over your shoulder worrying that someone would recognize you? That would be prison in itself. Doesn't sound like a good time to me.
Perhaps the whole toss her in the hokey was to satiate the ego of the LA police.

Posted by c | March 22, 2008 5:28 PM

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And what tells you that Sarah was involved in any of those crimes. - c

From Wikipedia

On April 21, 1975, SLA members robbed the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, California, killing Myrna Opsahl, a bank customer, in the process. Patty Hearst, who admitted to being a getaway driver, stated that Soliah was one of the actual robbers. According to Hearst, Soliah also kicked a pregnant teller in the abdomen, leading to a miscarriage. [3]

Several rounds of 9mm ammunition spilled on the floor during the robbery bore manufacturing marks that matched that of ammunition loaded in a 9mm Browning High-Power semi-automatic pistol found by police in Soliah’s bedroom dresser drawer at the SLA safehouse on Precita Avenue in San Francisco

Posted by GregS | March 22, 2008 6:19 PM

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What was prison time supposed to teach her that she did not already learn in the last 32 years?

There are multiple reasons to incarcerate.

- Rehabilitation.

- Justice for the victim (and their families). Some call this retribution.

- Incapacitation

- Deterence for future offenders

- Reduction of recidivism.

From what I have heard of Ms. Soliah, there is no evidence whatsoever that she is rehabilitated.

Posted by GregS | March 22, 2008 6:28 PM

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I see she has been taken back into custody in Los Angeles.

Posted by Bob Collins | March 22, 2008 6:52 PM

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How credible is Patty Hearst?
Perhaps the coppers told her that they would cut her a deal on time if she gave some info. She was the getaway driver, and don't the getaway drivers stay in the getaway mobile so they can getaway quickly. (This is how they play it on Law and Order and all those other shows on TV) So how would Lil Miss Mucketty Patti know who did what?

No evidence that she has become rehabilitated?...the fact that she is an active member in the community and city and church might give you a clue?

Posted by c | March 23, 2008 7:44 AM

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"She pleaded guilty... then walked out of the courthouse to declare that she had just pleaded guilty to something she didn't do... She admitted to second degree murder in the death of Myrna Opsahl, a 42 year old mother who wasn't interested in an armed revolution..."

Lots of people plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit -- for many reasons. Many different circumstances force people into such a situation. Olson should not have gotten off scott-free, but she served an appropriate sentence for what she did and for what she has done since her SLA days, including lots of community service. People who commit much worse crimes with little or no sign of remorse or rehabilitation get shorter sentences than she did. It happens every day; I see it in my work.

I have always thought it's wrong to charge people with murder just because they happened to accompany the actual murderer. A bank robber who doesn't commit a murder (while his bank-robbing partner does) may just want to rob the bank and not hurt anybody.

Wikipedia is hardly a trustworthy source of information. That entry could have been written by Greg S. himself, and he doesn't cite reliable sources for his other empty accusations.

"...she has not shotgunned a pregnant mother for at least six years, it is also true that Ms. Soliah has not repudiated the nihilism..."

Blah, blah, blah. That's laughable. For one thing, she has never gunned down a pregnant mother. And if she ever believed in nihilism, it's obvious from the bulk of her life that she hasn't believed it for decades. And since when do we imprison people for having a belief anyway? Looks like another winger trying to disguise his intolerance and hatred in psuedo-intellectual dialogue.

I see that some are still using that old slimy right-wing trick of painting all progressives as being like the SLA, being soft on crime, or liking Fidel Castro or any other murdering radical leftist autocrat (most of whom are more like George W. Bush than they are like any liberal or progressive).

Posted by Jamie | March 23, 2008 6:16 PM

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What I'm suggesting is a guideline for codifying what you suggest, Jamie. Basically, you're advocating getting rid of second degree murder charges for accomplices.

The comparisons of sentences is an interesting one and that's why so many states have tried to establish sentencing guidelines commissions. We saw how crack users get harsher sentences (or did) than cocaine powder users.

then we had that case in, I think, Georgia where a 17 year old went to prison for 10 years , iirc, for statuatory rape for having sex with his girlfriend.

There's very little relationship from one crime to another, in many cases.

Taking this one case out of the individual spectrum and applying it across the range of the criminal justice system, however, would test any of these theories.

In many cases, Olson was lucky to be born white, and lucky to have been able to lead an affluent life underground. I think there's a case to be made that a person of another color, without as much luck, would be buried in the criminal justice system and nobody but immediate family would care.

Olson's case is remarkably similar to the story of Katherine Ann Power, another '60s radical who was involve din a bank robbery in which a cop died. She went underground for 23 years before turning herself in (thus, the difference). She served 6 years but had to go through the parole process, pulling her request once because of opposition from the victim's family.

The kneejerk reaction in this case is to assume that Olson's case is limited to rich white kids form the '60s. But actually, it shows us what happens when someone influential is able to turn the mind of someone who has a mind capable of being manipulated.

Kind of like those idiots who picket at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq because of America's position on homosexuality. Or people who kill doctors who perform abortions or bomb clinics.

there are always people who think if the cause is right, the law doesn't apply to them.

Posted by Bob Collins | March 23, 2008 6:42 PM

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She did her time for a crime.

You missed a word:

She almost did her time for a crime.

She apparently owes one more year. She should pay it.

Consider the case of another governmental agency making a mistake in your favor: if the IRS mistakenly refunds you $2,555 but only owed you $2,190, do you think you are legally entitled to the extra $365?

Posted by Daveg | March 24, 2008 6:27 AM

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