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1970s radical freed from US jail 1970s radical freed from US jail
(about 1 hour later)
Sara Jane Olson, a former 1970s anti-government radical, has been released from prison in California after serving half of her 14 year sentence.Sara Jane Olson, a former 1970s anti-government radical, has been released from prison in California after serving half of her 14 year sentence.
Olson will be paroled to Minnesota, where she had been living as a fugitive until her arrest in 1999. Olson will be paroled to Minnesota, where she was a fugitive living as a housewife until her arrest in 1999.
Formerly known as Kathleen Soliah, she was a member of the militant Symbionese Liberation Army which kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.Formerly known as Kathleen Soliah, she was a member of the militant Symbionese Liberation Army which kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.
She was mistakenly released for five days in March 2008 and then rearrested.She was mistakenly released for five days in March 2008 and then rearrested.
The authorities had miscalculated her prison release date.
TV tip-off
Olson spent 24 years on the run before pleading guilty to an attempted police car bombing and the second degree murder of a woman during a bank raid - both crimes were committed in 1975.
The police finally caught her in 1999, acting on a tip-off prompted by a profile of Olson that had been broadcast on the TV programme America's Most Wanted. We continue to believe the community she targeted retains the right to ensure she complies with the terms of her parole LA Police Protective League
In 2001 she was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted police car bombings and six years for the second-degree murder charge, to be served concurrently.
A welfare group for LA police officers expressed disappointment at Olson's early release and the decision to allow her to cross state lines.
"It was a California mother of four she was convicted of murdering. It was Los Angeles police officers she attempted to blow up, " said Paul Weber, president of the LA Police Protective League.
"We continue to believe that the community she targeted with her crimes retains the right to ensure she complies with the terms of her parole, " he added.
The Symbionese Liberation Army formed in Berkeley, California in the 1970s, was committed to fighting against what it said was an oppressive governmental regime.
The group carried out a series of bombings, murders and robberies before most of its members were killed in a dramatic fire in 1974 after a gun battle with Los Angeles police.