Free Sara Jane Olson

The Shadow has seen idiotic decisions made by government officials before -- sometime bowing to political pressure in the process. But what happened to a former 1970s radical just about takes the cake.

Sara Jane Olson (formerly known as Kathleen Soliah) was released from prison in central California last week. Five days later, she was re-arrested and told that she had to spend another year in prison.

Sara Jane Olson (formerly Kathleen Soliah)
(photo courtesy CNN.com)

Kathleen Soliah is a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), the 1970s radical group that gained fame by kidnapping newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst in the 1970s. She was accused of the attempted murder of two Los Angeles police officers by planting bombs under their cars -- but the bombs never went off.

Soliah fled to Minnesota where she changed her name to Sara Jane Olson. She eventually married and had three daughters -- living the life of a soccer mom for 24 years before she was arrested in 1999.

Olson served six years for the attempted murders of the police officers and the murder of a bank employee. She was released on parole a week ago

The Los Angeles Police Protective League denounced the release stating that:

She needs to serve her full time in prison for these crimes and does not deserve time-off for working in prison. After participating in one killing and attempting two more, she managed to elude authorities and live a guilt-free, middle class life for decades. Criminals who attempt to murder police officers should not be able to escape justice simply because they have good lawyers.

So what happens next? The California Department of Corrections suddenly decides that they "miscalculated" Olson's sentencing formula and that she was released one year early. Olson was prevented from leaving California with her husband and was returned to prison last Friday -- five days after she was released!

This is not right. While The Shadow does not condone in any way the crimes of Sara Jane Olson -- she does not deserve this treatment. She needs to be released immediately. Her other accomplices have since been paroled -- apparently the Los Angeles Police Protective League wants to make an example of her.

This injustice needs to be righted. Sara Jane Olson should be released immediately and allowed to serve her parole in Minnesota as was agreed earlier.

The Shadow will continue to monitor this situation -- California -- do the right thing!!

Good night and good luck.