Sara Jane Olson Taken Back to Prison, Clerical Mistake

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 08:06:01 PM EST
Tags: Sara Jane Olson, Kathleen Soliah (all tags)

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I mentioned yesterday that Sara Jane Olson, aka Kathleen Soliah, the former SLA member (think Patty Hearst) was paroled from prison after serving a six year sentence.

Turns out, the California Department of Corrections says they made an error calculating her release date and she still has a year to go on her sentence. They re-arrested her at LAX last night and she's back in custody.

That just sucks. Sorry, there's no other word for it. Check out these older posts I wrote on Sara Jane's life in prison, on how her prison term got extended and how the extension was later thrown out. Here's more on her guilty plea to the second degree murder charge.

Her lawyers intend to take the matter to court, saying she doesn't deserve to be treated like a yo-yo. I totally agree.

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Sara Jane Olson Taken Back to Prison, Clerical Mistake | 27 comments (27 topical)

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Oh come now (5.00 / 1) (#20)
by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 08:07:09 AM EST

She confessed. So a mistake was made. So what.

Will her victims rise from their grave??

Sheriff Of Nottingham Fan Club (none / 0) (#22)
by squeaky on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 10:41:59 AM EST

Honary member?

Kathleen Soliah did not harm anyone so there is no one to rise from his or her grave.

Hearst's sentence was commuter by Jimmy Carter and she was pardoned by Bill CLinton.

Maybe the same will happen for Kathleen Soliah when either Clinton or Obama become POTUS. BTW-your BushCo pals make Soliah look like little miss muffet. Many are dead because of their lies and misdeeds.


Hmmm (none / 0) (#25)
by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 03:15:24 PM EST

It sure seems like she is guilty of second degree murder....

Do people confess to that because they harmed no one???


I would say (none / 0) (#26)
by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 03:17:49 PM EST

let the dead bury the dead, but they can't seem to grasp the shovel's handle.


The mission is not to do the impossible (none / 0) (#28)
by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 10:06:43 PM EST

but to punish the evil according to the law.

Do you have a problem with that?


You're the one (none / 0) (#31)
by jimakaPPJ on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:07:07 PM EST

called "The Dark Avenger."

Should we change it to "Disco Duck?"

;-)


: Does Disco Duck (none / 0) (#33)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 11:58:05 AM EST

wear tights??
;-)
Have nice day.

Oh Lord that's awful. nt (4.50 / 2) (#1)
by Maria Garcia on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 08:08:46 PM EST

horrible (4.50 / 2) (#4)
by sarany on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 09:51:25 PM EST

I can't imagine her state of mind. This qualifies as torture of a sort... cruel and unusual punishment, at least.

Who can we contact (4.50 / 2) (#5)
by allimom99 on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 10:01:15 PM EST

to express support for her team?

I just read the back posts and the (4.50 / 2) (#7)
by jes on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 10:53:54 PM EST

comments on them as well as the wiki article on Sara Jane Olson. She has been punished enough, she had rehabilitated herself before the capture. Given the circumstances, it sounds like she should have gotten only the 3 to 4 years. I hope her lawyers can get her free - enough is enough.

It's ridiculous (4.50 / 2) (#9)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 11:59:54 PM EST

How much more "rehabilitiation" could she obtain in another year of prison?

How likely is it that she would reoffend at her age?

The most cold and calculating person should have looked at this and said, "we have nothing to gain by bringing her back, and $40,000/yr to lose (or whatever it costs per year to house a prisoner). What's done is done. We screwed up. Let her go."

Instead, they inflicted a nightmare on this person. They are hideous.

I can only imagine how many inmate (none / 0) (#11)
by oculus on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 12:04:29 AM EST

lawsuits would follow if she was erroneously released before serving her sentence and everyone else had to stay put. I assume her attorneys knew she was released early as a result of error.


However (none / 0) (#14)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 12:58:05 AM EST

I assume she wasn't the first who was released via the same kind of error.


: I've heard of detention facilities, such (none / 0) (#16)
by oculus on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 01:22:18 AM EST

as county jails, erroneously releasing the wrong person. And I've heard of inmates in county jails being held too long. I've never heard of this type of error.

An algorithm for computing the (4.50 / 2) (#19)
by JSN on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 07:21:46 AM EST

tentative departure date (TDD) for a prison inmate is very complicated and the probability of making an error is high. To increase the chance an error will be detected the TDD should be computed as soon as possible (within a few days of admission to prison) and that date should be made available to all interested parties.

: That is exactly what the sentencing spokesman (none / 0) (#30)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 12:23:51 PM EST

said this AM in NPR.
She also said it's still done with paper and pencil by error-prone human beings.
She said the release date was determined in 2004 and was only questioned because a SF reporter researched and discovered the mistake.

We'll be waiting for her (4.50 / 2) (#21)
by eric on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 10:21:31 AM EST

back here in Minnesota. And yes, she will be welcome.

Six plus one years for murder and attempted murder (none / 0) (#2)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 08:23:30 PM EST

That seems pretty light. It is certainly lighter than Myrna Opsahl got.

I thought 2nd degree murder carried (none / 0) (#6)
by oculus on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 10:52:58 PM EST

a 15 year to life sentence in CA, w/credit for time served. Need more details here. Looks like, from Jeralyn's second link, a resentencing was ordered.


1975 (none / 0) (#12)
by squeaky on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 12:40:03 AM EST

If Olson had committed her crimes today, she would face at least 15 years to life for the second-degree murder of Opsahl and be ineligible for parole consideration for at least 10 years. But the law in effect in 1975, which governed her sentencing after her arrest in 1999, prescribed shorter, fixed-term sentences for both crimes.

: Looks like the error involved the (none / 0) (#15)
by oculus on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 01:20:28 AM EST

Sacramento conviction not being taken into account in calculating the release date.

I agree that sucks. (none / 0) (#3)
by KevinMc on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 08:27:49 PM EST

I wonder how many clerical mistakes have went the other direction, resulting in late releases.

On the teevee, usually the getaway driver (none / 0) (#10)
by jes on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 12:01:57 AM EST

sits outside in the getaway car. I'm so happy we don't throw people in jail and lock the key for what someone else alledged.

From the link in Squeaky's comment (none / 0) (#17)
by oculus on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 01:23:58 AM EST

above, it looks like the error was failure to add on the time attributable to the Sacramento County conviction, time for which she had already received a sentence.

Death penalty? (none / 0) (#18)
by Fabian on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 03:36:00 AM EST

Hmmmm, I wonder how many domestic abuse incidents result in miscarriages. So you are saying that if a man causes his SO to miscarry, then he should get the death penalty?

sometimes i would think it might be (none / 0) (#23)
by hellothere on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 11:27:19 AM EST

better to just let things be rather than make oneself look silly like these folks clearly do.