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16
Mar 2009
Minnesota lawmakers to California: Keep Sara Jane Olson

Los Angeles Times 11:28 AM | March 16, 2009

Two Minnesota legislators introduced a resolution today asking California to keep ex-Symbionese Liberation Army member and fugitive Sara Jane Olson from serving supervised parole in their state.

State Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen and state Rep. Laura Brod urged the action as authorities prepare this week to parole Olson, who is seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence -- as much as three years probation -- in Minnesota.

As part of the resolution, Ingebrigtsen asked his colleagues to support police in Minnesota and California against "a domestic terrorist who skirted the law for years."

Olson, also known as Kathleen Soliah, pleaded guilty for her role in a plot to kill Los Angeles police officers by planting bombs under squad cars, as well as a 1974 bank robbery near Sacramento in which a bank customer was killed. For nearly a quarter of a century, she was a fugitive from justice before she was discovered living in St. Paul, Minn., with her husband and children.

"She should serve out the full sentence where she violated the law rather than the place she hid from justice," Ingebrigtsen said.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents 9,800 LAPD officers, argues that Olson's request should be denied because Minnesota does not share the same interest that California does in making sure that she fulfills the obligations of her sentence.

Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Olson's request to serve probation in Minnesota is pending and a decision was likely by the time she is released on parole.

Thornton said the exact release dates of inmates are not divulged for safety and security reasons.-- Andrew Blankstein

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