Patty Hearst Kidnapping

Having heard nothing from their daughter since June, the Hearst family withdrew their offer of a $50,000 reward for Patty Hearst’s safe return.

On 21st April 1975, four members of the SLA robbed a bank in Carmichael, California. During the robbery, 42-year-old bystander Myrna Opsahl was killed. Hearst was not one of the four participants in the raid.

On 18th September 1975, after returning to the West Coast, Hearst was arrested in San Francisco along with fellow SLA members Bill Harris, Emily Harris, and Wendy Yoshimura. When she was booked at the police station, she told the desk sergeant that her occupation was “urban guerrilla.”

Hearst was charged with armed robbery and remanded in custody to await trial. Her parents hired renowned defense attorney F. Lee Bailey to represent her. The trial began in Los Angeles on 15th January 1976. Although Bailey had previously defended several high-profile clients, including Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, Hearst later claimed he was a poor choice, alleging that he was often unprepared and appeared intoxicated on several occasions.

The trial lasted more than two months. Despite Bailey presenting leading psychological experts to support Hearst’s claim that she had suffered from Stockholm syndrome, the jury remained unconvinced, as several of the experts contradicted one another.

Bailey’s unconvincing closing argument, coupled with his alleged intoxication, further weakened the defense. On 20th March 1976, the jury found Hearst guilty. She received the maximum sentence of 25 years for armed robbery, plus an additional 10 years for using a firearm during the crime.

Hearst was imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pleasanton, California. Following a judicial review, her sentence was reduced to seven years.

On 29th September 1976, Bill Harris and Emily Harris pleaded guilty to the kidnapping of Patty Hearst. They each served eight years in prison.

On 1st February 1979, after serving less than two years of her sentence, President Jimmy Carter commuted Hearst’s prison term, and she was released under strict parole conditions.

After her release, Hearst married her former bodyguard, Bernard Shaw, and the couple had two children, Gillian and Lydia. She later pursued acting, appearing in cameo roles in several films directed by John Waters.

In 1982, Hearst published a memoir titled Every Secret Thing, describing her ordeal in detail. It was adapted into the 1988 film Patty Hearst, and the book was later reissued under the title Patty Hearst: Her Own Story.

Using her family’s political connections, Hearst continued seeking to clear her name through presidential intervention. On 20th January 2001, the final day of his presidency, President Bill Clinton granted her a full presidential pardon, following support from former President Jimmy Carter.

Public opinion remains divided over whether Patty Hearst was primarily a victim or a willing participant in the crimes for which she was convicted.