Steve McCullough on March 23, 2008 at 8:54 AM

Anyone can try and bring a suit, but in this case, it won’t be successful. She knew her earliest release date based on this 2007 ruling. She had to know walking out that the system had her going home under the wrong court order..

Aftermath of prosecution and sentencing
Olson served her time at the Central California Women’s Correctional Facility in Chowchilla. Her custody status is “Close A,”[6] which is reserved for inmates requiring the most supervision. This status limits her privileges and requires that she be counted seven times a day. It also prevents her from being able to seek a relocation to a facility closer to her home. David Nickerson, Olson’s attorney states that this status reflects the Department of Corrections’ view that she is a potential flight risk.[7]

Olson’s husband and three daughters continue to support her during her imprisonment and take turns visiting her frequently in Chowchilla.[8] In an article for fashion and lifestyle magazine Marie Claire, Olson’s 23-year-old daughter Emily Peterson dismisses her mother’s radical past with the SLA, saying:

“She lived in Berkeley. It was kind of normal. [9] I always tell people she wasn’t a terrorist. She was an urban guerrilla.”[10]

[edit] Judge reduces sentence

The state Board of Prison Terms had scrapped her original sentence in October 2002 in exchange for a 14-year sentence, saying Olson’s crimes had the potential for great violence and targeted multiple victims. In July 2004, a judge said there was “no analysis” of how the state Board of Prison Terms decided 14 years was appropriate and threw out the sentence. Her sentence was converted to five years, four months[11].

[edit] Appeals court panel restores sentence
An appeals court panel restored her full sentence as of April 12, 2007. They ruled that a lower court did not follow procedure when they allowed Olson to appeal.[12] [13]

This re-arrest is an inconvenience to her, but lawsuit worthy?

Nope..We are talking about someone that will have spent 7 years in prison for murder and attempted murder. This woman that “proved” she could be an upstanding member of society will have that chance to really prove it next year. You see, for all those years she was hiding, her society never knew they were dealing with a potential cop killer, but a definite bank teller murderer. She didn’t have to go through a reintroduction into society as other rehabilitated prisoners do.

The only successful lawsuit I see her involved in is the wrongful death suit that Myrna Opsahl’s family should bring against her. I can see a Soliah losing that one…as well she should.

Pam on March 23, 2008 at 9:31 AM

no your mother is a murdering terrorist and should have faced the death penility or at least life with out the possiblility

There was no death penalty on the books when Mrs. Opsahl was murdered because it was declared unconstitutional as then written. I’m not even sure if they had lwop on the books back then.

Blake on March 23, 2008 at 11:45 AM

And, for what it is worth, I miss Bryan too, but I think Ed is doing a fine job.

p40tiger on March 23, 2008 at 12:56 AM

I have no particular problem with Ed Morrissey; he is remarkably prolific, and generally level-headed. I don’t have an ounce of sympathy for Soliah’s moonbat daughter, or her moonbat husband, the one with the blinders on.

Ed does, however seem afflicted by a need to soften his conservatism with a hand-wringing compassion from time to time, as do a significant majority of conservative public writers. I am aware that he is a frequent target of left wing scorn and vitriol, and wonder if it hobbles him.

Jaibones on March 23, 2008 at 1:14 PM

Hey, Ed’s just fine..He went out of his way to help me get on this site….I have been reading Ed for years and tho we don’t always line up exactly together, our differences are usually by small degrees…As far as this woman’s concerned, California let her off way too easy in the first place and in spite of this little set-back, she will walk away from a despicable crime against humanity (that’s us)showing little if any remorse…May heartache, strife, and egregious calamity follow her in all her remaining years, incarcerated or not..

b4lucy on March 23, 2008 at 1:52 PM

As far as this woman’s concerned, California let her off way too easy in the first place …

Once again: California is required to follow the laws on the books at the time the crimes were committed. The laws have been changed and when it comes to handing out sentences California is extremely tough.

Blake on March 23, 2008 at 1:58 PM

I have no particular problem with Ed Morrissey; he is remarkably prolific, and generally level-headed.

I agree and well-said. I have had about enough of that headset picture, though.

As far as Soliah goes, the fact that she’s not serving life plus is a legal loophole - anything less than that and she’s lucky.

And of course her kids make excuses for her, what would you do? But they’re just excuses, the woman’s scum, and they’re very unlucky to have her as a mother. Any “psychic pain” they’re experiencing is her fault and no one else’s.

That doesn’t mean California’s administrators are competent, of course, as a rule I assume otherwise. But it’s still her fault, she started it when she decided to pursue politically-motivated crime.

Merovign on March 23, 2008 at 2:12 PM

Prosecutors don’t sentence people, judges do.

Now, it might be that the prosecutors were too lenient in the sentence they sought, given the crime committed - that’d be reason to criticize their performance.

I suspect it was a combination of both - the lenient sentence occurred in part because the prosecutors weren’t insisting on “book throwing” from the court.

BD57 on March 23, 2008 at 2:32 PM

From the daughter’s mouth it’s hard to feel much sympathy for her…her mother’s action’s in Berzerkley were “normal”? HUH?
IMHO Sara should have been sentenced to death or at least LWP, I heard an interview on the radio with a son of the murder victim, before Sara’s rearrest, he was absolutely surprised and flabbergasted at her release…bet he’s breathing just a little easier today.
Quick word on “rehabilitation” …a theory dreamed up by social relativist. Old school here and it worked for me…punishment is the deterrent…if a criminal doesn’t want to go back to confinement they’ve been rehabilitated. If they don’t mind going back to a cell there is still work to do. Quite simple really.

oldernslower on March 23, 2008 at 3:00 PM

They should have put her in a cell next to Manson. They could share stories, come up for parole interviews about the same time and always get denied at those times. Finish.

geminicontender on March 23, 2008 at 3:17 PM

Myrna Opsahl was murdered about a mile from where I live. It is a shame California cannot hang the bitch Soliah.

Those who did not live in these times and meet some of the players have no idea how crazy these people are.

mcgilvra on March 23, 2008 at 5:13 PM

JKotthoff on March 23, 2008 at 5:51 PM
but until we as a society understand that prison is for punsihment not rehabilatation

Prison is for punishment and rehabilitation. There is a certain segment of the prison population that will not be rehabilitated as they are being punished, but at the same time, we do have another portion of the prison population that are able to walk out after having been punished for their crime, and they do lead productive lives never to be imprisoned again..

If we stopped letting the inmates run the asylum, we might just be able to accomplish both.

Pam on March 23, 2008 at 9:06 PM

Those who did not live in these times and meet some of the players have no idea how crazy these people are.

mcgilvra on March 23, 2008 at 5:13 PM

Truer words are rarely spoken. But I believe that we can all learn the truth of those days if we study history without the rose-colored glasses, and if we know that truth, we can change the present and the future.

Ignoring that history, or writing it off with moral equivalence rationales, as Soliah’s daughter does, will only lead to a repeat of those times. Right thinking people need to remember, and do all we can do to prevent that madness from returning.

Jaibones on March 23, 2008 at 9:16 PM

I can’t care more about that terrorist’s kids, than I can about the people she helped to murder. Osama bin-Laden and Saddam Hussein have kids, too, but I think they are perfect candidates for the death penalty. She is, too.

Virus-X on March 23, 2008 at 11:30 PM

Are these the New Math chickens coming home to roost in California?

LaMonte on March 24, 2008 at 3:57 AM

I still regret not having taken the opportunity to freak that skanky broad out. Turns out she was neighbors of a friend of mine in St. Paul. I had planned to go guzzle some of his beer, and let Soliah see me in one of my old Army BDU jackets during her routine walks. I just happen to share the same last name with Myrna Opsahl. I’m guessing the look one her face as she saw my name, and the look in my eyes, would have been truly priceless.

paragon27x on March 24, 2008 at 9:46 AM

She’s got crazy eyes, stupid true believer eyes.

The kind that would believe in leftism and get all emotional about it.

benrand on March 24, 2008 at 4:05 PM