By Ella Schaltenbrand
Who Was Patty Hearst?
•
•
Born February 20, 1954
Father was Randolph A. Hearst.
• Managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner
• Chairman on the board of Hearst Corp.
Grandfather was publishing tycoon
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951).
• Built a media empire after inheriting the San
Francisco Examiner from his father.
William Randolph
Hearst
• Patty moved into an apartment
in Berkeley with fiancé, Steven
Weed in summer of 1974.
• Hearst was enrolled at Berkeley
• February 4, 1974 a group of
armed members of the
Symbionese Liberation Army
(SLA) broke into their
apartment.
Patty Hearst and Steven Weed
• Formed in Berkeley, California
• Grew from black inmate organization, the Black
Cultural Association.
• BCA- brought white students from Berkely to
Vacaville prison to tutor prisoners in political
science, black sociology and African heritage.
• BCA became more focused on black nationalism.
• One prisoner, Donald DeFreeze, branched off and
formed Unisight, which was the predecessor to
the SLA.
Donald DeFreeze
• DeFreeze escaped from prison, March, 1973.
• By the end of summer, 1973, SLA formed. Members
included:
Russell Little, William Wolfe, Nancy Ling Perry, Patricia
Soltysic, Camilla Hall, Joe Remiro, Bill and Emily Harris and
Gary and Angela Atwood
• Members changed their names and moved to a “safe
house” in Concord, California.
• Determined to create a violent revolution.
• First public act, on November 6, was the murder of
black Oakland school superintendent Marcus Foster.
• Because he supported an identification system for
students.
• Little and Remiro were arrested for the murder, but
when police went to safe house it had been burned
down.
• SLA demanded that Little and
Remiro be released, but
authorities refused
• Then they demanded that Hearst’s
parents give millions of dollars to
feed California’s poor population
• Hearst family agreed to give $2
million in food for the Bay area
needy.
• Hearst later claimed she was kept
locked in a dark closet for 57 days,
subjected to radical rants, abuse
and rape while the SLA had her.
• April 3, SLA released a tape where
Hearst criticized her father’s food
distribution efforts.
• 59 days after the kidnapping a tape
was released in which Hearst says:
• “I have been given the choice of being
released… or joining the forces of the
Symbionese Liberation Army and
fighting for my freedom and the
freedom of all oppressed people. I
have chosen to stay and fight.”
• She also announced she changed
her name to “Tania”
Photo released with the
audiotape in which Hearst
claimed to have taken up the
SLA cause.
• April 15, the SLA robbed the Hiberina Bank
(Hearst took part)
• Stole over $10,000
• Two bystanders were shot (one killed)
• Hearst announced “I am Tania” and ordered
customers to the floor, and warned “We are
not fooling around.”
• SLA released an audiotape after the
robbery where Hearst says:
• “Greetings to the people, this is Tania. Our
actions of April 15 forced the Corporate State to
help finance the revolution. As for being
brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous beyond
belief. I am a soldier in the People’s Army.”
Hearst at Hibernia
Bank Robbery
• May 16, 1974, SLA
members William and
Emily Harris attempted to
shoplift an ammunition
case at Mel’s Sporting
Goods Store in
• Patty Hearst then shot at the store
Englewood, California
from a van across the street.
• They were noticed by
• The next day, one hundred Los
employees who tried to
stop them
Angeles police came to SLA hideout
at 1466 54th St. and ordered the
occupants to come out.
• A massive
shootout ensued.
• Six SLA members
died as a result.
• William and Emily
Harris and Patty
Hearst were not
killed.
• Patty wasn’t arrested
until over a year later
• Authorities were
following the trail of
SLA member Kathleen
Soliah
• Hearst was arrested
September 18, 1975
Hearst’s mugshot
• Hearst’s trial began February 4, 1976 in the courtroom of
U.S. District Judge Oliver J. Carter
• Hearst stayed loyal to the SLA until her trial began, when
she claimed she’d been brainwashed and feared for her
life.
• Her defense was headed by lawyer F. Lee Bailey
• He tried to prove Hearst had been “brainwashed” and
suffered form the “Stockholm Syndrome”
• Stockholm Syndrome- captives, after becoming dependent upon
their captors, become sympathetic to their captor’s cause.
• Under this theory, Hearst was never a voluntary member
of the SLA, and she only did what she had to do to stay
alive.
• Critics pointed out that the defense had
many flaws
• Seemed like Hearst was acting freely at the
Hibernia robbery
• Brainwashing wasn’t recognized as a
defense to bank robbery under federal law
The jury listened to Patty on audiotape
saying that the idea of brainwashing was
ridiculous
• Hearst pleaded the Fifth Amendment 42
times while testifying about the bank
robbery.
• Psychiatrists played a big role
• Over 200 hours of expert psychiatric testimony
given
• Government psychiatrist Joel Fort gave
influential testimony
• Told jurors Hearst was a prime candidate for
radicalism even before being kidnapped
• Said she was an amoral person who thought rules
did not apply to her
• The jury deliberated for 12 hours in a session
that ended in tears
• March 20, 1976, Hearst was pronounced guilty
of armed robbery and use of a firearm to
commit a felony
• Hearst was sentenced to
seven years in prison
• President Carter
commuted her sentence
in early 1979
• On January 20, 2001, on
the last full day of his
presidency, Bill Clinton
granted Hearst a full
pardon.
Works Cited
CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 25 May 2014.
<http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/hearst/profile.html>.
FBI. FBI, 28 July 2010. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/history/famous-cases/patty-hearst-kidnapping>.
PBS. PBS. Web. 25 May 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guerrilla/peopleevents/e_kidnapping.html>.
"The Trial of Patty Hearst: An Account." The Trial of Patty Hearst: An Account. Web.
27 May 2014.
<http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hearst/hearstdolaccount.html>.
"William Randolph Hearst." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 26 May
2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/william-randolph-hearst>.