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Judge Tosses Sentence of Ex-SLA Member Sara Jane Olson

The judge in the case of former Symbionese Liberation Army member Sara Jane Olson has thrown out her 14 year state sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing within 60 days.

Olson — who had changed her name from Kathleen Soliah, married and was raising a family in St. Paul — pleaded guilty in 2001 to taking part in two attempts to bomb Los Angeles Police Department cars in 1975.

She was initially sentenced to five years and four months. The state Board of Prison Terms scrapped that 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. The three-member board also cited Olson's flight and years as a fugitive. Cecil, in a ruling released Monday, said there was "no analysis" of how the state Board of Prison Terms decided 14 years was an appropriate sentence.

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