Why Was Ex-SLA Member Olson Released Early?

The freedom of a convicted Sacramento County murderer was short-lived: Less than a week after her quiet release from custody, former radical Sara Jane Olson is back in prison, and the California Department of Corrections is apologizing.

A day before she was taken back into custody, state officials were insisting that she had served her time, but they couldn't answer one question: Why did she only serve one year for murder?

Olson, now 61 years old, was released on Monday from a Corona prison, paroled after serving only a few years for the 1975 attempted bombings of LAPD patrol cars and the murder of a customer in a Sacramento County Bank. Immediately after being notified, police unions and the family members of victims spoke out against her release.

"It's absolutely outrageous," said Jon Opsahl, son of Myrna Opsahl, who died in the 1975 robbery of the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, CA.

The former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army seemed to disappear in 1976, but was arrested in 1999 by FBI agents after a long search. Olson had styled herself as a housewife, changed her name from Kathleen Ann Soliah and raised a family.

She pleaded guilty in 2001 to the attempted bombing of LAPD vehicles, and in 2003, to the second-degree murder of Myrna Opsahl.

On March 17, 2008, she was released from prison. Counting time served and good behavior, Olson had only served one year for her murder conviction.

"My mother, who wasn't a threat to society, was gunned down for no reason, and [Olson] should pay her debt for her crime," said Jon Opsahl. "A judicial system that only requires service of one year for murder is a threat to society. It sends the wrong message."

Officials announced Sara Jane Olson's release late on Thursday. Here's a timeline of our investigation into the story:

Early Friday morning, approximately 10:00 a.m., I contacted the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to ask them if Sara Jane Olson had been released from prison early. They promised a response, but by 2:30 p.m., they were unable to provide me with an answer.

I sat with a CBS13 crew in the lobby of the California Department of Corrections until they agreed to speak with us and give us an answer.

At approximately 5:30, I confronted a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections, asking why Olson was eligible for release after serving only one year of her second-degree murder sentence. "I don't know," she said.

At 7:05 p.m., she called me back, saying that the department had checked it out, and they were confident they had not made a mistake.

But mere hours later on Friday night, Olson was reportedly preparing to board a flight to Minnesota at the Los Angeles International Airport with her husband when authorities arrived and said her right to leave California was rescinded. Law enforcement officers escorted Olson to her mother's house in Palmdale and kept watch throughout the night.

A warrant was issued for Olson's arrest on Saturday, and authorities took her back into custody without incident. Chief Deputy Secretary Scott Kernan said officials reviewed her case after "concerns [were] raised in the media."

It turns out, a calculation error in 2004 led to Olson's release a year too early. She is not eligible for release for at least another year.

Olson's attorney claims that the department bowed to political pressure, and has hinted that the officials may have acted criminally in arresting her again.

"The department does not have the authority to issue an arrest warrant and return that person to custody to finish her sentence," said attorney Shawn Chapman Holley.

But now I wonder: Had questions not been raised, would the error ever have been caught?

How many other people, convicted of less high-profile crimes, got out a little early without anyone asking why?