Patricia Campbell Hearst, born on February 20, 1954, is a prominent member of the Hearst family and the granddaughter of American publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. Her life took a dramatic turn in 1974 when she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a radical left-wing group. Following her abduction, she became a fugitive involved in serious criminal activities with the group, leading to her arrest 19 months later. Hearst’s trial, imprisonment, and eventual pardon became highly publicized events, capturing the nation’s attention.
Early Life:
Patricia Hearst, who prefers the name Patricia over Patty, was born in San Francisco, California, the third of five daughters to Randolph Apperson Hearst and Catherine Wood Campbell. Raised in Hillsborough, she attended Crystal Springs School for Girls, Sacred Heart in Atherton, and the Santa Catalina School in Monterey. After Menlo College, she transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where she was studying art history at the time of her kidnapping.
Patricia's grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, established a vast media empire, and her family wielded significant political influence. Despite this, her father, one of the many heirs, did not control the Hearst interests. The family did not see the need for heightened security measures for their children, a decision they would later regret.
The Symbionese Liberation Army and Kidnapping:
On February 4, 1974, 19-year-old Patricia Hearst was abducted from her Berkeley apartment by the SLA. This small urban guerrilla group aimed to leverage the Hearst family's influence to free two imprisoned members, Russ Little and Joe Remiro, who were jailed for the murder of Marcus Foster, Oakland's school superintendent.
When the state refused to release Little and Remiro, the SLA demanded that the Hearst family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian, an initiative estimated to cost $400 million. Patricia's father secured a $2 million loan to fund the "People in Need" program, but the chaotic food distribution failed to secure Patricia's release.
During her captivity, Patricia testified that she was held in a closet, blindfolded, and tied up. SLA leader Donald DeFreeze, known as Cinque, repeatedly threatened her life. Over time, she began participating in the group's political discussions and memorizing their tracts. After weeks of confinement, DeFreeze suggested she could either join the SLA or face execution. Patricia chose to join them, later claiming she was coerced through threats and sexual assault.
Bank Robbery and Criminal Activities:
On April 3, 1974, Patricia, now known as "Tania" in homage to Che Guevara's comrade, announced via an audiotape that she had joined the SLA. Just 12 days later, she was caught on surveillance video wielding an M1 carbine during a robbery at Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. During the robbery, Patricia, identified as Tania, was seen shouting orders and participating actively. Two men who entered the bank were shot and wounded by SLA members. This incident raised questions about her willingness to participate, with some witnesses suggesting she might have been coerced while others believed she acted voluntarily.
Continued Fugitive Activities:
On May 16, 1974, Patricia, along with SLA members William and Emily Harris, was involved in a shooting incident at Mel's Sporting Goods in Inglewood, California. After a store manager attempted to detain William Harris for shoplifting, Patricia fired an automatic weapon into the store's ceiling, prompting a dramatic escape. The trio hijacked two cars and kidnapped their owners, narrowly evading police who had surrounded the SLA’s main hideout in Los Angeles. In a subsequent police raid, six SLA members died in a gunfight and resulting fire, initially leading to false reports of Patricia's death.
Capture and Trial:
Patricia was eventually captured on September 18, 1975, and charged with multiple crimes, including bank robbery. Her trial became a media sensation, with the prosecution arguing she had willingly joined the SLA. Patricia's defense claimed she had been brainwashed and acted under duress. She testified that she was raped by SLA members and threatened with death if she did not comply. Despite these claims, in 1976, she was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison, later reduced to seven years.
Pardon and Later Life:
President Jimmy Carter commuted Patricia’s sentence in 1979, and she was later fully pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001. After her release, Patricia distanced herself from the events of her captivity, pursuing a relatively private life. She married her former bodyguard, Bernard Shaw, and had two children. She also wrote an autobiography, "Every Secret Thing," detailing her experiences.
Patricia Campbell Hearst’s transformation from a wealthy heiress to a convicted felon and her eventual pardon highlights a tumultuous chapter in American history. Her ordeal raises enduring questions about coercion, victimization, and the influence of power and privilege in the justice system.
Involvement in Later SLA Crimes
Patricia Hearst was involved in the creation of improvised explosive devices for the SLA. These devices were used in two failed attempts to kill police officers in August 1975; one of the devices did not detonate .
When Hearst was arrested, marked money found in her apartment linked her to the SLA's armed robbery of the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, California. During this robbery, Hearst acted as the getaway driver. Tragically, Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four who was at the bank to make a deposit, was shot and killed by a masked Emily Harris. This put Hearst at risk of facing felony murder charges and made her a potential witness against Harris in a capital offense trial .
Legal Consequences
On September 18, 1975, Hearst was arrested in a San Francisco apartment along with Wendy Yoshimura, another SLA member. The arrest was carried out by San Francisco Police Inspector Timothy F. Casey, Police Officer Laurence R. Pasero, FBI Special Agent Thomas J. Padden, and several other FBI agents. During her booking, Hearst listed her occupation as "Urban Guerilla" and asked her attorney to convey a message: "Tell everybody that I'm smiling, that I feel free and strong and I send my greetings and love to all the sisters and brothers out there".
Brainwashing Claims
At the time of her arrest, Hearst's weight had dropped to 87 pounds (40 kg). Psychologist Margaret Singer described her in October 1975 as "a low-IQ, low-affect zombie". Medical examinations recorded signs of trauma: her IQ had decreased from 130 to 112, there were significant memory gaps regarding her life before the kidnapping, she was smoking heavily, and experiencing nightmares. Despite these symptoms, without a mental illness or defect, a person is considered fully responsible for criminal actions not done under duress, defined as a clear and present threat of death or serious injury. Securing an acquittal based on brainwashing would have been unprecedented.
Psychiatrist Louis Jolyon West, a brainwashing expert from UCLA, worked pro bono for the court. He later wrote a newspaper article asking President Carter to release Hearst from prison. Hearst's autobiography, "Every Secret Thing" (1982), recounts her session with Robert Jay Lifton of Yale University, who described her as a "classic case" of a coerced prisoner of war.
After weeks in custody, Hearst renounced her allegiance to the SLA. Her first lawyer, Terence Hallinan, advised her not to speak to anyone, including psychiatrists, and proposed a defense of involuntary intoxication, suggesting the SLA had drugged her, affecting her judgment and memory. He was later replaced by attorney F. Lee Bailey, who pursued a defense of coercion or duress, similar to the brainwashing defense. Hearst underwent extensive interviews with various psychiatrists.
Trial
Hearst was the sole defendant arraigned for the Hibernia Bank robbery, with the trial starting on January 15, 1976. Judge Oliver Jesse Carter ruled that Hearst's statements after the robbery were voluntary and admitted evidence of her actions long after the robbery to establish her state of mind during the crime. The judge excluded expert testimony that could have suggested the "Tania" statements were not entirely authored by Hearst. He also admitted a recording of a jail visit where Hearst expressed radical and feminist beliefs, while excluding tapes of psychiatrist West's interviews with her.
Hearst testified that her captors demanded she appear enthusiastic during the robbery, threatening her life if she made any mistakes. Defense attorney Bailey presented photos showing SLA members pointing guns at Hearst during the robbery. Regarding the shooting at Mel's Sporting Goods Store, Hearst explained she acted out of ingrained responses drilled into her by her captors, fearing they would kill her if she did not comply.
Prosecution witnesses, such as Dr. Harry Kozol, claimed Hearst acted out of free will during the robbery, portraying her as a "rebel in search of a cause". Dr. Joel Fort, another prosecution psychiatrist, testified that Hearst was not in fear of death or injury during the robbery, leading to strong objections from Bailey. Fort characterized Hearst as amoral and suggested she voluntarily engaged in sexual relations with SLA members, which Hearst denied. The prosecution used writings by Hearst to challenge her testimony, and Judge Carter allowed testimony about her early sexual experiences, though unrelated to the charges.
Hearst appeared lethargic during the trial, attributed to medication given by jail doctors. Bailey faced criticism for his handling of her testimony, including having her repeatedly decline to answer questions. The judge had previously indicated she would have Fifth Amendment protection for parts of her testimony but changed his stance, affecting Bailey's defense strategy.
Aftermath and Testimony
Hearst eventually provided information about SLA activities to authorities, avoiding sworn testimony that could have been used against her. In February 1976, a bomb exploded at Hearst Castle. Hearst's account of being raped by SLA member Wolfe was challenged by Emily Harris, who suggested Hearst's keeping a trinket from Wolfe indicated a romantic relationship. Hearst maintained the item was a significant artifact, but the prosecution used Harris's interpretation to question her credibility. Some jurors found the trinket persuasive evidence of Hearst's dishonesty.
Closing Arguments
In his closing argument, prosecutor James L. Browning Jr. suggested that Patricia Hearst had participated in the bank robbery without coercion. Browning, who later became a judge, also implied that the feminist ideology of the female SLA members would have prevented them from allowing Hearst to be raped.
In her autobiography, Hearst expressed disappointment with her defense attorney F. Lee Bailey's performance during the crucial closing stage of her trial. She described him as appearing hungover and spilling water on himself while making a "disjointed" argument. Bailey's final statement to the court was: "But simple application of the rules, I think, will yield one decent result, and, that is, there is not anything close to proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Patty Hearst wanted to be a bank robber. What you know, and you know in your hearts to be true, is beyond dispute. There was talk about her dying, and she wanted to survive".
Conviction and Sentencing
On March 20, 1976, Hearst was convicted of bank robbery and using a firearm during the commission of a felony. She received the maximum possible sentence of 35 years in prison, pending a final sentence hearing, which Judge Carter did not specify. After Judge Carter's death, Judge William H. Orrick Jr. determined Hearst's sentence. He sentenced her to seven years, stating that "rebellious young people who, for whatever reason become revolutionaries, and voluntarily commit criminal acts will be punished".
Prison Life
Hearst was imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California. She suffered a collapsed lung in prison, beginning a series of medical problems that required emergency surgery. This incident prevented her from testifying against the Harrises on multiple charges, including robbery, kidnapping, and assault; she was also arraigned for those charges. Held in solitary confinement for security reasons, Hearst was granted bail for an appeal hearing in November 1976, on the condition that she was protected on bond. Her father hired dozens of bodyguards.
Superior Court Judge Talbot Callister granted her probation on the sporting goods store charge when she pleaded no contest, believing she had been coerced to a degree that amounted to torture. California Attorney General Evelle J. Younger asserted that, contrary to popular belief, Hearst had received a harsher sentence than a person of lesser means might have, noting that while she had no legal brainwashing defense, her ordeal had begun with her kidnapping.
In May 1978, Hearst's bail was revoked after her appeals failed, and the Supreme Court declined to hear her case. The prison did not take special security measures for her safety until she found a dead rat on her bunk on the day William and Emily Harris were arraigned for her kidnapping. The Harrises were convicted of simple kidnapping and were released after serving eight years each.
Representative Leo Ryan was collecting signatures on a petition for Hearst's release several weeks before he was murdered while visiting the Jonestown settlement in Guyana. Actor John Wayne commented after the Jonestown cult deaths that while people accepted Jim Jones had brainwashed 900 individuals into mass suicide, they struggled to believe the SLA could have brainwashed a kidnapped teenage girl.
Commutation, Release, and Pardon
President Jimmy Carter commuted Hearst's federal sentence to the 22 months she had already served, freeing her eight months before her first parole hearing. Her release on February 1, 1979, came with stringent conditions, and she remained on probation for the state sentence related to the sporting goods store plea. Hearst regained full civil rights when President Bill Clinton granted her a pardon on January 20, 2001, his last day in office.
Life After Release
Two months after her release, Hearst married Bernard Lee Shaw (1945–2013), a policeman who had been part of her security detail during her bail period. The couple had two children, Gillian and Lydia Hearst-Shaw. Hearst became involved in charitable activities, including a foundation helping children with AIDS.
Media and Other Activities
Hearst published her memoir, "Every Secret Thing," co-written with Alvin Moscow, in 1981. Her accounts led authorities to consider bringing new charges against her. In a 2009 interview on NBC, she stated that the prosecutor had suggested she had been in a consensual relationship with SLA member William Wolfe, a claim she found "outrageous" and insulting to rape victims.
Hearst produced a Travel Channel special, "Secrets of San Simeon with Patricia Hearst," offering viewers unprecedented access to her grandfather's mansion, Hearst Castle. She also co-wrote the novel "Murder at San Simeon" with Cordelia Frances Biddle, based on the death of Thomas H. Ince on her grandfather's yacht.
She appeared in several films directed by John Waters, including "Cry-Baby" (1990), "Serial Mom" (1994), "Pecker" (1998), "Cecil B. DeMented" (2000), and "A Dirty Shame" (2004). Hearst also made a cameo in Pauly Shore's "Bio-Dome" (1996) and had a small role in the 2004 film "Second Best." She was a producer on the film "Pottersville" and appeared in the 2000 documentary "Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story."
Her television roles include appearances on "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," "Boston Common," "Son of the Beach," and "Tripping the Rift." She was also a guest caller on the TV series "Frasier" and appeared in the "Lord of the Pi's" episode of "Veronica Mars," where she played a character loosely based on her life.
Hearst has also been active in the dog show community, and her Shih Tzu, Rocket, won the "Toy" group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2015. In 2017, her French bulldog Tuggy won Best of Breed, and Rubi won Best of Opposite Sex.
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