Mar 24, 2008 7:13 pm US/Central
Olson's Attorney Says Re-Arrest Timing Suspicious
SACRAMENTO (WCCO) ―
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The former Symbionese Liberation Army member has served six years in prison, and now she'll have to serve at least one more. (File)
AP
Sara Jane Olson is back behind bars one week after she was released from prison. The California Department of Corrections says it made a mistake calculating her prison time and let her out too early.
The former Symbionese Liberation Army member has served six years in prison, and now she'll have to serve at least one more.
"The timing of it is extremely suspicious," said Olson's attorney David Nickerson.
They are filing a motion for a hearing to challenge her re-arrest. They want the state to show evidence that the first release date was a mistake.
"Nobody sits down five days after somebody's released and then say 'Oh gee, we should recalculate her sentence to make sure we released her properly.' I don't believe that's ever happened in the history of California," said Nickerson.
Olson's attorneys say arresting her at the airport in the middle of the night was completely unlawful and a violation of due process. They believe it was motivated by criticism from police organizations protesting her release,
"That happened on Friday. So Friday night somebody sits down and recalculates her sentence five days after she was let out of prison. It just doesn't make any sense," said Nickerson.
A Minnesota law professor says the way Olson was rearrested was unusual.
"Usually there's a request to that lawyer to allow that person to turn themselves in. And it's rare that a warrant would be issued and someone be swept away from the boarding gate," said William Mitchell Law School Professor Peter Erlinder.
However, he admits an injunction then may have been filed by Olson's attorney delaying her return to prison.
"Now the question is whether she's going to be released rather than whether she should be put back in," said Erlinder.
The California Department of Corrections is launching an investigation into how Olson was released from prison early. Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the department's internal affairs division is probing how the mix-up occurred.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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