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Heiress who was brainwashed to help kidnapping terrorists rob banks with machine guns

Patty Hearst became known after she was kidnapped on February 4, 1974, by the Symbionese Liberation Army, before taking part in an armed bank robbery for which she was sentenced to 35 years in prison

[Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army on February 4, 1974]

Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army on February 4, 1974(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)

An heiress who was kidnapped by a terrorist organisation was later jailed for 25 years after participating in an armed bank robbery.

Patty Hearst, 67, is the granddaughter of media mogul, William Randolph Hearst.

She first became known on February 4, 1974, when as a 19-year-old, she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

The SLA was an extremist left-win organisation that committed bank robberies, murdered police officers and civilians, and attempted bombings, among other violent crimes in the US.

The group is considered a terrorist organisation by the FBI and other American law enforcement agencies.

The SLA had chosen to kidnap Hearst to increase the news coverage of the incident due to her family's media ties in order to negotiate the release of two of their members who had been captured by authorities.

[Two months after her abduction, questions concerning Hearst's ties to her abductors arose after Hearst declared her allegiance to the SLA]

Two months after her abduction, questions concerning Hearst's ties to her abductors arose after Hearst declared her allegiance to the SLA(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)

Two months after her abduction, questions concerning Hearst's ties to her abductors arose after Hearst declared her allegiance to the SLA.

She also denounced her family and was seen carrying an automatic weapon during an SLA bank robbery in San Francisco on April 15.

She was eventually found and arrested 19 months after her kidnapping on September 18, 1975.

At the time of her arrest, Hearst's weight had dropped to just 87lbs (40kg) and she was described by psychologist, Margaret Singer, as a "low-IQ, low-affect zombie".

Shortly after her arrest, signs of trauma were recorded, with her IQ measuring at just 112, compared to prior from her ordeal when it was 130.

There were also huge gaps in her memory, she was smoking heavily and experienced frequent nightmares.

At her trial, however, the prosecution suggested that Hearst had joined the SLA of her own volition.

[She was seen carrying an automatic weapon during an SLA bank robbery in San Francisco]

She was seen carrying an automatic weapon during an SLA bank robbery in San Francisco(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)

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Jeffrey Toobin, the author of, American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst, argued that: "If you look at her actions... Over the following year, you see the actions of a revolutionary, not a victim.

"There was some glamour to what she was doing, the swagger of wearing berets, of carrying machine guns the romance of revolution was an undeniable part of the appeal of the SLA."

Hearst however testified in court that during her time as a captive, she had been raped and threatened with death.

Despite that, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which was later reduced to seven years.

Hearst also claimed she was subjected to a series of ordeals that her mother would later describe as "brainwashing".

The change in Hearst's politics has been attributed to Stockholm syndrome a psychological response in which a hostage exhibits loyalty to the abductor.

[Hearst claimed she was subjected to a series of ordeals that her mother would later describe as "brainwashing"]

Hearst claimed she was subjected to a series of ordeals that her mother would later describe as "brainwashing"(Image: Reuters)

She served just 22 months behind bars, before President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence, freeing her eight months before she was eligible for her first parole hearing.

She was then granted a pardon over two decades later, by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office on January 20, 2001, and managed to regain her full civil rights.

Toobin however sees her early release and pardon as an example of "wealth and privilege in action."

He said: "The fact that she got these two presidential gestures of forgiveness is the purest example of privilege on display that frankly I have ever seen in the criminal justice system."

Two months after her release from prison, Hearst married Bernard Lee Shaw, a policeman who was part of her security detail during her time on bail and they went on to have two children together.

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, www.victimsupport.org.uk.

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