Nov. 19, 1976: Patty Hearst is released on bail

Wednesday 19 November 2008

On Nov. 19, 1976, Patty Hearst was released on bail for her participation in a 1974 San Francisco bank robbery. Hearst, granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, had been kidnapped in February 1974 in Berkeley, Calif., by members of a political terrorist group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. The group demanded that the Hearst family provide millions of dollars to help feed the poor.

In April 1974, surveillance cameras filmed Hearst participating in the robbery of a San Francisco bank with members of the army. She was arrested in September 1975 in connection with the robbery. During the trial, the defense attempted to prove that Hearst had been brainwashed into participating in the robbery; however, the jury found her guilty and sentenced her to seven years in prison. She was released on bail during an unsuccessful appeal to her conviction. She spent a total of two years in prison before President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in 1979.