The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst (Part 1)

Description

When nineteen-year-old Patty Hearst was kidnapped from her apartment in February 1974, everyone assumed the heiress had been abducted for the purposes of ransom. However, in the days that followed, Hearst’s kidnappers, the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), made themselves known when they sent a letter demanding the Hearst family provide food to every needy family in California.  For nearly two months, the SLA held Patty Hearts captive, or so it seemed to the public. But when the group’s demands were met and Hearst was given the opportunity to leave, the teenager shocked the world when, rather than flee her captors, she joined their ranks in support of their cause. Hearst’s decision set in motion a chain of events that resulted in several acts of explosive violence and forever changed the way we think about victims of kidnapping. Yet in all the analysis of the case over the last fifty years, one question remains unanswered, and possibly unanswerable: Was Patty Hearst a willing accomplice to the SLA or was she a brainwashed victim trying to survive a traumatic ordeal? Thank you to the Amazing Dave White (of BRING ME THE AXE PODCAST) for research and writing assistance! References Associated Press. 1974. "SLA commandos rob bank, shoot 2." Los Angeles Times, April 15: 1. Caldwell, Earl. 1974. "Miss Hearst says she joins terrorists." New York Times, April 4: 1. Conant, Jane Eshleman. 1974. "Guns point at 'Tania' in bank." San Francisco Examiner, April 16: 1. Cook, Stephen. 1976. "Doctor: I wasn't harsh with Patty." San Francisco Examiner, January 15 : 1. —. 1975. "Patty falling apart and must leave jail, her lawyer says." San Francisco Examiner, September 29: 1. Curtain, Andrew. 1974. "New offer to Patty's captors." San Francisco Examiner, February 23: 1. Fosburgh, Lacey. 1974. "Miss Hearst: an unlikely revolutionary." New York Times, April 7: 1. Hager, Philip, and Daryl Lembke. 1974. "Kidnappers may offer 'deal' for Hearst girl." Los Angeles Times, February 9: 1. Hager, Philip, and Dick Main. 1974. "$2 million for fo