Olson Not Allowed to Change Her Plea

Re “Olson’s Attempt to Change Plea Fails,” Dec. 4: In denying Sara Jane Olson’s attempt to withdraw her guilty plea for her alleged part in planting bombs under two police cars, Judge Larry Paul Fidler has also denied her the constitutional right to be tried by a jury of her peers. If indeed Olson’s attorney, J. Tony Serra, coerced her, as he has said, into pleading guilty out of fear that the post-9/11 political climate might have helped the prosecution convict her, making her sentence more severe, then Judge Fidler’s decision sets a very bad precedent.

The question of whether Olson attempted to commit this particular terrorist act is what her trial should endeavor to determine. She now claims she is not guilty. The court should not abridge its presumption of her innocence until, or unless, evidence to the contrary proves convincing beyond a reasonable doubt. And it is a jury, not the judge, that should come to that conclusion. Denial of Olson’s right to mount a defense in this case makes it clear that the same right could be denied to anyone who initially decides not to gamble that a jury would set him or her free.

James R. Thach

Pasadena

In 1974 I was a young Los Angeles police officer working the night that two bombs were found under LAPD vehicles. It was only by good fortune that no one was killed. Now, over 25 years later, the accused wants sympathy because she believes she can’t get a fair trial after the events of Sept. 11. Whose fault is that? Kathleen Soliah chose to become a fugitive from justice by changing her name and identity and moving east. Had she faced the charges at the time, it would be behind her by now. She got what she deserves. Justice has been done.

Dan Watson

Glendale