Attempted Ford assassin: Free after 32 years in prison, Sara Jane Moore says she was ‘mistaken’

msnbc ^ | May 28, 2009 | Gerald DeMarco

[campaignPete R-CT]

what an inspiring story ... another folk hero from American history who is still writing the final pages of her story.

[TexasRepublic]

“We were saying the country needed to change, the only way it was going to change was a violent revolution.”

Change is coming you stupid communist bitch. Ironic, it may take a violent revolution to preserve the republican form of democracy as we have always enjoyed it. I know it has long been a crime to advocate the overthrow of our [republican] government; but is it now a crime to advocate preserving it?

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

It was rhetorical. I do think that if one attempts to assasinate a US president that life in prison without parole is a good idea. .

Uh, nevermind.

[iowamark]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Jane_Moore
“Moore had married and divorced five times and had four children before she turned to revolutionary politics in 1975.”

Moore was grabbed by bystander Oliver Sipple as she fired. Sipple’s life was then ruined by his friend Harvey Milk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sipple
“”The police and the Secret Service immediately commended Sipple for his action at the scene, while Ford thanked him in a letter. The news media portrayed Sipple as a hero but would eventually report on his outing by Harvey Milk and other San-Francisco gay activists.[3] Though he was known to be gay by various fellow members of the gay community, Sipple had not made this public, and his sexual orientation was a secret from his family. He asked the press to keep his sexuality off the record, making it clear that neither his mother nor his employer had knowledge of his orientation; however, his request was not complied with. The national spotlight was on him immediately, and Milk responded. While discussing whether the truth about Sipple’s sexuality should be disclosed, Milk told a friend: “It’s too good an opportunity. For once we can show that gays do heroic things, not just all that ca-ca about molesting children and hanging out in bathrooms.”[4] Milk contacted the newspaper.[1]

Several days later Herb Caen, a columnist at The San Francisco Chronicle, exposed Sipple as a gay man and a friend of Milk. Sipple was besieged by reporters, as was his family. His mother, a staunch Baptist in Detroit, refused to speak to him. Although he had been involved with the gay community for years, even participating in Gay Pride events, Sipple sued the Chronicle for invasion of privacy.[2] President Ford sent Sipple a note of thanks for saving his life. Milk said that Sipple’s sexual orientation was the reason he received only a note, rather than an invitation to the White House.[1]

Sipple filed a $15 million invasion of privacy suit against Caen, seven named newspapers, and a number of unnamed publishers, for publishing the disclosures. The Superior Court in San Francisco dismissed the suit, and Sipple continued his legal battle until May 1984, when a state court of appeals held that Sipple had indeed become news, and that his sexual orientation was part of the story.[1]””

[Sherman Logan]

Average length of time actually served in US prisons for murder varies by state. In this study 12 to 19 years.

http://search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch_lpa.asp?cmd=getdoc&DocId=13604&Index=I%3A%5Czindex%5C1994&HitCount=0&hits=&hc=0&req=&Item=1497

In any case, a lot less than a true life sentence.