[Miles O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] We want to turn attention to the other side of the country, a Los Angeles courtroom, superior court, where the sentencing hearing continues for Sara Jane Olson, once a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, which in the mid-'70s gained some notoriety primarily because of a link to the heiress of the newspaper fortune, Patty Hearst, but also because of a series of bank robberies, some which involved fatalities. This sentencing hearing specifically involves a case in which Sara Jane Olson is accused of planting pipe bombs underneath a police cruiser. Immediately after this sentencing hearing, she will face arrangement on yet another charge, in an unrelated case, also involving the SLA, in the same time frame. That involves a bank robbery in which woman who was depositing some money on behalf of her church was killed. That will happen in this same courtroom. Other members of the SLA will be arraigned on that same charge of murder. Let's turn to a couple of experts who have been listening to this arraignment as it has been underway. There you see Sara Jane Olson, obviously a bit emotional as she is listened to. The last person there was her husband, Dr. Jerrold Peterson. Previously, her mother, Elsie Soliah, was up, talking on behalf of her daughter. Charles Feldman has been listening to the whole thing. Charles, just give us the basic jist. We haven't had an opportunity to listen in.
[Charles Feldman, Cnn Correspondent:] The sentence is a fixed one, as the judge pointed out, so in effect, all the testimonials are not going to have any impact whatsoever on the sentence that she is going to get. We've had sort of a small parade of acquaintances of hers, mostly people who knew her as right now, we're going to go to the daughter, I believe, who is giving some very emotional testimony.
[Feldman:] Emotional testimony by Layla Peterson that's the daughter of Sara Jane Olson and her husband, Dr. Fred Peterson, at this sentencing. And there you see Sara Jane Olson, who in another life was known as Kathleen Soliah, an alleged former member of Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that took responsibility for the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. The proceeding that we are watching now is the sentencing.
[Sara Jane Olson:] I want to say that because I knew a person at one time named Angela
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you.
[Michael Latin, Prosecutor:] Your honor, we have only two people that would like to speak, and they will be brief. Each of them were intended victims, people whose lives were intended to be taken by the defendent's actions back on that day in August of 1975. One is a police officer, still a police officer, by the name of Martin Finemart; he has just come back from a tour of Vietnam, had survived, come back, and almost had life taken by one of the two bombs that the defendant has admitted she helped plant. This one was at the Pollenbeck station. The other bomb was an active bomb. It was live, and I'd like to show the wanted to call back that station. The other bomb was an active bomb. It was live. I would like to show the court a picture before the intended victim of that bomb speaks, so the court understands the difference between life and death for this particular officer.
[Unidentified Female:] So I would object to the picture. I have no objection, of course, to the witnesses speaking.
[Latin:] This is one of the photographs. It was given over in discovery originally. This photograph shows the position of the clothes-pin trigger device as it came to rest when officer John Hall and officer James Bryan pulled out of their parking spot at the International House of Pancakes. As I explained before, the two screws were designed so that when they shut and made contact, that bomb would go off. Because the officers pulled out at an angle, the clothes pin got slightly twisted out of joint; this is the position of the clothes pin and the two metal contacts when it was discovered by Los Angeles Police Department bomb experts and they were called out to disarm the bomb. The space between the two screws that were supposed to make contact was approximately 132 inch or less. It is almost not even visible. You have to look at the photograph at very close range even to see that there's a gap between the two clothes pin ignition points. This picture is the difference between Officer Hall being able to be here and talk to the court and the defendant facing another murder charge in this case and Officer Hall having the good fortune to be here to talk to the court today so at this time I would like to call Officer John Hall. Good morning, your honor.
[John Hall, Lapd:] My name is John Hall, and I'm one of the policemen who was
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you.
[O'brien:] Officer John Hall, who 26 12 years ago stepped into a cruiser that had a pipe bomb placed underneath it. The allegation is, and now the guilt has been admitted32 inch. That is the first of the prosecution witnesses testifying at this sentencing hearing of Sara Jane Olson, formerly of the Smybionese Liberation Army. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com