NBC Nightly News open - 1977-05-09

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] This is NBC Nightly News with John

[0:05] Chancellor and David Brinkley. Tonight,

[0:08] Monday, May 9th, reported from London

[0:11] and the NBC News Center in New York.

[0:14] Good evening. Patricia Hurst, who fired

[0:17] two machine guns to cover the retreat of

[0:19] her friends in Los Angeles robbery, was

[0:21] given 5 years probation for that crime

[0:24] today. The defense and the prosecution

[0:26] joined in asking the judge not to send

[0:28] the aists to jail. The judge said there

[0:30] had been no special deal because her

[0:32] family has millions. That in fact she

[0:35] may have been treated too harshly by

[0:36] authorities who wanted to avoid that

[0:39] kind of criticism. Don Oliver was there

[0:41] when the judgment was handed down.

[0:45] Pattyhurst arrived for sentencing

[0:47] surrounded by private bodyguards who

[0:49] hustled her into court. She had pleaded

[0:51] no contest to the Los Angeles charges of

[0:53] assault with a deadly weapon and

[0:55] robbery. She had done so, her attorney

[0:57] said, to avoid the trauma of another

[0:59] trial and because they didn't think she

[1:01] could win. Attorney Effley Bailey urged

[1:04] the judge to grant probation, arguing

[1:06] that Hurst is rehabilitated, no threat

[1:09] to society, that incarceration would

[1:11] serve no purpose. The prosecutor stood

[1:13] up and agreed. Deputy District Attorney

[1:16] Sam Mayerson said the 371 days she had

[1:19] already spent in jail were sufficient

[1:21] punishment. The judge said he doesn't

[1:23] think there is a heart in America that

[1:25] isn't filled with compassion for Miss

[1:27] Hurst's parents. He sentenced her to 5

[1:30] years probation. Judge E. Talbertister

[1:33] said he is convinced that Hurst's safety

[1:35] would be in dire jeopardy if she went to

[1:37] prison. Hurst whispered a barely audible

[1:40] thank you to the judge, turned and

[1:42] hugged her mother. She remains free on

[1:44] bail, waiting for a decision on her

[1:46] appeal of the seven-year sentence a

[1:48] federal jury gave her for bank robbery

[1:50] in San Francisco. The only family member

[1:52] who said anything about today's sentence

[1:54] was her father, Randolph Hurst.

[1:56] >> Well, we're very pleased. Thank you.

[1:59] >> Hurst's attorney said there had been no

[2:00] deals, that they didn't know beforehand

[2:02] what the sentence would be. The

[2:04] prosecutor denied Hurst got any special

[2:06] favors.

[2:07] >> It happened that she is rich or her

[2:11] family is, but that does not in my

[2:14] opinion change the factual circumstances

[2:19] that justified the sentence. as we

[2:21] recommend it.

[2:23] >> There are bound to be those who will

[2:24] continue to argue that had this

[2:26] defendant not been Patty Hurst, had her

[2:28] parents not had wealth and position, she

[2:30] would have gone to prison. Don Oliver,

[2:32] NBC News, Los Angeles. Also on the

[2:35] program this evening, President Carter

[2:37] at two summit conferences, an

[2:39] administration plan to increase social

[2:41] security taxes for