Patty's Million Dollar Release

She was smiling radiantly--the glowing, cover-girl smile remembered from the days before her troubles all began. To celebrate the occasion, she was stylishly dressed in gaucho pants, a dark, pin-stripe vest and a white blouse, and she was ebullient when she made a brief and jaunty appearance in San Francisco before the newsmen--some of whom applauded--who had covered her story for so long. "It would feel a lot better if I were home right now," she said. Moments later, that was precisely where she was headed. After 14 months in jail, Patty Hearst, 22, was released last week on $1.5 million bail, pending the resolution of legal actions still involving her.

Under normal circumstances, Patty would probably have been freed on bail long ago, but there has been nothing normal about her case since she was seized on Feb. 4, 1974, by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. When she was captured in September 1975, Judge Oliver J. Carter denied her bail, fearing she might run away before her federal trial for bank robbery. Convicted on March 20 and later sentenced to seven years, she was still refused bail during her appeals.

Patty cooperated with federal authorities in building the case that convicted S.L.A. Members William and Emily Harris, her traveling companions, on charges stemming from a shoot-up at Mel's Sporting Goods Store in Los Angeles in May 1974. While Patty was behind bars, her lawyers declared that she was receiving threats from S.L.A. sympathizers and argued more strenuously than ever that she should be bailed out, maintaining that she would be safer under private guard at home. Earlier this month there were reports that Patty was throwing temper tantrums in the Federal Youth Center in Pleasanton, Calif. She was also said to be upset by the attention paid her by young female prisoners, who made her a cult heroine of the left. Patty demanded to be moved, and on Nov. 9 was transferred to San Diego's Metropolitan Correctional Center, where she occupied a small, neat cell by herself and washed dishes and made coffee for the inmates.

Last week, after her lawyers stepped up their campaign to have her released, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick agreed that Patty should be freed. Orrick declared that the stringent conditions he had demanded "will reasonably assure that she will not flee" before her appeal is acted upon.

Closely Guarded. In effect, Randolph Hearst had to guarantee that he would pay $1.5 million if his daughter became a fugitive. Orrick also insisted that Patty live with her parents, report to the authorities by phone every Monday and Thursday morning, see a probation officer once a month and get the court's permission before leaving the state. Patty will be guarded closely by both private and federal agencies. Four husky private guards were waiting when she was whisked home to Nob Hill in the family's gray Mercedes Benz.

Aside from the appeal pending on her federal bank robbery conviction, Patty is to be tried in Los Angeles on Jan. 10 on state charges stemming from the incident at Mel's Sporting Goods Store. She is also expected to testify against the Harrises during their trial on charges of kidnaping her. But all that is in the future. Last week Patty was home, and Randolph Hearst described the family's feelings very simply: "We're delighted." he said, "and she's glad to be back."

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