A former revolutionary involved in the homicide of a Boston police officer 53 years ago is now seeking redemption, WBZ-TV reported.
Katherine Ann Power, who was a senior at Brandeis University in 1970, became embroiled with an anti-Vietnam War group whose idealistic vision was to start a violent revolution, according to WBZ-TV. The anti-war group’s zeal led them to team up with two former convicts to burglarize and steal weapons from the National Guard Armory in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Manhunt Underway As Son Of Police Chief Allegedly Shoots Two Officers During Stolen Vehicle Investigation)
Surrender: My Journey from Guerilla to Grandmother – Reading with Katherine Ann Power
11/14 @ noon | Free | MU 208Surrender delves deep into the heart-pounding close calls of her fugitive years, juxtaposed with the simple joys of family life and tending to a garden. @OSUSHPR pic.twitter.com/qzU2hlfre7
— Liberal Arts – OSU (@liberalartsosu) November 8, 2023
Shortly after robbing the armory, Power found herself driving a getaway car for a bank heist in Boston, according to WBZ-TV. One of her accomplices reportedly shot a Boston police officer during the bank heist, causing the officer to die shortly afterward.
“I thought we would die in our war, that was possible,” Power told the outlet. “I never pictured that someone else would die in our war. That’s where I was culpably naïve.”
All of those involved in the officer’s death were caught except for Power, who remained at large and on the run until 1993, according to the outlet. “I still regarded the government as illegitimate, and having no right to hold me accountable,” Power told WBZ-TV of her time on the run.
Power, using an alias and moving to Oregon, was able to build a family and career until, battling depression, she turned herself in to authorities 23 years after her crime to face the consequences, WBZ-TV reported.
A judge rejected Power’s plea to serve time closer to her family in Oregon and sentenced her to eight years in jail in Framingham, Massachusetts, according to the outlet.
Power was released on good behavior after six years, during which time she says she reflected on her role in the tragic death of the Boston officer that left his nine children without a father, WBZ-TV reported.
“I feel horrible, and I’ve tried over the years to express my remorse and sense of responsibility,” Power said.
Power, who recently self-published a memoir about her experiences entitled “Surrender: My Journey from Guerrilla to Grandmother,” told WBZ-TV she believes she has paid her debt to society and deserves redemption.
“Because I satisfied the prison sentence and did the inner work I deserve to be regarded as redeemed by the society,” Power said.