Katherine Ann Power, who surrendered last month after 23 years as a fugitive radical, was sentenced Wednesday to eight to 12 years in prison for her part in a 1970 bank robbery in which a Boston police officer was killed.
Power, 44, had pleaded guilty Sept. 15 to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the death of Walter Schroeder Sr. The officer was killed during a robbery staged to help pay for anti-Vietnam War activities.She was sentenced by Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Robert Banks under a plea agreement. He also placed her on 20 years probation and told her she would spend the rest of her life in prison if she violated orders not to profit in any way on her story.
Power is expected to be eligible for parole in about five years.
She had faced a charge of murder, even though she was actually a mile away in a getaway car at the time Schroeder was gunned down during the Sept. 23, 1970, bank robbery by four other radicals.
Prior to sentencing, Power said in a hand-written statement that she apologized to the Schroeder family but knew that any apology was "utterly inadequate."
Power had said that Schroeder's death was "shocking" to her, and that she never intended to hurt anyone.
Power had been living in Lebanon, Ore., for the past 16 years under the assumed name Alice Louise Metzinger. She has a son, Jaime, 14, and is now married to Ron Duncan.
Her lawyers said Power looked forward to eventually returning to Oregon, where she opened restaurants in Eugene and Corvallis and taught cooking at a community college.
On the eve of the sentencing, Schroeder's family spoke out against Power, expressing resentment at how she was being portrayed in some quarters as a heroine because of her anti-war activities.
Schroeder's widow, Marie, said in a television interview to be aired Wednesday night on NBC's "Now" show: "I stayed home and took care of my family. What was she doing?"
The former Brandeis University student had been on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List until 1984.
The other four involved were later captured and sentenced.