The Trial of Patty Hearst dramatized by Céline Fitzmaurice

I am a big fan of true crime stories, but a dramatized true crime account is nothing to compete with. Listening for 90-minute The Captive Mind - The Trial of Patty Hearst, dramatized by Céline Fitzmaurice and narrated by Sandra Parsons took my back to my time as a child while listening on repeat to various classical stories on vinyl. It was a very energizing experience although the type of story was dramatically different.

Based on archival records, the account is covering the case of the trial of the granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, Patricia Campbell Hearst, accused of armed robbery fifty years ago. Kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army, a far-left militant group in San Francisco, with a life span of two years between 1975 and 1977, she defended herself as acting under duress. 

However, the court proceedings found her guilty, as the ways in which she reacted showed more than a behavior of a ´captive mind´. Was it rebellion against her background? Was it just a weak episode during times of high political and social turmoil in the US and the whole world? It is hard to say and deciphering the mystery of Patty Hearst mind may help understanding similar patterns of behavior of middle and upper class young men and women attracted blindly by ´revolutionary´/anti-social causes.

The Captive Mind is the third installment in the series of Trials of the Century Audiobooks, full-cast audio courtroom dramas from Classic Crime. Count on me for even more such stories, as I love both the format and the topics. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Audiobook offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review