Shabana Mahmood urged to grant visa to former Weather Underground activist
Summary
Human rights advocates and performers have asked UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to reconsider the refusal of a visitor visa for Judith Clark, a 77-year-old former member of the Weather Underground. Clark planned to speak about rehabilitation at a Royal Shakespeare Company event and attend her daughter’s book launch; she was convicted in connection with a 1981 attempted armored-truck robbery in which three people were killed, served 37 years, and was released in 2019.Key Facts
- The Home Office refused Clark’s visa application last week.
- Clark was invited to speak about rehabilitation and restorative justice after a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Julius Caesar in Stratford-upon-Avon.
- She also hoped to attend the 5 November UK launch of her daughter Harriet Clark’s novel, The Hill.
- Lawyer Helena Kennedy, actor Harriet Walter and theatre director Phyllida Lloyd urged the Home Office to reconsider the decision.
- Clark was convicted in 1983 for her role as a getaway driver in a 1981 attempted Brinks armored-truck robbery that killed a security guard and two police officers.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commuted Clark’s sentence in 2017; she was paroled in 2019 after serving 37 years.
- During her imprisonment, Clark helped establish an AIDS support group, programs for mothers, a service-dog effort and a college education program.
- Clark became director of the Survivors Justice Project in 2025, an organization that seeks legal relief for survivors of domestic violence facing prison sentences.
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