MANSON MURDERER TO BE PAROLED

 



On August 9, 1969, three years after being named Monrovia High School's Homecoming Princess,  Leslie Van Houten, a 19-year-old follower of Charles Manson, assisted in stabbing Rosemary LaBianca to death, as part of the notorious Tate-LaBianca murders that occurred on that night.  Evidence was that she was under the influence of LSD at the time and a cult follower of Charles Manson, who died in prison for having directed his followers to commit the murders of Sharon Tate and Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca.  For Van Houten's role in the murder, she was convicted on March 29,1971, and sentenced to death. As the only female on California's death row at the time, special quarters were built for her to await the carrying out of her sentence.  

In 1972, Van Houten's death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

In 1977, she was given a re-trial for the reason that her defense attorney died while her case was being tried.  This trial resulted in a hung jury, and the case had to be tried a third time.  She was convicted of first-degree murder again, and again sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.  

California allowed Van Houten to be paroled after she had been incarcerated for seven years.  However, every time she has had a parole hearing, parole has been denied. 

On July 7, 2023, the Governor of California decided that California would no longer be fighting to keep Van Houten in prison.  She will be paroled shortly.

 Many will say that one who committed first-degree murder should never be released from custody.   On the opposite side, the parole board has recommended parole for her for over 5 years now.   The state has to ask whether it is worth it, in one judge's words, "to turn our prisons into old folks' homes."  Many states have special provisions concerning granting parole to inmates over 70 years old for that reason.  

A homecoming princess no more, I would have to agree with California's decision on this one.  Life has passed her by. She is now 74 years old and has spent the past 54 years in prison.  Her leader died in prison. All her friends are gone. She missed out on life, and it is her own fault. At this point, I believe the State has little to gain from keeping her in prison any longer. 






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