At her parole hearings, she discussed at length how her parents’ divorce, her drug and alcohol abuse, and a forced illegal abortion led her down a path that left her vulnerable to him. The judges took issue with Newsom’s claim that Van Houten did not adequately explain how she fell under Manson’s influence. The second district court of appeal in Los Angeles ruled 2-1 to reverse Newsom’s decision, writing there is “no evidence to support the governor’s conclusions” about Van Houten’s fitness for parole. In rejecting her parole, he said she offered an inconsistent and inadequate explanation for her involvement with Manson at the time of the killings. In the most recent parole denial, Newsom said that Van Houten still posed a danger to society. Van Houten was 19 at the time.Ĭharles Manson followers, from left, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten return to court on 29 March 1971. Van Houten, now 72, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and other followers kill Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary, in 1969. “She’s just grateful that people are recognizing that she’s not the same person that she was when she committed the murders.” “She’s thrilled and she’s overwhelmed,” Tetreault told the outlet. Van Houten’s attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said she would be paroled in weeks, NBC News reported. “The governor is disappointed by the court of appeals’ decision to release Ms Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed.” “More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims’ families still feel the impact, as do all Californians,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the Guardian. Van Houten has been recommended for parole five times since 2016. Newsom’s predecessors have made the same decision as him each time a parole board deemed that Van Houten was fit to be let out of prison.
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