Van Houten described the killing of Rosemary LaBianca, who offered anything to have her life spared.
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A California review board has recommended parole for a former Charles Manson cult member after over 40 years behind bars.
Van Houten was a 19-year-old hippie when she fell under the spell of Charles Manson.
Cory LaBianca, whose mother and father were killed by the Manson family, acknowledged that Van Houten might have done good things in prison.
Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is seen during a hearing before the California Board of Parole Hearings at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif., Thursday, April 14, 2016.
She was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in August 1969.
“I can create a world where I make amends”, she said.
Since being in jail she has completed college degrees and been commended for her behaviour as a model prisoner.
“Your behavior in prison speaks for itself”. A panel recently recommended parole for Van Houten. The ruling will be reviewed by the parole board’s legal team. Jerry Brown (D) to deny Van Houten’s parole – as he did that of Bruce Davis, another killer affiliated with Manson, in 2014.
Manson is now 81 years old and Van Houten is 66 years old.
“We all need to be held responsible for our behavior”, she told The Times. As I’m a heavy believer in the death penalty, I feel the entire “Manson Family” should have been executed long ago. Manson is still behind bars, as are the other family members that are still alive. Do you agree? If you disagree, let me know why. The word “WAR” was carved on Leno La Bianca’s stomach. Van Houten has edited the prison newspaper as well as counseled her fellow prisoners.
But Van Houten has also gained her share of friends and supporters.
“I can’t tell you what an injustice this is”, she said.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has continually opposed her release.
“The opposition to parole has always been the name Manson”, Pfeiffer said. “He [Manson] spent a lot of time taking middle-class girls and remolding them”. “What we’re seeing today, these people were back in the 60s”, he said.
“The 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders were one of the country’s most gruesome killings”, Karson reports. She was 19 at the time. To this day, she swears she did not use the knife that stabbed Rosemary La Bianca to death.
Van Houten told ABC News in 1999, “I take responsibility for my part, and part of my responsibility was helping create him”. Two years later, she was retried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. But what happened to the other Manson followers?
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Charles “Tex” Watson – He, along with Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel, murdered the LaBiancas.
