Just when you are ready to give up on California, there is a sign that some sanity still remains in Sacramento!
In April, a 2-member California parole board authorized the release of former Manson Family killer Leslie Van Houten. The decision to go forward with this recommendation rested with Governor Jerry Brown, who was sent a petition signed by over 140,000 people to discourage his signature on the release when it arrived on his desk.
This time, Brown made the good choice.
Gov. Jerry Brown denied parole Friday to Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted along with other members of Charles Manson’s cult in the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.Brown said Van Houten, the youngest member of Manson’s “family,” posed “an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.”… He said the “shocking nature of the crimes left an indelible mark on society” and that the motive — to trigger a race war “by slaughtering innocent people chosen at random — is equally disturbing.”“Even two years after the murders, when interviewed by a psychologist, Van Houten admitted that, although she had no present desire to kill anyone, she would have no difficult doing it again,” Brown said in his statement.
The Tate family is relieved by Brown’s decision.
“These people need to remain in jail until their passing day, for justice to be served,” said Debra Tate, Sharon Tate’s sister who delivered the signatures to Brown’s office last month and has organized opposition to the release of Manson family members.Manson, 81, and other followers involved in the killings are still jailed. Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles “Tex” Watson have each been denied parole multiple times, while fellow defendant Susan Atkins died in prison in 2009.Family member Bruce Davis also was recommended for parole, but it was blocked by the governor in January.
As a signer of the Tate family’s petition, this Californian would like to thank Governor Brown for making a just decision in the Van Houten case.
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