Leslie Van Houten, now 73 years old and a former supporter of the Charles Manson murder sect, can hope to be released from prison after 54 years in prison: On Tuesday, May 30, an appeals court overturned the earlier decision of California Governor Gavin Newsom on – for now.
Van Houten is serving a life sentence. She was 19 when she and other cult members stabbed the LaBiancas to death in August 1969. The 73-year-old said they dismembered Leno LaBianca’s body and smeared the walls with the couple’s blood. The killings came a day after fellow Manson supporters, who did not include Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in an act of violence.
The Leslie Van Houten Trial: Current Facts
A parole board has recommended Van Houten’s release five times since 2016. However, the incumbent California governor Newsom and former governor Jerry Brown had rejected this in all cases. The reason for her decision: Van Houten is still a danger to society, as well NBC reports. When Newsom last denied her parole, he reportedly said Van Houten gave a contradictory and inadequate explanation for her involvement with Manson at the time of the murders.
But the Los Angeles appeals court ruled 2-1 to reverse Newsom’s decision, writing, according to NBC, that there was “no evidence to support the governor’s conclusions” and that Van Houten was eligible for parole .
Leslie Van Houten: That’s why she committed murders at Charles Manson’s side
The judges also disagreed with Newsom’s allegation that Van Houten did not adequately explain how she came under the influence of Manson. At her parole hearings, she spoke at length about 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.
That’s why Van Houten could be eligible for parole
“Van Houten has demonstrated exceptional rehabilitation efforts, discernment, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends, favorable institutional records, and had received four consecutive parole grants at the time of the governor’s decision,” the judges wrote. “Although the governor notes that Van Houten’s historical factors ‘still stand out,’ nothing on record indicates that Van Houten did not successfully address these factors through years of therapy, substance abuse programs, and other efforts.”
More About The Manson Family
The members of the so-called “Manson Family” murdered seven people in 1969 on behalf of the cult leader of the same name. The most notorious was the murder of Sharon Tate. Tate was married to director Roman Polanski. One of the accomplices, Susan Atkins, died of cancer in September 2009 after 38 years behind bars. Charles Manson himself died in prison in November 2017 at the age of 83. In addition to Van Houten, 75-year-old Patricia Krenwinkel is currently in custody.