The Manson murders were monstrous. But do the aging killers still belong in prison?
For more than 50 years, relatives of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca vehemently pleaded with California governors and the state's parole board: Never free any member of Charles Manson's so-called family.
"If you have a monster and you are fortunate enough to have caught it, and it was condemned to die, why let it go?" said Tate's sister, Debra Tate. "I've worked with Republican governors and Democrat governors, and every one has always said: 'We'll never let them out.'"
That changed Tuesday, when after having repeatedly been denied parole, Leslie Van Houten was released from prison for her role in the notorious 1969 murders in Los Angeles.
While Tate and other family members of the victims decried the release, the move underscores how views of punishment and rehabilitation have changed in the criminal justice system, even when it comes to horrific cases such as the Manson murders.
"The crimes were truly heinous, cruel murders of strangers," said Hadar Aviram, a professor at UC Law San Francisco and the author of "Yesterday's Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole," a book that studies the parole hearings of those convicted. "There's this idea of: Can this ever be forgiven?"
But, Aviram continued, "I think if you really think about this as a pragmatic, public safety issue, these people don't pose a risk to public safety."
Read more: Many assumed Manson murderers would never be freed. How Leslie Van Houten did it
Those familiar with Van Houten's case point out that the 73-year-old had been deemed a "model inmate" over the years.
"There was no evidence in the record that she continued, after 50-plus years, to pose a danger," said Heidi Rummel, director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project at USC.
Rummel, who has represented candidates for parole for more than 15 years, said clients have cited Van Houten for their focus on rehabilitation during their time behind bars.
Topic: All these years, waste of tax dollars IMO (Read 392 times)