Leslie Van Houten up for parole again

[Montjoy]

Do you think he will deny her parole because it will be the least objectionable action to the public? Or do you think he will go with the letter of the law and grant her parole?

What I think he should do is irrelevant, and I don't know the formal criteria. What I think he will do is run a poll and do whatever is most politically popular.

 

[RANCH]

Does anyone know exactly what the law says? Does it say that an inmate eligible for parole who is deemed "not a danger to the public" must get parole? Or does it say that such an inmate may get parole? IOW, does the law require parole, or merely allow it?

I found this.

"

If an individual is eligible for parole and the board determines they are no longer a threat, the law says they must be paroled unless there is firm evidence indicating they are still a threat," Brown spokesman Evan Westrup said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1400-lifers-released-from-california-prisons-in-last-3-years/

 

[RANCH]

What I think he should do is irrelevant, and I don't know the formal criteria. What I think he will do is run a poll and do whatever is most politically popular.

I think your opinion on this is relevant. I hope that Governor Brown doesn't use a poll and instead use's the law in deciding Leslie's fate.

 

[RANCH]

I wonder if there is "firm evidence" that Leslie Van Houten is still a threat to others?

 

[Madeleine74]

I think that's why the excuse used is "remains a threat to society." Because that's the only legal reason they have at that point to keep a person in prison. They can't very well say, "well, she may have done everything asked of her and more in 4 decades, but since most everyone pretty much hates her with the heat of a thousand suns for what she did back in '69 and she's associated with Manson, she can just rot in prison another decade or 2."

 

[DexterMorgan]

Prisons have also been proven to be an excellent way of ensuring more rather than less criminality down the road. Sending people to prison for minor charges hardens them, makes them less employable down the road, and gives them a great opportunity to learn criminal techniques and form criminal networks.

In California's budget, the number of prison cells is strongly and inversely related to the number of spots at universities. How tragic that more people are in favor of more prisoners rather than more students.

Agree. They feel that the best way to rehabilitate a minor check fraud criminal is by locking them up and keep them surrounded by armed bank robbers and gang bangers and schizophrenic hardened criminals while trying to save a buck or 2.

Most minimum security prisons have been shut down which leaves the medium and maximum prisons over crowded. And it also leaves the non violent offenders to actually hate the justice system that they once respected.

 

[Madeleine74]

Well this is a conundrum because many people (perhaps most people) want someone punished. It's about retribution, not rehabilitation. There's no special prison for "people who did something bad but it could have been worse if only they had _______" They get assigned to a prison based on their classification and some other factors. Minimum security, Medium security, Maximum Security, State Prison, Federal Prison.

 

[RANCH]

Manson follower Leslie Van Houten faces fight from victim's family to gain freedom

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey has vowed to fight against the release of Van Houten, and several family members of her victim, Rosemary LaBianca, have also spoken out.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...er-van-houten-faces-fight-20160417-story.html

 

[Emi]

I also signed the petition regarding paroling Leslie Van Heuten, created by Deborah Tate. I hope she doesn't get paroled

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[Madeleine74]

There's no way Jerry Brown will ever allow any of the Manson followers out of prison. Not on his watch.

 

[DexterMorgan]

There's no way Jerry Brown will ever allow any of the Manson followers out of prison. Not on his watch.

Exactly. The gov has made that clear for a while now. Jerry Brown isn't some new young buck that is in need of the circus approval.

Now if they want to let her out 8 hrs a day to clean up the debris on highways then ok. Just make sure that she is still a inmate while doing so.

 

[KMouse]

How can they determine whether somebody is a threat to society when they have been in prison for decades.

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[DexterMorgan]

How can they determine whether somebody is a threat to society when they have been in prison for decades.

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You can go to jail for fraudulently writing bad checks. Now you are supposedly sentenced for the act. And not if you are a threat to society.

They spared her life. What more do you want. She should just be happy that this didn't take place in Texas.

Not everyone can get over on the affluenza / Ididnt know right from wrong defense.

 

[KMouse]

I was being a but sarcastic with my comment. Somebody may be non threatening in prison but I sure wouldn't want this woman as my neighbor.

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[DexterMorgan]

I was being a but sarcastic with my comment. Somebody may be non threatening in prison but I sure wouldn't want this woman as my neighbor.

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Lol. I can see her with a nanny for hire ad on Craigslists already.

Plus I can see a unknowning couple thinking that she seems sweet until they view the secret nanny camera.

 

[KMouse]

Bet her first step will be to change her name.

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[panthera]

I think your opinion on this is relevant. I hope that Governor Brown doesn't use a poll and instead use's the law in deciding Leslie's fate.

My belief is the Governor will do the right thing, in my opinion, and Van Houten will remain in prison.

From the linked article, in reference to Bruce Davis:

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown rejected his parole for the third time, saying that Davis remains a danger to public safety, saying in his decision that the “horror of the murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969 and the fear they instilled in the public will never be forgotten.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...urders-where-they-are-now-snap-htmlstory.html

 

[JaimeSommers]

I also signed the petition regarding paroling Leslie Van Heuten, created by Deborah Tate. I hope she doesn't get paroled

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Where did you find the petition? I've been searching under everything I can think of on Google, but can't find anything. I'm sure it's right in front of my face. TIA.

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[panthera]

How can they determine whether somebody is a threat to society when they have been in prison for decades.

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Good question, however I believe it is partially based on their behavior while in prison. I feel that this Manson clan, especially the women, were followers and that is why they have adjusted so well to the structured life in prison. While I do not believe Van Houten will be released, it does beg the question what type of citizen she would be on the outside, without the structure or a leader. I don't want to find out.

 

[sonjay]

I found this.

"If an individual is eligible for parole and the board determines they are no longer a threat, the law says they must be paroled unless there is firm evidence indicating they are still a threat," Brown spokesman Evan Westrup said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1400-lifers-released-from-california-prisons-in-last-3-years/

I got curious enough about this to do some googling. I haven't found the actual statute online, but I found this page at the website of the Cal. Dept. of Corrections:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/lifer_parole_process.html

It sounds to me like the law says that the parole board must recommend parole if the inmate is deemed suitable for parole, but the governor has the right to override the board's decision, regardless. The very last paragraph on that page says (BBM):

Once a decision is final, generally after the 120-day decision review period, the Governor has statutory authority under Penal Code sections 3041.1 and 3041.2 to review parole suitability decisions. Up to 90 days prior to a scheduled release date of an inmate, the Governor may request that the Board review its panel's decision. When such a request is made, the matter is placed on the Board's public meeting agenda and the public has the opportunity to give a 5-minute statement on whether the Board's hearing decision should be upheld. If an inmate was convicted of murder, the Governor may reverse or modify the Board's decision without referring it back to the Board for review.

So, I don't think the Gov. is bound by law to go along with the parole board's recommendation.

If those vicious, horrible killings of completely innocent people for no reason at all don't justify life sentences that actually mean life, then nothing does, and we might as well do away with the concept of a life sentence completely.