Leslie Van Houten up for parole again

[Lilibet]

I honestly don't think she presents a danger if she is released. For me it's about the impact of the crime on society. Concentration camp guards from WWII are arrested and tried in their 90's. It's not about the danger they present or how well they have lived since then. Some crimes are so bad that the participants shouldn't get a pass. I'm NOT comparing the Manson family to the Holocaust by any means, but the Manson killings were an affront to civilized society and the participants should recognize that. Gov Brown's decision is difficult and I will accept it. All MOO.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

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):



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.

I agree that the Governor can override the parole boards decision. That's the idea behind giving the Governor the power to do that. He can come up with any reason he wants and there's nothing an inmate can do about it. JMO

 

[LinasK]

Bruce Davis was denied parole by Brown three times. I expect Brown to follow the same pattern with Leslie Van Houten.

I sure hope so!!!

 

[LinasK]

Bet her first step will be to change her name.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

Nah, not everybody remembers it until you say Manson girl. When I mentioned it to my husband the other day, he said, "Who?", until I mention Manson girl.

 

[LinasK]

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

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."

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.

“horror of the murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969 and the fear they instilled in the public will never be forgotten.”


Yes it is! Leslie is NOT rehabable. This ^ is exactly why Brown should keep her in prison for the rest of her natural life. Let her die in prison as Susan Atkins did. Leslie was originally sentenced to Death Row. She was granted Life when California abolished the Death Penalty for a period of time. She belongs on Death Row for the heinousness of her crimes!!!

 

[LinasK]

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):



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.

Amazing Sonjay, something you and I completely agree on! Have pigs flown?

 

[LinasK]

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.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I'd like to sign it too.

 

[sonjay]

Amazing Sonjay, something you and I completely agree on! Have pigs flown?

I think I saw one overhead earlier today.

 

[SophieRose]

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.

I'm sure the popular opinion in California would be to keep her in prison, and that's why he'll probably deny her parole.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I'm sure the popular opinion in California would be to keep her in prison, and that's why he'll probably deny her parole.

I'm sure he will go with the popular opinion because this is a high profile case that is in the news. I bet that the majority of Californians want all the other murderers that he has allowed to be freed to still be in prison. JMO.

 

[KaaBoom]

How about locking up all of the people who commit crimes and keep them there for a period of time that fits the severity of their crimes.

Why raise tax's? Why not use the money spent on supporting rich farm company's corn to ethanol subsides and other wasteful government programs?

Back on topic. I hope that Governor Brown looks at Leslie Van Houten and base his decision on the law and not public sentiment. I see too many actions lately by government officials that disregard the law and go with "political correctness" instead. I find those actions repugnant.

We are already locking up more people, then any country in the world, and the policy is not working. We need less people in prison, not more. Prisons are money into a black hole, and until people like you, are actually willing to write out the check for new prisons, it’s not going to happen anyway. No country can afford to lock up more then 10% of the population, and we are already at that number.

Source

 

[JaimeInLA]

We are already locking up more people, then any country in the world, and the policy is not working. We need less people in prison, not more. Prisons are money into a black hole, and until people like you, are actually willing to write out the check for new prisons, it’s not going to happen anyway. No country can afford to lock up more then 10% of the population, and we are already at that number.

Source

I completely agree with you. But the people that need to be released are the low-level drug offenders (people locked up for using or selling small amounts of marijuana) -- NOT cold blooded murderers who took innocent lives just because somebody told them to go do it. Manson wanted to start a race war. He wanted to terrify Los Angeles. As a resident of Los Angeles, I do not want Van Houten on the streets. I don't think she would ever commit another crime. But I don't think she deserves a chance at freedom and all the joy that brings.

 

[Montjoy]

We are already locking up more people, then any country in the world, and the policy is not working. We need less people in prison, not more. Prisons are money into a black hole, and until people like you, are actually willing to write out the check for new prisons, it’s not going to happen anyway. No country can afford to lock up more then 10% of the population, and we are already at that number.

Source

Well, the USA is in some pretty select company. On this mark, its brethren are Russia, Rwanda, Cuba, and South Africa. Just five peas in a pod!

 

[Montjoy]

I honestly don't think she presents a danger if she is released. For me it's about the impact of the crime on society. Concentration camp guards from WWII are arrested and tried in their 90's. It's not about the danger they present or how well they have lived since then. Some crimes are so bad that the participants shouldn't get a pass. I'm NOT comparing the Manson family to the Holocaust by any means, but the Manson killings were an affront to civilized society and the participants should recognize that. Gov Brown's decision is difficult and I will accept it. All MOO.

'

While I agree with some things you've said, I think that your comparison has some flaws.

Concentration camp guards who are tried in their 90's have been able to live the vast majority of their lives in freedom. They have escaped consequences for longer than LVH has been alive. So, I don't quite see how you can compare them to LVH. She has spent all of her adult life in prison. She was a troubled youth, her personality damaged by family problems, her brain fried on drugs. She made some terrible, awful, violent decisions in a short period of time when she was under the control of a drug-pushing Svengali.

On the other hand, concentration camp guards were adults who chose a job in which they regularly, over the course of years, committed atrocities on whole groups of people that they deemed unfit. They were paid for their crimes, and celebrated for them. And then (at least the ones you're talking about) got off to live their lives as they wanted.

Do you really still want to compare LVH to a war criminal? Do you know anything about her life?

 

[Lilibet]

While I agree with some things you've said, I think that your comparison has some flaws.

Concentration camp guards who are tried in their 90's have been able to live the vast majority of their lives in freedom. They have escaped consequences for longer than LVH has been alive. So, I don't quite see how you can compare them to LVH. She has spent all of her adult life in prison. She was a troubled youth, her personality damaged by family problems, her brain fried on drugs. She made some terrible, awful, violent decisions in a short period of time when she was under the control of a drug-pushing Svengali.

On the other hand, concentration camp guards were adults who chose a job in which they regularly, over the course of years, committed atrocities on whole groups of people that they deemed unfit. They were paid for their crimes, and celebrated for them. And then (at least the ones you're talking about) got off to live their lives as they wanted.

Do you really still want to compare LVH to a war criminal? Do you know anything about her life?

BBM

I think you're taking my illustration further than I intended. Maybe I was unclear. I'm making a point about what someone's expectation should be when they have committed a particularly heinous crime against society. People were saying that because she was not dangerous and had been exemplary in prison, it was only fair that she should be released. I'm not comparing LVH to a war criminal, as I thought I made clear. I'm comparing the fact that just because she is no longer a danger and has lived a productive life in prison, she should not expect release...any more than a 90 year old war criminal who is no longer a danger and has lived a productive life should expect to get a pass and not be arrested and tried. Whether the war criminal has already been free for decades, got paid, chose the job, etc or what LVH's youth was like has no bearing on the very narrow point I was making about what I believe a killer's personal expectation should be when they have committed a terrible crime of great magnitude and impact on society. They can show that they understand and are sorry for what they did by accepting the consequences.

If she's released, so be it.

JMO

 

[SophieRose]

Governor Jerry Brown Signs SB 261!
Posted Oct 2015
http://www.antirecidivism.org/sb261_signed

SB 261 extends eligibility for a youth offender parole hearing to certain inmates who were under the age of 23 at the time of their crime, and sentenced to a lengthy or life sentence. This bill builds on SB 260, also authored by Senator Hancock and passed in 2013, which offered youth offender parole hearings to inmates who were under 18 at the time of their crime and sentenced to state prison. ARC and HRW co-sponsored SB 260.

“If a young person demonstrates personal growth and rehabilitation, and shows remorse for their crime, they deserve a second chance,” says ARC Founder and President Scott Budnick. “This new law holds young people accountable for the mistakes they have made, but also offers them compassion and the opportunity to begin contributing positively to their communities.”

 

[cubbeegirl]

I'd like to sign it too.

I would like to sign as well.
I say let them all have another chance at life ....when all the victims ... Tate, Folger, Sebring , LaBiancas ...all of them , when they get another chance then I say let the Manson killers have another chance ...not until !

 

[Madeleine74]

I seriously think the worry is for nothing. She's going nowhere.

 

[Emi]

https://www.change.org/p/governor-j...r-leslie-van-houten-from-early-prison-release

Here is the petition

 

[LinasK]

https://www.change.org/p/governor-j...r-leslie-van-houten-from-early-prison-release

Here is the petition

Thanks! Okay done and shared on my Facebook page as well. My sympathies lie with Debra Tate, Cory LaBianca, and all other surviving family members of the Tate-LaBianca murders.