Manson Family Murderer Presents Problem for Gavin Newsom

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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A California appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Leslie Van Houten, a Charles Manson follower who was a teenager when she took part in double murder in 1969, should be let out of prison on parole, reversing an earlier decision by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, has had 21 parole hearings since 1982, most of which were dismissed. She has been recommended for parole five times since 2016, with panels saying she has expressed remorse for her actions and she no longer represents a threat to the public, but all the requests have been rejected by either former Governor Jerry Brown or Newsom.

Newsom refused the latest recommendation made by a panel in 2020 saying that the woman still poses "an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time." He said that despite showing "increased maturity and rehabilitation," Van Houten still showed "gaps in insight" about her involvement with Manson at the time of the murders.

Leslie Van Houten Debied Parolen 2002
File photo showing members of the Board of Prison Terms commissioners listening to Leslie Van Houten after her parole was denied in June 2002 at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California. Van Houten,... DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AFP via Getty Images

Van Houten has now spent half a century in prison.

Her attorney, Rich Pfeiffer, who has appealed Newsom's decision in court, accused the governor of being worried about "his political future" rather than whether the woman is actually dangerous to others. According to Pfeiffer, Van Houten has had a spotless disciplinary record since her incarceration.

The ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles on Tuesday stated that there is "no evidence to support the Governor's conclusions" about Van Houten's fitness for parole—a decision that could be a real headache for Newsom.

The Democratic governor now has to decide whether to ask California Attorney General Rob Bonta to petition the California Supreme Court to review the decision and stop Van Houten's release, or drop his resistance to seeing Van Houten being freed. Newsweek has contacted Newsom's office for comment by email.

Nancy Tetreault, Van Houten's attorney, told NBC that she expects the governor to escalate the case to the state Supreme Court, a process that could take years.

Van Houten is serving a life sentence for helping cult leader Manson and others kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary in August 1969. The couple was stabbed to death, and their blood smeared on the walls.

The murder happened one day after that of pregnant actor Sharon Tate by other Manson followers not including Van Houten. At the time, Van Houten was 19 years old.

At her parole hearings, Van Houten discussed the way her parents' divorce, her drug and alcohol abuse, and a forced illegal abortion led her to be particularly vulnerable to Manson at the time when she was drawn to his group.

Van Houten was among the three women who were tried with Manson in 1970-71, together with Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenkwinkel. The three famously shocked the country when they walked down the courtroom laughing as they were expected to be given a life sentence.

Though the so-called Manson girls became part of the mythology surrounding Manson and the Manson family's heinous crimes, experts agree that the women in the group were victims of the cult leader's manipulative behavior.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more