No Parole

California governor should again deny recommendation for release of Manson follower

For many who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, it was a nightmare we well remember. It began on Aug. 8, 1969. Five people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate, were brutally slaughtered at a house on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, north of Beverly Hills, Calif. The very next night, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.

The crimes struck fear in the hearts of Los Angeles-area residents. Even in the days before the internet, the news went viral and shocked the nation. The investigation took several months, but by December police arrested the suspects.

That just intensified the fear. We leaned that the suspected killers were members of “The family,” a bizarre cult led by a diminutive self-styled guru named Charles Manson.

No one knew for sure what would happen next. The story spread that the Manson Family could be anywhere, plotting to kill again—even right here in the Twin Cities. Many readers will recall the sense of dread during that time.

Manson and four of the murderous followers responsible for the Tate-La Bianca murders are still doing life. One has died in prison.

But one might be getting out.

Leslie Van Houten, now 68, was the youngest of the so-called “Manson girls.” She is said to be a model prisoner and has earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in her decades behind bars. So in April of last year, California parole officials recommended her release. But Gov. Jerry Brown overruled the recommendation, saying Van Houten still “poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.”

On Wednesday, the parole board again recommended Van Houten be set free. Now it’s up to Brown to make the final call.

The decision is clear. Van Houten is exactly where she needs to be.

Some would argue she has been rehabilitated and deserves a chance at freedom. And we think it’s commendable she has put her prison time to good use. But prison is not just about rehabilitation.

It’s also about punishment. Van Houten must pay for her crimes. And in our view she hasn’t scratched the surface. None of the Manson Family has or ever will.

Brown made the right call last year in overturning the parole recommendation. Nothing has changed in the year that’s passed. We hope he makes the same decision this time around.