Manson Believers Leslie Van Houten Should Be Paroled, California Court of Appeals Rule

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The California Court of Appeals said Tuesday: Leslie Van Houten The man responsible for two murders in 1969 with cult leader Charles Manson should be paroled.

The appeals court’s ruling reverses an earlier ruling by Gov. Gavin Newsom that denied Van Houten parole in 2020, and she’s been recommended for parole five times since 2016, but those recommendations weren’t. Both were rejected by Newsom or former California Governor Jerry Brown. .

California Attorney General Rob Bonta may ask the California Supreme Court to stay his release. Neither his office nor Newsom’s office immediately responded to a request for comment on whether they would do so.

Van Houten, now in his 70s, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and his followers murder Reno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary, a Los Angeles grocery store. Van Houten was 19 years old at the time.

Newsom said Van Houten still poses a danger to society. In denying her parole, she said she gave inconsistent and inadequate accounts of her involvement with Manson at the time of the murder.

The Los Angeles 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 overruling Newsom’s decision, saying there was “no evidence to support the governor’s conclusion” about Van Houten’s parole eligibility.

“The governor’s refusal to accept Mr. Van Houten’s explanation amounts to unsubstantiated intuition,” the judges wrote.

Van Houten’s attorney, Nancy Tetlow, expects Bonta to ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider the lower court’s ruling, a process that could take years. said there is.

In addition, Mr. Bonta is likely to request a stay of the appeals court’s judgment, Mr. Tetlow said. The High Court may order the release of Mr. Van Houten while it decides whether to grant the stay.

“Of course, we are categorically against any stay,” Tetrau said. “And they were able to get her out in the process.”

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Mr. Tuxin reported from Orange County, California.