Leslie Van Houten Should Not Still Be In Prison

a plea to California Governor Gavin Newsom

She is 71 years old and with the exception of one night more than fifty years ago, she has never been violent. Nobody with any factual information on Van Houten’s case has ever believed she might be violent if she were released from prison. She has never demonstrated any tendencies to slip back into the behavior or mindset she possessed in 1969.

Governor Newsom, you should be pleased that the California penal justice system has been so effective at rehabilitating and redeeming this woman. You can attest to that efficacy by letting Leslie Van Houten live the remainder of her life as a free woman, and also as a cautionary tale.

The night that Leslie participated in murder, August 10th 1969, has been well-documented. Leslie joined two others, Charles Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel, in a home invasion orchestrated by cult leader Charles Manson that resulted in the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, the married homeowners at 3301 Waverly Drive, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California.

Leslie was found guilty of murder twice — once in 1970, during her initial trial, and again in 1978 after her original conviction was overturned and she was retried for the same crime.

On four occasions, Leslie Van Houten has been recommended for parole by the California parole board. Those recommendations are not simple, thoughtless considerations: they are heavily weighed, considered and debated. The parole…