The Death of Susan Atkins

“I Have No Mercy On You”

Susan Atkins was convicted of first degree murder for the deaths of six people: Gary Hinman, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski and Sharon Tate. Susan was sentenced to death in the gas chamber in 1971, but that sentence was overturned a year later when the California Supreme Court (temporarily) abolished the death penalty. Atkins, along with her codefendants, then had her sentence changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Susan Denise Atkins was born May 7, 1948 in San Gabriel, California. Her parents, Edward John Atkins (born 1920 in South Dakota) and Jeanne Francis Jett (born 1923 in Missouri) were drunks and their home was filled with volatility. Susan had one older brother (Jon Michael Atkins) and one younger brother, Steven. During her childhood, she was molested by her older brother. Susan’s life was further turned up-end at 14 when her mother died of cancer. Jon was in the Navy when her mom died, and Susan was expected to act as the ‘mother’ within the family.

He Protected Sharon Tate Up To His Death

Later, she began to dabble in recreational drugs. A frightening LSD trip in her teens did not deter her from continuing to numb herself with pharmaceuticals. When her father moved out of town, Susan was shuttled between…