More than half a century after a string of murders in Los Angeles, a former follower of cult leader Charles Manson could soon be released from prison. According to US media reports, the governor of the US state of California, Gavin Newsom, announced on Friday that he would no longer appeal a decision by an appeals court in favor of the now 73-year-old Leslie Van Houten. He justified this with the lack of prospects of success.
“The governor is disappointed with the appeals court’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not take any further action as efforts to file another appeal are unlikely to succeed,” his office said in a statement to various US media quoted. The appeals court on May 30 overturned an earlier decision by Newsom that had blocked the sacking.
A parole board has recommended Van Houten’s release five times since 2016. In all cases, Newsom or his predecessor Edmund Brown Jr. rejected this. Newsom could now have gone before the West Coast state’s Supreme Court, which he decided not to do.
In 1969, members of the so-called Manson Family murdered seven people on behalf of their leader Charles Manson. The most famous victim was the heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate, who was married to the director Roman Polanski. Van Houten was not involved in this crime, but was involved in the murder of businessman Leno LaBianca and his wife.
One of the accomplices, Susan Atkins, died in prison from cancer in 2009. Manson died behind bars in November 2017 at the age of 83. In addition to Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel (75) is also in custody.
