Leslie Van Houten, member of the Manson family, denied parole

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Leslie Van Houten
In January, the California Parole Board recommended the conditional release of Van Houten. California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a parole review that despite Van Houten's productive detention period – she had obtained a bachelor's and master's degree and completed an "extensive" self-help program – the negative factors of his involvement in the killings outweighed the positive factors.

"Ms. Van Houten and the Manson family have committed some of the most notorious and brutal murders in California's history," Newsom said. "Considered as a whole, I feel that the evidence shows that she currently represents an unreasonable danger to society if she is released from prison at that time."

Van Houten, 69, was 19 years old when she met Charles Manson and became part of his deadly cult that was called "the Manson family," according to the parole documents.

The murders of the Manson family

On August 10, 1969, she and other members of the Manson family brutally stabbed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca to death at their home in Los Angeles. Van Houten was arrested on 25 November 1969.

Van Houten was sentenced to death in 1971, but a year later, the death penalty was canceled. His first conviction was also quashed as his lawyer died before the end of the trial. She was tried twice more – a lawsuit was ended by a suspended jury – and was sentenced to life imprisonment following a guilty verdict rendered in 1978.

Newson said he understood that Van Houten was 19 years old at the time of the crime and that a psychologist who evaluated him said that it was likely that "his involvement in the perpetrator was heavily influenced by the characteristics of youth, including impulsivity, the impossibility of – long-term consequences of his behavior and his inability to manage his emotions resulting from trauma. "

Newson said that "without a deeper understanding of what led her to submit to Mr. Manson and to participate in these horrific murders, I can not be sure that Ms. Van Houten will be able to". act differently in the future ".

It was his 22nd call. A committee of the parole board recommended the release of Van Houten in April 2016. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown denied his parole in 2016 and 2018, citing the horrific nature of the murders, Van Houten's enthusiastic participation and his belief that she had downplayed her role in the murders.
Since 2016, members of the Manson family, Charles Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Bobby Beausoleil and Bruce Davis have been denied an offer of parole.
Manson died of natural causes in 2017. He was 83 years old.

Chris Boyette and Jenn Selva of CNN contributed to this report.

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