Court Overturns Governor’s Denial of Parole for Charles Manson Follower, Leslie Van Houten

CNN
–

The California Court of Appeals has paved the way Leslie Van Houtena former henchman of Charles Manson and convicted murderer, is due for parole – but a long legal battle is likely to lie ahead.

Court judgment overturned a Resolution 2020 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opposed Van Houten’s release even after the California Board of Parole Hearings recommended him, according to a statement filed Tuesday.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, was 19 when they met Charles Manson They joined the murderous cult later dubbed the “Manson Family.” She is concurrently serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of her role in the 1971 murder of supermarket manager Lino LaBianca and his wife Rosemary at their home.

While the court’s opinion overturns Newsom’s denials, a lawsuit is expected, Van Houten’s attorney Nancy Tetro told CNN.

She said she expects the California attorney general’s office to file a request for review with the state Supreme Court, which can decide how to proceed.

Tetro also understands that prosecutors will request a stay of the case so that Van Houten is not released while the case is pending, which Tetro says would vehemently oppose.

In his 2020 conditional denial, Newsom said, “Given the extreme nature of the crime in which she was involved, I do not believe that she has sufficiently demonstrated that she addressed all of the factors that led her to do so of being involved in the gruesome murder.” Manson family.”

“There is no evidence to support the governor’s conclusions,” the Los Angeles 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals statement said Tuesday.

Van Houten provided a detailed explanation of the causal factors leading to her involvement with Manson and the commission of the murders, and the filing does not support the conclusion that there were hidden factors that Van Houten did not explain.

The state attorney general’s office forwarded a request for comment to Newsom’s office, which told CNN it had no further information to share at this time.

If the appeals court decision becomes final, the case will be remanded to the Parole Hearings Board to review current developments that may warrant a reversal of the parole order, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, of which the Parole Hearings Board is a part, said. to CNN with. .

“If there is no such change or new information, the board will issue a release order and the CDCR will process the individual for release,” department spokeswoman Marie Ximenez said in a statement.

After her conviction, Van Houten was sentenced to death, but the death penalty was overturned and her sentence commuted to life imprisonment. In 1977, she was first eligible for parole.

Newsom’s 2020 denial was the fourth after previous parole denials in 2016, 2017 and 2019, including two by former Gov. Jerry Brown. Since 2020 Denial Newsom A recommendation for a fifth pardon was denied last year.