Manson Disciple Tex Watson Rejected for Parole

Manson cult killer Charles (Tex) Watson was rejected for parole Friday by state officers who described his seven murders as “among the most heinous and atrocious acts ever committed in this country.”

It was Watson’s seventh bid for freedom. Another parole hearing is scheduled in three years.

On Wednesday, fellow former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten, 36, was rejected for parole for a fifth time.

Watson, Van Houten, Charles Manson and three others are serving life terms for their parts in a bloody and ritualistic slaughter of actress Sharon Tate and eight other people in Los Angeles in August, 1969.

Watson was convicted of seven of the killings.

Officials who denied parole for Watson, 39, at the California Men’s Colony cited the nature of the crime and unfavorable psychiatric evaluations of the convict.

The panel identified Watson as “the leader of these destructive forays . . . among the most heinous and atrocious acts ever committed in this country.”

Watson was originally sentenced to die in San Quentin’s gas chamber. His sentence was overturned in 1972 and commuted to life imprisonment.

He subsequently claimed to have become a Christian in prison. He said he believes that he is paying the price for the murders although God has forgiven him. The parole board commended Watson’s behavior the last year and advised that he continue to take part in constructive prison work.