The State - News from April 3, 1987

The state Board of Prison Terms denied parole for Charles (Tex) Watson, who is serving a life term for the bloody and ritualistic Manson “family” murders. The three-member parole board voted unanimously to deny Watson’s tenth bid for freedom after a five-hour hearing. In arguing for his release, Watson claimed he had been a pawn following the orders of Charles Manson in the killings of actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles in August, 1969. But the parole board members were unsympathetic. Board Commissioner Rudolf Castro called the slayings “probably the worst crime in United States history.” Various psychiatric reports described Watson, 41, as being “unable to comprehend feelings of remorse. His violence potential remains unpredictable.” Watson will remain at the California Men’s Colony at San Luis Obispo, where he is a chaplain’s assistant.