The Wrong Place, Time and Sentence

Charles Manson, now 62, sentenced to life in prison for the grisly killings of actress Sharon Tate and six others in 1969, recently lost his ninth bid for parole. The next time Manson will be eligible for a parole hearing will be in five years.

Brandon Hein, now 20, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for simply being present in 1995 when another youth, Jason Holland, stabbed and killed Jimmy Farris, son of a Los Angeles police detective, during a backyard brawl in Agoura. The Los Angeles County district attorney, reeling from a series of high-profile debacles (Michael Jackson child molestation allegations, the first Menendez brothers trial, and O.J. Simpson), elected to prosecute under the Felony Murder Rule. Originally intended for use in cases such as armed bank robbery, the application of the Felony Murder Rule in this case resulted in Hein being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

This may be legal, but is it justice? Does it make sense that Manson, convicted killer of six, is eligible for parole hearings every five years, and Hein, who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, must spend the rest of his life in prison without ever being considered for the possibility of parole?

Aside from the ethical considerations, consider the financial impact: It costs more than $50,000 each year to keep Hein in prison. Malibu Judge Lawrence J. Mira, in sentencing Hein, said this sentence did not “shock the conscience.” If it doesn’t shock the conscience of justice that Manson should be eligible for parole and Hein should not, it should at least shock our pocketbook, particularly as we prepare our state tax returns.

DICK DETRICH

Associate, United Methodist

Church

Westlake Village