Ex-Manson Follower Back in Courtroom

Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, convicted of two murders in a crime spree that shook Los Angeles 33 years ago, appeared in court in San Bernardino Thursday to press her claim that she is rehabilitated and should be paroled.

Arguing in a courtroom packed with reporters and Van Houten’s family and friends, an attorney for the 52-year-old inmate said her client is no longer a danger to society and is entitled to release under the law.

Lawyer Christie Webb said the state parole board is ignoring Van Houten’s performance in prison and unlawfully denying her freedom based only on the gravity of her crime--”a fact she can never change.”

Deputy Atty. Gen. Heather Bushman, however, said the board has “vast discretion” in parole matters and has acted properly in blocking Van Houten’s release, most recently two years ago. The board’s finding cannot be “disturbed,” Bushman said, “simply because Miss Van Houten disagrees with the conclusion.”

Superior Court Judge Bob N. Krug made no ruling after the hourlong hearing, saying he would issue a written decision, probably within 30 days.

But the judge was clearly troubled by a parole hearing transcript that he said suggested that Van Houten was offered no reasons for the denial and no path toward eventual release.

Krug said the transcript made the June 2000 hearing look like a pro forma proceeding that followed a script, complete with language identical to that used by the board to deny another inmate parole.

“Based upon the record, I cannot find any indication where Miss Van Houten has done anything wrong” in prison, Krug said. “She’s done all the self-help programs and education available. The board commends her.... Her psychiatric reports say she’s not dangerous.

“If I were Miss Van Houten, I wouldn’t have a clue what to do before my next hearing” to improve the odds of winning parole, Krug said.

Given that, the judge said the question is whether the board adequately considered the inmate’s readiness for release under guidelines set out in statute and recent case law.

Van Houten made no comment in court and was taken back to the California Institution for Women in Corona immediately after the hearing. Shackled and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, her long graying hair in a braid, she listened attentively and occasionally passed her attorney notes.

Outside the courthouse, her lawyer said Van Houten was hopeful and appreciated that the judge “was very attentive to the issues.” Bushman called the judge “very thorough” and repeated the state’s belief that the parole board had met its legal standard in reviewing the case.

Also on hand Thursday were Van Houten’s sister and parents. Her father, Paul Van Houten, who came from Arizona to see his daughter--19 at the time of the crime--in court, said he felt the judge had “an open mind.

“If a person serves their term and their behavior is good, they should get a [parole] date,” he said. “The problem is political. Period.”

Relatives of Van Houten’s victims--Leno and Rosemary LaBianca--were not at the hearing. But Debra Tate, sister of Sharon Tate, the pregnant actress killed by other Manson followers, spoke to reporters.

“If they start letting out killers like this, we’re all in trouble,” said Tate, whose late mother, Doris, launched a crime victims’ group after the murders. “This wasn’t some crime of passion, someone who flew off the handle. This was someone who knew what was going to happen and committed murders of the most heinous kind.”

Van Houten was convicted of stabbing the LaBiancas on Aug. 10, 1969, at their Los Feliz home. The night before, other members of the Manson “family” killed Tate and four friends in a gruesome rampage in Benedict Canyon.

The murders drew national attention and made Manson, a lifelong con who masterminded the killings, into a notorious criminal.

A former homecoming princess from Monrovia, Van Houten has long been viewed as the least culpable of the group. In 1982, her supporters presented the parole board with 900 signatures urging her release. But parole was rejected that year and the 12 other times her case has been reviewed.

Another Manson follower, Susan Atkins, convicted of killing Tate and seven others, has filed a similar petition in court.

Atkins, 53, dubbed “Sexy Sadie” by Manson, has asked a Los Angeles judge to free her or order a new parole hearing, claiming she is a “political prisoner” of the board.