Ill Manson follower Susan Atkins denied parole

[vivfox]

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — Susan Atkins, the terminally ill Charles Manson follower who admitted stabbing actress Sharon Tate 40 years ago, lost what was likely to be her last bid for freedom Wednesday.

Atkins, who suffers from brain cancer, slept through most of the four-hour hearing during which her husband-lawyer pleaded for her release and families of victims of the Sharon Tate-Labianca killings urged that she be kept behind bars until she dies.

In a dramatic moment — one of the few in which Atkins opened her eyes — Atkins' husband, James Whitehouse, led her through a recitation of the 23rd Psalm, with Atkins concluding in a strong voice, "My God is an amazing God."

Debra Tate, sister of the actress who was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she was killed, told the parole commissioners that she would have a 40-year-old nephew if her sister had lived. She said of Atkins, "I will pray for her soul when she draws her last breath, but until then I think she should remain in this controlled situation."

Another of the speakers was Anthony DiMaria, a nephew of the slain Jay Sebring, who said that the trips to the parole hearing for his family members "send us back to hell year after year."

"I'm not here for Susan Atkins," he said. "I'm here for Jay Sebring. The only hatred I feel is for the crime."

DiMaria reacted angrily to a suggestion by Whitehouse that the commissioners should consider the cost to the state of housing Atkins at a time when she requires constant medical care. Whitehouse said it was costing $17,000 a month for her care.

"We are not here to balance the state budget," DiMaria said. "We are here because Susan Atkins sent nine people to their death."

Parole commissioner Tim O'Hara said that he and the other commissioner who presided over the hearing, Jan Enloe, based their decision heavily on the "atrocious nature" of the 1969 killings and said that Atkins never fully understood the magnitude of her crimes.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Pat Sequeira recounted the crimes in great detail and said: "As sad as Miss Atkins looks today, it pales against the crime scene photos. These were brutal horrible crimes."

Atkins, 61, had been expected to die of brain cancer over a year ago but continues to cling to life. She also had a leg amputated from cancer-related health issues.

She was denied compassionate release in July, 2008 after she was diagnosed and given only months to live. Wednesday's hearing at the Central California Women's Facility at Chowchilla was one of her required periodic parole hearings as a life prisoner. She was convicted of the seven Tate-LaBianca murders, one of the most notorious mass murders in California history.

The gruesome murders that made the Manson cult infamous were discovered on Aug. 9, 1969, when a maid ran screaming from the home shared by Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski.

Five people were killed in a ritualistic manner, including Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring. Two others were killed at another home. Polanski was not at home at the time of the slayings.

Atkins admitted stabbing Tate to death as Tate begged for her life and that of her unborn son. Atkins claimed she and other cult followers acted on orders from Manson and were on LSD.

It was Atkins who led police to arrest members of the Manson clan when she confessed to a cellmate after she had been arrested in a robbery.

At a hearing in 2000, Atkins acknowledged, "I sinned against God and everything this country stands for." She said she wanted to make amends for what she did.

Whitehouse, 46, has said his wife has made him a better person in their 21 years of marriage and should be released if for no other reason than to keep taxpayers from having to cover her hefty medical expenses.

Manson, Atkins and two other followers, Patricia Krenwinkle and Leslie Van Houten, were convicted and sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to life when the death penalty was temporarily outlawed in the United States in the 1970s.

Although many life-term prisoners have come and gone from behind bars while Atkins has been incarcerated, none of the Manson killers has been paroled. Krenwinkle and Van Houten remain at the California Institution for Women at Frontera. They appear before parole boards every few years and ask for release. Manson, now 74, has stopped asking for parole.

O'Hara said Atkins would be not be eligible for parole for another three years.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news...nson.Follower/

[Angel69]

Karma can be a bitch!

[GODDESS6]

here is my post from another board on the subject, i was 1 when this all happened & have grown up w/ the case & have read everything i could get my hands on:

can anyone please tell me why susan thinks we should have compassion for her?~ i myself am hoping that this terminal brain cancer she has, is the most painful~ as i said when i started this thread, karma is a bitch~ look at the link & the pic of susan, in her hospital bed, w/ her little knitted cap & her hubby by her aide :~ made me laff my ass off >~

when i look back on this case & the people involved, susan along w/ ole tex watson (not to mention the others), have to be some of the most heinous remorseless killers out there~ when i think about the terror they wreaked~ & the thought of sharon tate, who has to be one of hollywood's most timeless beauties, clearly swollen belly w/ a nearly full term baby begging for her life & that of her unborn son~ only for susan to butcher her like she was a pig at a slaughterhouse~

susan is where she belongs~ & actually tho i do agree w/ the death penalty in some cases, i am glad she has suffered behind bars for 40 years~ & the thought of her taking her last breath there, brings me peace~ that is how it should be, she got life, so serve it~ the thought that she thinks that we should somehow be the bigger person & grant her a compassionate release, boggles my ****in' mind~ i have to say in life, myself i always try to be the bigger person, take the higher road~ but not in this case~ i want the rest of susan's time on earth to be down & dirty & horrid, just as she lived her life~

she never showed any remorse, was proud of what she did & got sexual arousal because of what she did~ she chose her path~ was somewhat a leader amongst the woman~ lsd or not, she knew full well what she did & had done, bragging about it to a cellmate~


i just hope these last few moments of susan's life are more painful than a human can handle~ she deserves nothing less~


the beautiful, beautiful sharon tate:

[markolas]

While I think all of them should die in prison, no matter what illness they might come down with, Goddess6's post above is a little over-the-top. I don't think I could ever bring myself to laugh at the fact that someone has brain cancer, no matter who it was. Susan Atkins was 21 when she committed those murders - at 61, she has spent nearly her entire life in prison (and rightfully so). She does appear to have remorse for what she did, and seems to understand that she made her own bed.

I also don't think it should matter that Sharon Tate was beautiful. I mean what about the fat, nerdy teenager they shot to death before they went into the Tate house?

[GODDESS6]

Originally Posted by markolas

While I think all of them should die in prison, no matter what illness they might come down with, Goddess6's post above is a little over-the-top. I don't think I could ever bring myself to laugh at the fact that someone has brain cancer, no matter who it was. Susan Atkins was 21 when she committed those murders - at 61, she has spent nearly her entire life in prison (and rightfully so). She does appear to have remorse for what she did, and seems to understand that she made her own bed.

I also don't think it should matter that Sharon Tate was beautiful. I mean what about the fat, nerdy teenager they shot to death before they went into the Tate house?

susan laffed while butchering these people & bragged about it~ she only showed a bit of remorse as of late, because she herself is suffering~ the only perp in this whole crime that i believe shows remorse in leslie van houten~ & should she be out?, well even tho i think she of all of them have the best chance of parole, she should serve her time too~

& yes i do remember steven parent also, the one you call that fat nerdy teenager~ i just brought up sharon because just like stevie, i have been a fan of hers for many, many years~ so i apologize for you feeling i left the other victims out of this, i haven't~ & i am sorry you think i am being harsh~ but susan got life w/out parole & she should serve it for what she did~ along w/ the rest of them~ it's not like she commited a traffic infraction, or these killings were an "accident", it was a butcher, plain & simple~ & as many others i have seen the crime scene photos, the real ones, not the ones doctored up where the bodies are whited out~ so, is susan getting her just desserts?, hmmmmm as for me, i can sleep just fine at night knowing that she's not going anywhere~ i'm sure all of the victims, would have wanted some "compassion" when it came to how they died too, but susan & the rest of "the family" made sure that wouldn't happen~

Steven Parent

[golddustdrummer]

I'm pretty torn on this case. I hope I'm not judged at 61 by anything I've done now at 21. Of course, I've never killed anyone...and in such a horrible way. Maybe it is just me, but I hold stabbing to be worse than shooting someone. It is such a personal way of killing someone...like strangling.

Part of me wants to feel sorry for her. Brain Cancer...been in prison since 1969. I read all about her side of the story on her website. My heart kind of felt sorry for her.

Then I came back to my senses and remembered what she actually did.

Do I believe she has changed, yes.
Do I believe she should be compassionately released, no.
She isn't a danger to socitety by any means. She can't get out of bed and is missing a leg.
Yet, what compassion did she show to her victims?
absolutely none.
anyone who has had the guts to look at the crime scene photos would surely agree.


and because of that fact, she should die in prison

[Mad4stevie]

Originally Posted by GODDESS6

susan laffed while butchering these people & bragged about it~ she only showed a bit of remorse as of late, because she herself is suffering~ the only perp in this whole crime that i believe shows remorse in leslie van houten~ & should she be out?, well even tho i think she of all of them have the best chance of parole, she should serve her time too~

& yes i do remember steven parent also, the one you call that fat nerdy teenager~ i just brought up sharon because just like stevie, i have been a fan of hers for many, many years~ so i apologize for you feeling i left the other victims out of this, i haven't~ & i am sorry you think i am being harsh~ but susan got life w/out parole & she should serve it for what she did~ along w/ the rest of them~ it's not like she commited a traffic infraction, or these killings were an "accident", it was a butcher, plain & simple~ & as many others i have seen the crime scene photos, the real ones, not the ones doctored up where the bodies are whited out~ so, is susan getting her just desserts?, hmmmmm as for me, i can sleep just fine at night knowing that she's not going anywhere~ i'm sure all of the victims, would have wanted some "compassion" when it came to how they died too, but susan & the rest of "the family" made sure that wouldn't happen~

Steven Parent

Susan and the others did not get life without parole; originally they were all sentenced to death. That sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in the mid-70's. There was no such sentence of life in prision without parole on the books in California when the sentence was commuted, which is why they all get a chance for parole every few years.

And I do think that she has been remorseful for quite some time, not just recentely.

Interestingly, prosecutor Bugliosi, who has always spoken very harshly of Adkins in discussing the crime, supported Adkins request for compassionate release.

[RockAlot]

Originally Posted by Angel69

Karma can be a bitch!

No ****, what goes around come's around!!

[Tango]

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituari...,4942953.story

By Elaine Woo

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer