Another Manson Family member still behind bars has been recommended for parole. This time, Patricia “Big Patty” Krenwinkel received the nod at 74, possibly bringing her reign as longest-serving women’s prisoner in California to an end.
While it is the first time the board has approved her parole, her release is doubtful, considering past stances and decisions by the state’s governors. Leslie Van Houten was the last Manson Family member to receive approval for parole by state commissioners, her second time, with then-Governor Jerry Brown rejecting the parole decision. Governor Gavin Newsome would repeat this decision in 2019.
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If Van Houten still poses an “unreasonable danger to society if released from prison,” Krenwinkel surely has not overcome her past deeds. She is the only female member of the Manson Family to be convicted for all seven murders, describing her crimes in parole hearings with varying detail. Her last hearing featured an explanation of how she “repeatedly stabbed” coffee heiress Abigail Folger during the invasion and murders at Sharon Tate’s home.
She is also the person responsible with leaving the bloody message of “Helter Skelter” and “Death to Pigs” written in blood at the home of Leno LaBianca and his wife, though she misspelled the song title as “Healter Skelter.”
Despite these facts, her attorney claims she is changed and no longer a threat if released. “She’s completely transformed from the person she was when she committed this crime, which is all that it’s supposed to take to be granted parole,” lawyer Keith Wattler said, keeping tight to the law. “I’m hopeful that the governor recognizes that he shouldn’t be playing political games with people’s lives. The governor would be blocking her parole not because he’s afraid of her, but because he doesn’t like her. And the law doesn’t allow that.”
Still, current the California governor has alread denied Manson Family parole once in the past, having denied Van Houten’s latest attempt back in March. Chances become more slim when you compare Krenwinkel’s charges to the member that faced the same charges following the murders. Tex Watson was last up for parole in 2021 and was denied for the 18th time. Krenwinkel has been denied parole every time to this point, with her approval coming after nearly 20 denials.
Krenwinkel, Watson, Van Houten and Bruce Davis are the only remaining Manson Family members behind bars. Fellow follower Susan Atkins died in prison at 61 due to brain cancer, while Charles Manson himself died in prison in 2017 at 83. Despite the “cult leaders” hold over his followers, they have since denounced him and their actions and credited their deeds to heavy drug use.
