by Leslie Van Houten, a Charles Manson supporter who was convicted of two murders, will be released on probation in weeks, her lawyer said Friday after the California governor said he would not challenge it in state Supreme Court.
“She’s excited,” said Van Houten’s attorney, Nancy Tetreault.
Van Houten, now 73, will be released on parole in the coming weeks after spending more than five decades in prison, Tetreault said.
An appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten is eligible for parole, overturning a decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to decline parole.
Newsom, who has repeatedly blocked efforts to get Van Houten parole, had until Monday to file a challenge in the state Supreme Court.
Newsom, a Democrat, said Friday that he would not.
“The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeals’ decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not take further action as further appeal efforts are unlikely to be successful,” said Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for the Governor’s office. governor, in a statement.
“The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-finding,” the governor’s office said.
Van Houten is serving a life sentence after being convicted along with other cult members for the 1969 murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles.
A jury convicted Van Houten in 1971 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but she was overturned and has spent 52 years in state prison.
Van Houten has appeared before the State Board of Parole Hearings more than 20 times. The board has recommended that Van Houten be paroled five times since 2016, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Newsom had reversed Van Houten’s parole grant three times. Before him, Governor Jerry Brown reversed it.
In August 1969, Manson and cult member Charles “Tex” Watson entered LaBianca’s home and tied up the couple.
Manson then went to a car and told Van Houten and another person to get inside and follow Watson’s instructions, according to court records. Watson told them to kill Rosemary LaBianca and Watson killed Leno LaBianca.
The day before the LaBiancas were killed, Watson and other cult members, but not Van Houten, killed actress Sharon Tate and others at Tate’s home.
Manson, who was serving a life sentence, died in a hospital in 2017. Watson is serving a life sentence.
Tetreault said that Van Houten no longer represents a threat to society. Van Houten has been working on his rehabilitation and has been in therapy for decades, she said.
“There’s no evidence, there’s nothing on her current record to show that she’s dangerous,” Tetreault said, adding: “She’s an older woman and she’s really, really sweet.”
Tetreault did not say where Van Houten plans to live once he is paroled. Van Houten will have a maximum term of probation of three years with a parole release review after one year, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
Andres Blankstein and Todd Miyazawa contributed.
