"She was the scariest of the Manson girls,"
said Stephen Kay, who helped prosecute the case and
argued against Atkins' release at her parole hearings.
"She was very violent."
said Stephen Kay, who helped prosecute the case and
argued against Atkins' release at her parole hearings.
"She was very violent."
Susan Atkins, who committed one of modern history's most notorious crimes when she joined Charles Manson and his gang for a string of killings in 1969 that terrorized Los Angeles and put her in prison for the rest of her life, has died. She was 61.
Convicted of eight murders, Atkins served more than 38 years of a life sentence at the California Institution for Women in Chino. She was the longest-serving prisoner among women currently held in the state's penitentiaries, Thornton said. That distinction now falls to Patricia Krenwinkel, who was convicted along with Atkins in the Tate-LaBianca murders
Although prison staffers and clergy workers commended Atkins' behavior during her many years behind bars, she was repeatedly denied parole, with officials citing the cruel and callous nature of her crimes.
Atkins confessed to killing actress Sharon Tate -- the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski -- who was stabbed 16 times and hanged; Tate's nearly full-term fetus died with her. The next night, Atkins accompanied Manson and his followers when they broke into the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and killed them.
"She was the scariest of the Manson girls," said Stephen Kay, a former Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who helped prosecute the case and argued against Atkins' release at her parole hearings. "She was very violent."
(snip)
It was Atkins who broke open the case when she bragged of her participation in the slayings to cellmates at Sybil Brand Institute in East Los Angeles, where she was being held on other charges; two of her cellmates told authorities of her confession.
Atkins subsequently appeared before a grand jury, providing information that led to her own indictment, as well as that of Manson and others. Later, in a lurid, 10-month trial, she provided crucial testimony that fed the public's fascination with Hollywood celebrities, drugs, sex and violence.
It also left an unshakable image of Atkins as a remorseless killer, who taunted the court at her sentencing with chilling words: "You'd best lock your doors," she said, "and watch your own kids."
In 1971, two separate juries found Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Charles "Tex" Watson guilty on seven counts of first-degree murder. Another Manson follower, Leslie Van Houten, was convicted of two murders.
All received the death sentence, later reduced to life terms after the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in 1972. (The Legislature later reenacted the death penalty statute.) Manson, Krenwinkel, Watson and Van Houten remain in prison.
(snip)
On the night of Aug. 8, Manson instructed Atkins and other followers -- Krenwinkel, Watson and Linda Kasabian -- to don their dark clothes and pack knives. Manson stayed at the ranch while they drove through the Hollywood Hills, winding up at the Tate residence in Benedict Canyon.
Around midnight, the nightmare began.
The first to die was Steven Parent, 18, a friend of Tate's caretaker, who encountered the murderers as he was leaving the estate. The other victims were inside the main house: Tate, 26, best known for her role in the movie "Valley of the Dolls"; Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32, a friend of Polanski, who was out of the country; and Abigail Folger, 25, a coffee heiress and Frykowksi's girlfriend.
Atkins later admitted stabbing Frykowski and Tate. She said that before fleeing the scene, Watson ordered her to leave a message in the house that would "shock the world," so she used Tate's blood to write "PIG" on the front door.
At her parole board hearing in 1993, an official asked Atkins if Tate said anything to her in her last moments.
"She asked me to let the baby live," Atkins said tearfully. "I told her I didn't have mercy for her."
The night after the Tate killings, Manson led a group that included Atkins, Watson, Krenwinkel and Kasabian on another expedition. They wound up at the LaBianca home. Manson tied up Leno, 44, and Rosemary, 38, then left the killing to Watson, Krenwinkel and Van Houten. Afterward, they took a shower and made a snack in the LaBiancas' kitchen before departing. Atkins stayed in the car.
The '60s "abruptly ended on August 9, 1969," Joan Didion wrote of the shocking crimes that closed a decade pocked with assassinations, Vietnam War deaths and other violence. The Tate-LaBianca murders made some people fear "that they had somehow done it to themselves," Didion said, "that it had to do with too much sex, drugs and rock and roll."
Now the families of the victims can FINALLY get some closure. Never again will they have to read about the evil demonic woman who took the lives of their loved ones in the most sick, beastly way possible. Never again will they have to go to a parole hearing to plead their case - having to explain to allegedly sane people why this butcher should never get out.
And for those concerned about my lack of compassion: shove it DEEP!
Your sympathy for killers and other criminals has nothing to do with "compassion" and everything to do with your own sick contempt for society and humanity in general. I doubt you have a truly compassionate bone in your body. Did any of you sick assholes defending Atkins' release from prison even think for a moment about why this Satanic bitch and her posse were in prison to begin with? Or do you simply not care?
Admit it... you ENJOY the infliction of pain upon the innocent. I'm sure in your diseased minds you see it as some form of "justice." These killers are people you admire... people who have the "guts" to do what you would so desperately love to do but are too chickenshit to. As far as I'm concerned you are (almost) as sick as Manson and his followers. Those who would deny society's moral obligation to punish those that inflict harm against it are MENTALLY ILL.
Like This Guy....So where are they now? The remaining (sadly, still alive) figures in the Manson murders...
Charles Manson, 74, is serving time at Corcoran State Prison for eight murders. He refused to attend his last parole hearing in 2007, claiming that he was a "prisoner of the political system." He has had numerous disciplinary violations, and at his last hearing was cited for not participating in a rehabilitation program and refusing a psychiatric evaluation. He has been denied parole 11 times; his next hearing is scheduled for 2012.
Charles "Tex" Watson, 63, Manson's chief lieutenant during the Tate-LaBianca killing sprees, is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Calif. He became a born-again Christian and operates a nonprofit prison ministry called Abounding Love Ministries. He also married and fathered three children while in prison. He has lost 15 bids for parole, most recently in 2006.
Patricia Krenwinkel, 61, is serving time at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Called "Katie" by other Manson family members, she chased Abigail Folger across the Tate lawn with a knife, and the next night stabbed Rosemary LaBianca. At her last parole hearing in 2004, a psychologist who evaluated her said Krenwinkel has not expressed remorse or taken responsibility for the murders. She has been denied parole 13 times.
Leslie Van Houten, 60, is incarcerated at the California Institution for Women for the LaBianca deaths. She has repeatedly expressed remorse for the crimes and has maintained an exemplary disciplinary record in prison. A former homecoming princess from Monrovia, she has many supporters outside prison who have urged her release, including a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge who in 2002 chastised the parole board for ignoring evidence of her rehabilitation. In 2006, she was turned down for parole for the 17th time.
Bobby Beausoleil, 61, was convicted of killing musician and Manson family associate Gary Hinman on July 27, 1969, two weeks before the Tate-LaBianca murders. He has composed and recorded music while serving a life sentence. Turned down for parole 14 times, he is being held at a state prison in Oregon.
Bruce Davis, 66, was convicted in the murders of Hinman and ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea. He is incarcerated at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. He has been denied parole 26 times.
Only one of the ex-Manson family members convicted in the 1969 crimes has been released:
Steve Grogan, 63, was convicted with Davis in the murder of Shea. After telling authorities where to find Shea's buried body, he was released in 1985 and discharged from parole in 1988. His whereabouts are unknown.
Also free after being incarcerated on other crimes are:
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, 60, was paroled in August, 34 years after her assassination attempt on President Ford in 1975.
Sandra Good, 65, was sentenced to a 15-year federal prison term in 1976 for sending threatening letters to 170 corporate executives. She was paroled in 1985.
More:
Tate Family Legacy - Debra Tate
Joel Pugh - Another Manson Family Victim?
The Long, Chilling Shadow of Manson
2 comments:
This author appears to be mentally sick himself
"Anonymous said...
This author appears to be mentally sick himself"
HUH?. Where is this commentor incarcerated?. If not, than must have been "Acorn Holed".
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