Charles Manson cult killer Leslie Van Houten released from prison

Leslie Van Houten, a follower of the cult led by Charles Manson, was released after serving more than half a century in prison for murder. Van Houten is best known for her involvement in the double murder of a Los Angeles couple in the summer of 1969. Van Houten was released to a transitional housing facility after serving more than 53 years in prison.

California courts defied Governor Newsom's veto, which in 2020 refused to grant Van Houten parole. Newsom's effort was the fifth attempt by a governor since 2016 to prevent the killer's freedom. Finally, Newsom relented and said that he would not appeal the decision. "The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeals' decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not take further action because efforts to appeal further are unlikely to succeed," a spokeswoman for the governor said in remarks picked up by The New York Times.

The case of Leslie Van Houten

Van Houten's case dates back to 1969, when at only 19 years of age, she and several members of the so-called "Manson family" entered the home of Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, and stabbed them dozens of times. In 1971 Van Houten was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to death, but her situation changed when capital punishment was banned in California and he sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Charles Manson was a serial killer and leader of the Manson Family cult. Members of the organization committed at least nine murders in four locations in July and August 1969.