Manson Follower Denied Parole
Former Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins was denied parole for the 11th time Wednesday for her role in the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others during a crime rampage that stunned the nation.
Atkins, now 57, was one of cult leader Manson’s “family” of young killers who burst into a Benedict Canyon home 36 years ago and killed Tate and four others. The following night, they stabbed to death a wealthy couple in their Los Angeles home.
Although Atkins has since embraced Christianity and apologized for the killings, Board of Prison Terms spokesman Tip Kindel said the prison board’s members believed it was unreasonable to assume she was a suitable parole risk.
“They primarily cited the gravity of the crime, the fact the murders were carried out in an especially cruel and callous manner,” Kindel said.
He said Atkins “listened without reaction and then was escorted out of the room” at the California Institution for Women in Corona.
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