Letters to the Editor: Leslie Van Houten is out of prison. Her victims are still dead

To the editor: Where is the justice for Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, their family and our society in Leslie Van Houten’s parole? Anti-death-penalty advocates constantly assure us that life in prison is a more severe punishment than execution, and now we see the speciousness of that argument.

The arguments for releasing Van Houten were meritless. That she used her time in prison to get an education, was a “model prisoner” and tried to find meaning for her remaining life should be expected, not rewarded.

That she was on drugs and duped by Charles Manson is no excuse. She was an adult who chose to take drugs and follow Manson.

Van Houten deprived the LaBianca family and our society of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca’s lives. She does not deserve to be free for the simple reason that Rosemary LaBianca did not deserve to be stabbed to death 14 times.

Angela M. Sousa, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: Van Houten, now 73, as a drug-addicted and easily manipulated teenager, participated in the gory murders of innocent people.

Now, after decades of living like a caged animal in a cell but amassing an impressive prison record, the state parole board recommended her release. These hand-picked, competent members found that she no longer poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, and in upholding Van Houten’s parole, an appeals court cited her “decades of therapy, self-help programming, and reflection.”

But Gov. Gavin Newsom succumbed to political pressure in trying to block Van Houten’s parole. Add that to the calls from conservatives, many of them surely Christian, for continued vengeance despite their doctrine of punishment for sins followed by redemption and salvation. I suppose that does not apply when your crimes draw too many new crews.

The current facts support Van Houten’s release from prison. The murders were truly awful, but what murder isn’t? Our hearts don’t have to be blackened by vengeance.

Diana Beard-Williams Brown, Palmdale

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To the editor: Rich Pfeiffer, an attorney who helped facilitate Van Houten’s release, stated that it was “mean” of the governor in past instances to deny parole at the last minute.

Since Pfeiffer is on the side of a woman who repeatedly stabbed her victim, then capped her atrocity with a refreshing slurp of chocolate milk from her victims’ refrigerator, one gets the impression his definition of “mean” is quite flexible.

The LaBianca family might have another word for what was done to them by this monster.

Douglas Soesbe, Palm Springs

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To the editor: The Times’ coverage of Van Houten’s release takes a myopic view. Stop framing the issue as whether the convicted deserves a second chance or the victims deserve to see her die in prison.

It costs the state about $100,000 per year to imprison someone, so Van Houten’s prison stay came with a $5-million bill to the taxpayers.

Money, in other words, is a critical part of this story: Can Californians think of more effective ways to spend this money to enhance public safety for all?

Merete Rietveld, Los Angeles