Leslie Van Houten recommended for Parole

Former Manson disciple Van Houten recommended for parole

CHINO, Calif. — Leslie Van Houten, the youngest of Charles Manson's murderous followers, was recommended for parole Wednesday by a state panel that concluded she has radically changed her life during the more than 40 years she has been in prison for two brutal murders she helped commit 48 years ago and is no longer a threat to society.

The two-member panel's ruling must still be approved by the state Parole Board and Gov, Jerry Brown, who reversed another panel's ruling last year.

In blocking her release then, Brown said Van Houten had failed to adequately explain to the panel how a model teenager from a privileged Southern California family who had once been a homecoming princess could have turned into a ruthless killer by age 19.

On Wednesday, the panel grilled her for two hours on how she could address those concerns.

"I've had a lot of therapy trying to answer that question myself," she said.

No one directly involved in the Murders has been released so far...will she be the first?

Gov. Brown shot down her parole the last time the board approved it. I see no reason for him to grant it this time.

But yet they still let out child sex offenders and rapist.