Silke Jasso
Leslie Van Houten believes she is finally ready to be released from prison.
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According to TMZ, one of the culprits in the Manson family murders has filed new legal documents asking for parole. Van Houten reportedly submitted a 13-page report to the parole board, claiming she was too immature at the time of the killings to fully understand her actions.
Van Houten’s lawyer, Richard Pfeiffer, reportedly included testimony from psychologist Laurence Steinberg, who said that Van Houten’s age of 19 prevented her from practicing self-restraint and understanding consequences.
Steinberg also reported that Van Houten has now grown up and escaped Charles Manson’s brainwashing. He stated that her clean prison record “strongly suggests” she would not commit any criminal acts if released, and that she has now matured.
Van Houten was convicted of killing Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. She is now 67 years old; at the time of her conviction, she was the youngest person in California to be sentenced to death. The sentence was later changed to life without parole.
Last year, Van Houten asked for parole, but the request was shot down by California Governor Jerry Brown.
