Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Parole Being Considered for Manson Follower

Aired June 28, 2002 - 05:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Remember the infamous Charles Manson family? Well, today the California Parole Board will consider for the 14th time whether to release Leslie Van Houten. She's serving life for her role in two killing sprees more than 30 years ago.

CNN's Frank Buckley tells us about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one denies that Leslie Van Houten is a model prisoner.

LESLIE VAN HOUTEN: I know that what I did is inexcusable and it's important that you all know that, that I don't try to skirt my responsibility.

BUCKLEY: Her responsibility in the horrifying crimes that happened in this Los Angeles home, where grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary were stabbed to death. It was August 10, 1969. Van Houten was 19 and a follower of Charles Manson. The night before, Manson had ordered the murder of the pregnant actress, Sharon Tate, and four others at this Benedict Canyon home across town. Van Houten did not take part in those murders. But she admitted to stabbing Rosemary LaBianca as many as 16 times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our entire family is forever damaged beyond repair. We lost a vital part of our existence because of these murders.

BUCKLEY: But last month, Van Houten took her case to Superior Court Judge Bob Krug, who ordered the Parole Board to grant a new hearing for Van Houten and to consider her model behavior in prison in its next decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's been rehabilitated for years. She's no more of a danger to society than I am.

BUCKLEY: But if this man has anything to do with it, Van Houten will remain in prison. Former Manson family prosecutor Stephen Kay has attended every Parole Board hearing of the Manson family members.

STEPHEN KAY, FORMER MANSON PROSECUTOR: I think that there's no question that Van Houten is probably a model prisoner. I commend her for that and I think that she should spend the rest of her life being a model prisoner.

BUCKLEY: But Van Houten's attorney says the model prisoner has served her time.

CHRISTIE WEBB, VAN HOUTEN'S ATTORNEY: If the board follows the law, they will be compelled to find that she is not a current danger and is suitable for parole.

BUCKLEY: If Webb is right, Leslie Van Houten will become the first Manson family member convicted in the murders that stunned a nation in 1969 to go free.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com