Manson follower Atkins mulled for sick release
CORONA, Calif. - Former Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, convicted in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, could soon be released from prison because she is near death, authorities said.
Atkins, 59, is terminally ill and being considered for so-called "compassionate release," state corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. She gave no details of Atkins' illness, but said a doctor had determined she had less than six months to live.
The corrections department was reviewing the request, which if approved would then be passed to the state Board of Parole which has the power to release Atkins under state law so they can die with loved ones, at their expense.
Such releases are relatively rare — only 10 of the 60 requests made last year were granted, Thornton said. The prisoners must have family members willing and able to care for them.
Atkins' husband has acted as her attorney over the years and would be her caretaker if she is released.
Atkins was one of cult leader Manson's ersatz hippie "family" of young killers who burst into a Los Angeles home 39 years ago and killed Tate, the pregnant wife of filmmakerRoman Polanski, along with four others. The following night they stabbed to death a wealthy couple in their Los Angeles home.
Atkins has been denied parole 11 times, most recently in 2005.
She was housed in the California Institution for Women in Frontera for 37 years, but has been in a nearby hospital since March.
(This version CORRECTS that Tate and others were killed in Los Angeles, not Beverly Hills, and that prison is in Frontera, not Corona.)
From Yahoo News
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Do we need any more publicity on this sicko?
Howie! I love you to death and you are always posting great stuff. I am just sick to death of the Manson family of sickos getting any more attention especially in this forum.
Do we need to be constantly reminded that Sharon Tate isn't here because of these people? I hope one day that I can look at a picture of her and not feel sick because of what happened to her. I hope that we can post more things about great or funny people on this webpage and not give any more attention to "cancerous" members of the human race.
-audrey