GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S RULING ON PATRICIA KRENWINKEL’S 2022 PAROLE RECOMMENDATION

Oct. 14 – In 1967, 19-year-old Patricia Krenwinkel met 33-year-old Charles Manson and became his girlfriend and a member of his cult, “the Family.” The cult believed that an apocalyptic race war, which they called “Helter Skelter,” was imminent. They planned to hide in the desert until it ended, at which point they planned to seize control of the world. In 1969, Mr. Manson decided it was the cult’s responsibility to initiate Helter Skelter by killing white victims, thereby inciting retaliatory violence against Black people.

On August 9, 1969, Ms. Krenwinkel, who was then 21 years old, and three other Family members drove to the home of actress Sharon Tate where she was hosting three guests: Abigail Folger, Wojiciech Frykowski, and Jay Sebring. Ms. Krenwinkel and her crime partners broke into the home and one of Ms. Krenwinkel’s crime partners shot Mr. Sebring in the head. Ms. Folger and Mr. Frykowski tried to escape but Ms. Krenwinkel and a crime partner chased them, and Ms. Krenwinkel caught Ms. Folger and stabbed her 28 times, killing her. A crime partner then fatally shot Mr. Frykowski. Ms. Krenwinkel or one or more of her crime partners tied ropes around the necks of Mr. Sebring and Ms. Tate and her two crime partners stabbed them repeatedly, killing them. Ms. Tate was eight months pregnant when she was killed. The group wrote “pig” in blood on the front door before fleeing.

The next night, Mr. Manson, Ms. Krenwinkel, and four crime partners drove to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Mr. Manson entered the home, then he left. One crime partner put a pillowcase over Mrs. LaBianca’s head and attempted to strangle her with an electrical cord. Ms. Krenwinkel stabbed Mrs. LaBianca in the neck and struck her collar bone, which bent the knife’s blade. Ms. Krenwinkel’s crime partners then repeatedly and fatally stabbed Mrs. LaBianca. Ms. Krenwinkel’s crime partners also fatally stabbed Mr. LaBianca. Before leaving the crime scene, Mr. Manson had told Ms. Krenwinkel to do something “witchy,” so she stabbed Mr. LaBianca’s body with a fork and used blood to write “Death to Pigs,” “Rise,” and “Healter [sic] Skelter” on the walls. The next morning, Mrs. LaBianca’s teenaged son discovered Mr. LaBianca’s body with a knife stuck in his neck, a carving fork protruding from his stomach, and the word “war” carved into his skin.

After the murders, Ms. Krenwinkel fled to Alabama until she was extradited to California in February 1970.

The Board of Parole Hearings (The Board) has conducted 16 parole hearings for Ms. Krenwinkel since she became eligible for parole in 1977. The Board has found Ms. Krenwinkel unsuitable for parole 14 times and she stipulated to unsuitability once in 2002. The Board found her suitable for parole at her hearing on May 26, 2022. This decision follows.

GOVERNING LAW

The California Constitution grants me the authority to review proposed decisions of the Board. (Cal. Const. art. V, § 8, subd. (b).) I am given broad discretion to determine an inmate’s suitability for parole and may affirm, reverse, modify, or refer back to the Board any grant of parole to a person convicted of murder serving an indeterminate life sentence. (Id.; Pen. Code, § 3041.2; see In re Rosenkrantz (2002) 29 Cal.4th 616, 625-26; In re Dannenberg (2005) 34 Cal.4th 1061, 1080, 1082, 1088.) I am authorized to identify and weigh all “factors relevant to predicting ‘whether the inmate will be able to live in society without committing additional antisocial acts.’” (In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181, 1205-06, quoting In re Rosenkrantz, supra, 29 Cal.4th at p. 655.)

When the Board proposes that an inmate convicted of murder be released on parole, I am authorized to conduct an independent, de novo review of the entire record, including “the facts of the offense, the inmate’s progress during incarceration, and the insight he or she has achieved into past behavior,” to determine the inmate’s suitability for parole. (In re Shaputis II (2011) 53 Cal.4th 192, 221.) My review is independent of the Board’s authority, but it is guided by the same “essential” question: whether the inmate currently poses a risk to public safety. (Cal. Const. art. V, § 8, subd. (b); Pen. Code, § 3041.2; In re Shaputis II, supra, 53 Cal.4th at pp. 220-21.)

The circumstances of the crime can provide evidence of current dangerousness when evidence in the inmate’s pre- or post-incarceration history, or the inmate’s current mental state, indicate that the crime remains probative of current dangerousness. (In re Lawrence, supra, 44 Cal.4th at p. 1214.) In rare cases, the aggravated nature of the crime alone can provide a valid basis for denying parole, even when there is strong evidence of rehabilitation and no other evidence of current dangerousness exists. (Ibid.)

I am also required to give “great weight to the diminished culpability of youth as compared to adults, the hallmark features of youth, and any subsequent growth and increased maturity of the prisoner” when determining a youthful offender’s suitability for parole. (Pen. Code, § 4801, subd. (c).) I further must afford special consideration to whether age, the amount of time served, and diminished physical condition reduce the inmate’s risk of future violence. (See Feb. 10, 2014 order issued in Coleman v. Brown, Case No. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK-DAD (PC) (E.D. Cal.) and Plata v. Brown, Case No. C01-01351 TEH (N.D. Cal.).)

DECISION

After an independent and thorough review, the evidence establishes that Ms. Krenwinkel is not suitable for parole and cannot be safely released from prison at this time. She currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.

In the cases of inmates who commit their crimes when they are under 26 years old, I am required to review the record for evidence of factors relevant to their diminished culpability as youthful offenders and any subsequent growth and increased maturity. Ms. Krenwinkel was 21 years old when she committed the life crimes. She had graduated high school and completed a semester of college. She left school, started to use drugs, and decided to follow Mr. Manson. The psychologist who evaluated her in 2022 wrote that Ms. Krenwinkel “exhibited several hallmark features of youth,” including “impulsivity, immaturity, excessive risk taking, recklessness, low self-control, an imperviousness to negative outcomes, a susceptibility to Mr. Manson’s influence, coercion, and abuse, indoctrination into a cult, and a lessened ability to extricate herself from her environment at home and in the Manson group.”

I have also examined the record for all evidence of Ms. Krenwinkel’s subsequent growth and increased maturity in prison as set forth in youth offender laws. Ms. Krenwinkel has demonstrated positive institutional conduct. She has never been disciplined while in prison and only twice cited for minor infractions, last in 2005 for violating a posted housing unit rule. Ms. Krenwinkel has also engaged in considered reflection on her crime. During her risk assessment and at her parole hearing she demonstrated effusive remorse for her leadership role in the Family that empowered Mr. Manson, and her violent criminal conduct. Ms. Krenwinkel has also made efforts to improve herself in prison. She earned an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree in prison and completed four vocations, including recently earning a certificate in dog training. She has engaged in significant self-help programming. Since her last parole denial in 2017, she has focused on programming that addresses her history of antisocial thinking.

After assessing Ms. Krenwinkel and giving great weight to the relevant youthful offender factors, I conclude that these mitigating factors are outweighed by negative factors that demonstrate she remains unsuitable for parole at this time. While Ms. Krenwinkel has matured in prison and engaged in commendable rehabilitative efforts, her efforts have not sufficiently reduced her risk for future dangerousness.

Specifically, Ms. Krenwinkel has not developed sufficient insight into the causative factors of her crime and her triggers for antisocial thinking and conduct in the context of maladaptive relationships. Ms. Krenwinkel committed her life crimes in the context of a romantic relationship with Mr. Manson, which was marked by coercive control and violence. The psychologist who evaluated Ms. Krenwinkel in 2022 wrote, “Ms. Krenwinkel had historical problems with relationships and traumatic experiences, both of which are highly relevant to mitigating risk of future violence…. Her relationship with [Mr.] Manson involved abuse and manipulation on his part as well as infidelity, all of which she permitted and tolerated.” Ms. Krenwinkel fully accepted Mr. Manson’s racist, apocalyptical ideologies, and told the psychologist, “He was a survivalist to the max…racist to the max…we all accepted that. I believed in him…. I was in it completely. I was whatever he wanted it to be, was what I wanted it to be so I could be accepted.” She told the psychologist, “I felt he had control and I let him. I was completely dependent on him. I had no idea where we were going to or what we were doing. I let him take the wheel.” She asked why she stayed involved with the Family after Mr. Manson started exhibiting violent and disturbing conduct, she said, “It was tangled up with love…. I never felt strong enough to stand up to it. He would shut down feelings I had.” Ms. Krenwinkel demonstrated inadequate insight into why she was drawn to Mr. Manson, and so willing to follow him.

Ms. Krenwinkel was not only a victim of Mr. Manson’s abuse. She was also a significant contributor to the violence and tragedy that became the Manson Family’s legacy. Beyond the brutal murders she committed, she played a leadership role in the cult, and an enforcer of Mr. Manson’s tyranny. She forced the other women in the cult to obey Mr. Manson, and prevented them from escaping when they tried to leave. As Ms. Krenwinkel told her evaluating psychologist, “No one can be a leader unless someone props them up. I’m responsible for that…propping this man up, for giving him power. By agreeing and saying yes, I created this monster. I’m responsible.”

Ms. Krenwinkel’s candor about the corrosive dynamics of her relationship with Mr. Manson is an encouraging sign of her developing insight. It also, however, reveals the extreme degree to which her distorted thinking in toxic relationships and her susceptibility to negative influences remain highly relevant risk factors. Given the close nexus between these risk factors and her violent conduct, Ms. Krenwinkel’s current gaps in insight into these risk factors, and lack of related coping skills, make her unsuitable for parole at this time.

At her parole hearing, Ms. Krenwinkel accepted responsibility for her direct crimes, yet she continued to shift disproportionate blame to Mr. Manson for decisions and conduct within her control. When the psychologist asked Ms. Krenwinkel, “Did you plan the murders? Was there any premeditation at all?,” she responded, “No. I didn’t premeditate what we were going to do. I was not taken into the conversation.” Ms. Krenwinkel’s statement that she did not premeditate these murders is inaccurate. While Ms. Krenwinkel may not have been physically present for the discussions about these particular crimes, she admitted that, in the months before the murders, she willingly participated in weapons training in order to perpetrate a race war. The night after the murders at the Tate home, Ms. Krenwinkel willingly traveled to the LaBianca home where the intent was to inflict extreme violence on innocent people. This amounts to premeditation, and her statements to the contrary demonstrate that Ms. Krenwinkel continues to minimize her role in these crimes.

Ms. Krenwinkel’s account of her time in the Family reflects a significant lack of insight into her own internal processes that led to her decision to join, support, and help execute Mr. Manson’s terror campaign. During her evaluation, the psychologist asked Ms. Krenwinkel, “Did you know what you were doing when you stabbed the victims?” She responded, “Yes, I knew I was stabbing, I just didn’t care about anyone else’s lives. I didn’t have/hold anything sacred. I was a monster. I had nothing in me.” Ms. Krenwinkel summed up her time with the Family to the Board by saying, “I just kept accepting and allowing myself to go all along for the ride.” The deputy commissioner at her hearing summed up her response by describing her as a “homicidal robot.” However, Ms. Krenwinkel was not a homicidal robot—she was an adult who catered to the will of a violent and disturbed man. She made a series of conscious decisions over several years to continue her relationship with Mr. Manson, help him consolidate his power, and carry out acts of violence, even when he was not present to enforce them. Ms. Krenwinkel cannot be safely released until she improves her understanding of the internal processes that drew her to Mr. Manson and allowed her to remain in the harmful relationship for several years.

Ms. Krenwinkel also externalizes and shifts blame to Mr. Manson for her drug and alcohol use, which is another causative factor of her crime. When asked why she used drugs and hallucinogens, Ms. Krenwinkel replied, “I had to do it. I couldn’t get away from doing it. We had to take it as a group. It was part of accepting being there…part of the cult…you would take it. It wasn’t asked if you wanted to or not.” Ms. Krenwinkel, however, has also reported that she had used drugs since she was 15 years old. She told the psychologist that she had used alcohol, Benzedrine, and marijuana in high school and discussed how a friend visiting her during her junior year of high school introduced her to LSD. Ms. Krenwinkel’s drug use is a relevant risk factor especially because she had a prior history of drug abuse separate and apart from her relationship with Mr. Manson. Ms. Krenwinkel may benefit from additional self-help programming in order to better understand her substance abuse history, a key factor in preventing relapse.

Ms. Krenwinkel’s gaps in insight also bear on her ability to manage the unique stressors and public safety challenges she will face on parole. Ms. Krenwinkel committed crimes that were among the most fear-inducing in California’s history. While the crime facts are a static factor, Ms. Krenwinkel’s ability to manage the consequences of committing a notorious crime remains a highly relevant risk factor. Ms. Krenwinkel has acknowledged the challenges of living in the community as former Manson Family member. She has indicated, for example, that she would possibly need to change her name if released on parole. She did not, however, demonstrate an adequate understanding of, and strategies for handling, the significant challenges she will have to navigate.I have concluded that she must do additional work to identify these challenges and develop the skills and parole plans to address them in a prosocial way.

I have also given special consideration to the Elderly Parole factors for inmates convicted of murder who are older than 60 and who have served more than 25 years in prison. Ms. Krenwinkel is 74 years old and has served approximately 53 years in prison. The evaluating psychologist analyzed Ms. Krenwinkel’s elderly parole factors and determined, “There is little to no evidence in the medical record suggesting Ms. Krenwinkel has experienced a significant decline in cognitive abilities with age…. She has experienced a decline in physical capacity due to comorbidities but remains mentally and physically capable of committing crimes similar to the instant offense.” While Ms. Krenwinkel’s life crime involved direct acts of brutal violence, as discussed above, her current physical condition is not the most relevant indication of her current risk level. Ms. Krenwinkel poses a risk to public safety because she lacks the insight and coping skills she will need to avoid maladaptive relationships and external influences. Any diminishment of her physical strength does not alone sufficiently mitigate her risk factors for antisocial conduct. Accordingly, the elderly parole factors in this case do not outweigh the other evidence that she remains unsuitable for parole at this time.

CONCLUSION
When I consider all of the evidence, as a whole, I find that Ms. Krenwinkel still poses an unreasonable danger to society if paroled at this time. Therefore, I reverse the decision to parole Ms. Krenwinkel.

Decision Date:
October 14, 2022
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor, State of California

Dear Governor Gavin Newsom,

My name is Anthony DiMaria, nephew of Jay Sebring (one 8 killed by Patricia Krenwinkel and the so-called Manson family…. I include Sharon Tate’s unborn son among the 8 victims).

My family and I ask that you reverse parole of inmate Krenwinkel due to the rare, severe, egregious nature of her crimes as defined In Re Lawrence, minimization and lack of insight into her atrocities as defined In Re Shaputis and the convicted killer’s current dangerousness to society.

As defined In Re Lawrence, in rare and particularly egregious cases, the fact that the inmate committed the offense can provide an indication of the inmate’s potential for future danger, despite strong evidence of rehabilitation in the record. (Lawrence, supra, 44 Ca1.4th at pp. 1181, 1211, 1213-14.)

On the nights of August 8th and 10th, 1969 Patricia Krenwinkel’s victims unspeakably suffered 7 gunshots, 169 stabbings, bludgeoning, torture and mutilation. Ms. Krenwinkel horrified the nation splattering messages in her victims’ blood (“Healter Skelter”, “Death to Pigs”) at her crime scene thus inciting the entire Helter Skelter legacy that has caused permanent historical scars as evidenced in the horrific murders of Vivian French and Jason Sweeney (which I’ll address later in this plea).

MINIMIZATION/IN RE SHAPUTIS

After decades of rehabilitation, Patricia Krenwinkel still minimizes and lacks insight into her crimes. At her last hearing the petitioner posits “I’ve spent the last 50 years really looking at how I ever got involved in that kind of a thing, allowing other people to make decisions for me, to think for me.” [pp.59 ll. 22-25]

Then, “I had psychiatrists that I worked with to try and locate what would allow me to ever allow someone to take over my life like that.” [p.42 l.24]

“I just kept accepting and allowing myself to go along for the ride.” [p.28 ll.2-4]
-Governor, these statements from the petitioner are glaring, shocking and a hell of a way to characterize the killings of seven people and an unborn child.

As I stated at the May 26 parole, “At today’s hearing, Ms. Krenwinkel describes ‘allowing’ and ‘allowed’ as in ‘I allowed these things to happen’ & ‘I allowed to lead me in this direction.’

After having lived with the loss and suffering caused by Patricia Krenwinkel for decades – any use of the words “allow”, “allowed”, “allowing” is quite disturbing and lacks any crumb of insight into these crimes.” Frankly Governor Newsom, these statements are perverse and sociopathic.

As established In Re Shaputis, even when an inmate states that her conduct is “wrong” and that she feels some remorse for the crime, her failure “to gain insight or understanding into either her violent conduct or her commission of the commitment offense” provide “some evidence in support of the Governor’s conclusion that petitioner remains dangerous and is unsuitable for parole.” (In re Shigemura (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 440, 453-454 citing In re Shaputis (2008) 44 Ca1.4th 1241, 1260.)

CURRENT DANGER TO SOCIETY

If ever murders could be described as “Crimes of the Century,” Ms. Krenwinkel’s actions embody this heinous standard. The unspeakable number of stab wounds, mutilations, Ms. Krenwinkel’s threats smeared in her victims’ blood of DEATH TO PIGS and HELTER SKELTER on the walls at her crime scene terrified the nation. Patricia’s obscene behaviors throughout her trial not only spit on the memory of her victims and tormented our families, but directly created the destructive Manson family mystique, causing permanent scars on American history.

The severity of her actions are so profound that her lethal legacy has been influential in similar horrific murders well after her incarceration.

Detective Don Ryan describes the crime scene of Vivian French’s murder March 7, 1977: “As I entered the residence I could hear ‘The Pigs Are Coming’ song that was playing over and over again. When we walked in, I observed a white female, later identified as Vivian French, lying on her back. She was nude and I noticed what appeared to be a black handled knife in her right side just above the breast. I noticed on the wall there were some things written in blood: ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘All Pigs Must Die’…”

“HELTER SKELTER” & “ALL PIGS MUST DIE” – the same words written by Patricia Krenwinkel in her victims’ blood at the LaBianca crime scene.

On May 30, 2003, Jason Sweeney was murdered by four teenagers, ages 15 to 17. The weapons used to massacre the young man were a hammer, a hatchet, and several large rocks. At one point during the attack there was a hammer blow so severe that it remained protruding from Jason’s skull, as he continued to fight for his life.

During the trial, the teenaged killers testified listening to “Helter Skelter” over and over repeatedly for several hours before committing the murder. “Helter Skelter”…

The prosecuting attorney, Jude Conroy, stated, “It is really amazing that teenagers in Philadelphia, Memorial Day weekend, are attuned to the whole Helter Skelter mythology. It’s a sad testament to the twisted, brutal legacy those murders have left behind such that it attracts 15, 16, 17-year-olds. Over forty years later. 3,000 miles across the country. It is a powerful legacy.”

Charles Manson did not write HELTER SKELTER in blood, Patricia Krenwinkel did. Patricia Krenwinkel is the author that ignited what would become an endless cultural cancer with sinister and deadly consequences even as you read this Governor.

The nexus of current dangerousness, and the threat of Patricia Krenwinkel and her crimes to society today — direct, symbolic and cultural — is permanent, malignant and CURRENT.

Governor Newsom, as you acknowledge the rare, severe nature of Patricia Krenwinkel’s crimes as defined in Lawrence, her minimization and lack of insight as addressed in Shaputis and her current dangerousness to society- we ask that you reject parole for Patricia Krenwinkel.

Sincerely,
Anthony DiMaria

Jul. 8 – Bruce Davis was denied parole at a hearing held today at San Quentin.

Davis, 79, is serving a term of seven years to life for the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea.

Davis has been denied parole 27 times since becoming eligible in 1977. He was recommended for parole in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021, but each grant was reversed during the executive review.

Davis will not have another hearing until 2025.

Dear Commissioners Julie Garland & Rachel Stern,

My name is Anthony DiMaria. I have been asked by Gary Hinman’s family to speak as a family representative.

To be clear, our families’ involvement in today’s hearing has nothing to do with anger, hatred, or vengeance toward Bruce Davis. Rather, we speak out of love for those silenced in their graves at the hands of the petitioner before you today.

Part of what continues to impact our families are these hearings and what is said in them, yet we appreciate the right to address the many realities related to these offenses.

This is the fifth parole hearing our families have attended in the past 9 months. I commend Mr. Davis for acknowledging his culpability in all “family” murders.

I mention this because one of the persistent tactical distortions are the inmate’s and their attorneys’ contention that the petitioner’s crimes occurred separately in a vacuum. Today Mr. Beckman references several times his client’s “2 murders” as if each crime is void of any connection and/or responsibility intrinsic throughout the Manson family rampage… on six nights of violence & killing. I include the shooting and attempted murder of Bernard Crowe and the attempted murder of Barbara Hoyt. I bring this up to provide accurate historical context of these crimes that is often overlooked in these hearings that reveals the extensive, severe nature of these murders.

Bruce Davis and his Manson family cohorts conspired, targeted, extorted, mutilated, and killed collectively—— like a pack of jackals. Those who slaughtered in the Manson family shared common racist, terrorist, and violent criminal motives with sustained, unified intents. It is no random coincidence that after Gary Hinman was slaughtered and a “family” member killer was arrested in the victim’s vehicle on August 6 – less than a day and a half before the murders of 5 people and an unborn child on Cielo Drive – the entire Manson family rampage was unleashed.

Mr. Davis was a powerful figure and an influential force in the Manson crime organization. For the record, the Manson family was not a hippie cult, it was a violent crime syndicate whose pervasive crimes extended over 7 years culminating in the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford on September 22, 1975 by Lynette Fromme who was very influential in the “family” as confirmed by Bruce Davis today.

It bears noting that this inmate’s crimes were the very first and last killings of the entire Manson family murder rampage. Had Bruce Davis contacted the authorities after Gary Hinman’s face was slashed and his ear severed in half, 10 people would have lived their lives naturally and completely. I include Sharon Tate’s unborn child as one of the 10.

But Mr. Davis chose to be a prime killer in one of the most notorious crime organizations in United States history. Mr. Davis perpetuated Manson murder mystique when he carved a swastika on his forehead and grotesquely taunted society during his trial.

Bruce Davis’ actions horrified the nation and caused permanent cultural wounds that impact society even today, as evidenced in morbid Manson murder fascination throughout mainstream media.

The Manson mystique that emanated from Mr. Davis crimes is tragically influential in the horrific murders of Vivian French and Jason Sweeney. Each of these cases exhibit the lingering threat and current dangerousness of Mr. Davis and his crimes which I will address later in this statement.

REGARDING LAWRENCE:
If ever murders could meet the criteria as established in LAWRENCE, Bruce Davis’ offenses embody the very definition—— with lethal repercussions even decades after his incarceration.

As we know, but here for the record, Lawrence states, “…in rare and particularly egregious cases, the fact that the inmate committed the offense can provide an indication of the inmate’s potential for future danger, despite strong evidence of rehabilitation in the record.” (Lawrence, supra, 44 Ca1.4th at pp. 1181, 1211, 1213-14.).

At the last hearing on June 28, 2019, Mr. Davis’ attorney Michael Beckman posits there is a “complete misunderstanding of Lawrence” in this case.

Let there be no misunderstanding of Lawrence in today’s hearing. Bruce Davis’s victims endured unbearable torture, mutilation, suffocation, stabbings, and blunt force trauma. Mr. Davis collectively acted in concert with his so-called family to frame the murder of Gary Hinman on African-Americans as a whole, and more specifically to frame the Black Panthers. The family’s racial motives were twofold: to deflect blame of Gary Hinman’s murder on Black Panthers and to incite societal upheaval via racial coercion.

These are the very definitions of “severe” “rare” and “egregious”. These are the facts.

In 2016, Governor Jerry Brown, in his definitive decision regarding Bruce Davis states, “These crimes rightfully remained seared into the nation’s conscious and represent that ‘rare circumstance’ in which the aggravated nature of the crimes alone is sufficient to deny parole.” That was true then and this hard reality remains true today.

The petitioner and his attorney would have you believe Davis’ crimes occurred in a vacuum, void of any further societal harm and dangerousness. I sadly direct the Board to the horrific murders of Vivian French in 1977 and Jason Sweeney in 2003, decades after Bruce Davis’ incarceration:

Detective Don Ryan describes the crime scene of Vivian French’s murder March 7, 1977:
“As I entered the residence I could hear ‘The Pigs Are Coming’ song that was playing over and over again. When we walked in, I observed a white female, later identified as Vivian French, lying on her back. She was nude and I noticed what appeared to be a black handled knife in her right side just above the breast.

I noticed on the wall there were some things written in blood: ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘All Pigs Must Die’…

On May 30, 2003, Jason Sweeney was murdered by four teenagers, ages 15 to 17. The weapons used to massacre the young man were a hammer, a hatchet, and several large rocks. At one point during the attack there was a hammer blow so severe that it remained protruding from Jason’s scull, as he continued to fight for his life. During the trial, the teenaged killers testified listening to “Helter Skelter” over and over repeatedly for several hours before committing the murder.

The prosecuting attorney, Jude Conroy, stated, “It is really amazing that teenagers in Philadelphia, Memorial Day weekend, are attuned to the whole Helter Skelter mythology. It’s a sad testament to the twisted, brutal legacy those murders have left behind such that it attracts 15, 16, 17-year-olds. Over forty years later. 3,000 miles across the country. It is a powerful legacy.” It is critical note in today’s proceedings that 3 of the convicted teenagers were sentenced to LIFE WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE.

There will be no “misunderstanding” of LAWRENCE in today’s hearing—— Bruce Davis and his crimes embody the “rare, egregious, severe” nature as defined in LAWRENCE and continue to pose a risk to society directly and culturally as illustrated in the brutal murders of Ms. French and Mr. Sweeney.

Bruce Davis’ crimes have dealt permanent and enduring wounds to American society. The nexus of current dangerousness——direct, repercussive, cultural——is permanent, current, and deadly.

REGARDING SHAPUTIS:
In his last 2 parole hearings, Mr. Davis goes to great lengths to say he “cut” Donald Shea but never “stabbed” his victim. From p.117 of the 2017 hearing:

INMATE DAVIS: In one of the hearings in 2010, uh, I told, I told what I did. I said I cut him, and the Commissioner said, oh, no, you stabbed him. I said, I didn’t stab him. He said, yeah, well you had — had to stab him. I said, I didn’t stab him, and there was kind of a big deal about that, so I’m gonna just make it clear.

COMMISSIONER FRITZ: Okay.

INMATE DAVIS: I didn’t stab him.

COMMISSIONER FRITZ: You wanna make a – – you wanna distinguish between stabbing and slashing?”

(Then on pages 72-73 in the 2019 transcript)

INMATE DAVIS: I cut Mister — Mr. Shea.

COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: You cut him?

INMATE DAVIS: Yes.

COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: With a what?

INMATE DAVIS: With a knife.

COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Where’d you cut him?

INMATE DAVIS: Uh, from his collar bone down to his armpit.

COMMISSIONER: Was he moving?

INMATE DAVIS: Uh, no. He may have been dead. Uh —

COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Was he dead? He wasn’t moving. So you cut him?

INMATE DAVIS: Yes, it’s on his right — down his right side. I was standing on his right.

COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Official reports say you stabbed him. Did you — did you stab him or did you cut him?

INMATE DAVIS: I cut him.

This clearly is minimization and lacks proper insight into these crimes. Citing SHAPUTIS, even when an inmate states that his conduct is “wrong” and that he feels some remorse for the crime, his failure “to gain insight or understanding into either his violent conduct or his commission of the commitment offense” provide “some evidence in support of the conclusion that the petitioner remains dangerous and is unsuitable for parole.” (In re: Shigemura (2012) 210 Cal. App. 4th 440, 453-454 citing In re: Shaputis (2008) 44 Ca1. 4th 1241, 1260.)

In today’s and past hearings Mr. Davis shares what he identifies as influences specific to a father figure, the lure of women (at the ranch) and group acceptance. Frankly, these are common interests of many, many people throughout the world. Thankfully, very few of these individuals, if any, go out and kill innocent people in a sustained rampage and carve a swastika on their face.

Before I conclude, I must address statements made by Michael Beckman at Mr. Davis’ last hearing June 28, 2019: “Despite having his freedom snatched from him 5 times, he’s continued programming well.” [p.154,ll.8-10] He then goes on to attack the governor stating “if the governor chooses to play politics with my client’s life again, then he’s going to do that because my client is a political prisoner at this point. Plain and simple.” [p.153,ll.1-4] Even today when Mr. Davis was asked why he is in prison he responded “because of the governor’s feeling against him”. Shockingly, the inmate made no mention of his crimes or victims!

THIS IS A GLARING LACK OF INSIGHT.
Does it occur to any of us in this hearing today that Bruce Davis is in prison because he killed people? Plain and simple?

Does it occur to any of us in this hearing today that Bruce Davis remains in prison because his crimes were so severe and profound that they shook our country to its core with permanent repercussions? Plain and simple?

Not only are Mr. Beckman’s presumptions disingenuous, they are offensive to our families and demonstrate an extensive pattern of attorneys propping up their clients into the role of victim. This deplorable tactic has been perpetuated for decades now and completely lacks any crumb of insight into these crimes. So if there’s any confusion in this matter, let there be none now. The only people who had their freedoms snatched from them are Bruce Davis’ victims… and all victims of Mr. Davis and his so-called family.

REGARDING “THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW”
At Mr. Davis’ last hearing, the inmate asked the Board, “How am I different now than I was 50 years ago?”

Well, I ask that same question now to the two people most impacted by these crimes:

Gary Hinman, how are you different now than you were when Bruce Davis held you hostage, drove off in your car and left you bleeding-out forcing you to endure a death that lasted 3 days?

Donald Shea, how are you different now than you were when Bruce Davis and four other men ambushed you like cowards, then beat, stabbed you to death and mutilated you like a pack of jackals?

How is it possible for amends to be made for Bruce Davis when no one on this planet can make amends for his dead?

Gary and Donald are just as dead today as when they were sent to their graves 53 years ago at the hands of Bruce Davis.

Commissioners Garland & Stern, I urge you to consider parole for Bruce Davis, once you’ve paroled his victims from their graves…

…once you’ve healed and corrected the permanent wounds Bruce Davis and his crimes have dealt to American society.

Commissioner, as you acknowledge the rare, egregious, aggravated nature of Bruce Davis’ crimes as defined in LAWRENCE, how horrifically his victims suffered, the inmate’s minimization and lack of insight in to his crimes as cited in SHAPUTIS and the permanent destructive wounds Mr. Davis has dealt to American society- it is proper and just that you determine Bruce Davis unsuitable for release for the longest period of time.

…I must say before I leave, I feel great sorrow for the 4 of us directly impacted by these crimes. I extend this sorrow to Mr. Davis. I am so sorry that all of this ever happened.

May 26 – Patricia Krenwinkel, 74, was found suitable for parole, at a hearing held today by the California Board of Parole Hearings.

Krenwinkel is serving a life sentence for her role in the seven Tate-LaBianca murders. She was sentenced to death on March 29, 1971, but saw that sentence commuted to life when the death penalty was briefly outlawed in 1972. She has been denied parole 14 times since becoming eligible in 1977.

Today’s decision will undergo a review by the Board of Parole Hearings. Then it will be reviewed by Governor Gavin Newsom, who will either confirm, reverse, modify or take no action on the grant. The decision will be finalized no later than October 23, 2022.