• Newsom Reverses Bruce Davis’ Parole Grant

Newsom Reverses Bruce Davis’ Parole Grant

Friday, June 18th, 2021

GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S RULING ON BRUCE DAVIS’ PAROLE RECOMMENDATION

Jun. 18 – In the late 1960’s, Bruce Davis was a member of Charles Manson’s cult known as “the Family,” who lived together at Spahn Ranch. In July 1969, Mr. Manson and a group of Family members, including Mr. Davis, discussed ways to raise money to relocate their group to the desert. They identified an acquaintance, Gary Hinman, as a potential source of funds. On July 26, 1969, Mr. Davis dropped off three Family members at Mr. Hinman’s residence. Two days later, the group called Mr. Manson from Mr. Hinman’s house and reported that Mr. Hinman was not cooperating. Mr. Manson and Mr. Davis returned to Mr. Hinman’s house. When they arrived, Mr. Hinman had already been struck with a gun; during that struggle, the gun had discharged. Mr. Davis took the gun and pointed it at Mr. Hinman while Mr. Manson sliced Mr. Hinman’s face open with a sword, cutting from his left ear down to his chin. Mr. Davis and Mr. Manson stole Mr. Hinman’s vehicle and returned to the ranch.

The other three Family members remained at Mr. Hinman’s house for two more days while Mr. Hinman lay bleeding. Robert Beausoleil eventually stabbed Mr. Hinman in the chest and smothered him with a pillow, killing him. Inside the home, using Mr. Hinman’s blood, the group wrote the words “political piggy” and drew an animal paw print on the walls. Mr. Hinman’s body was found a week later.

In August 1969, Mr. Manson told his followers that Donald Shea, who worked as a ranch hand at Spahn Ranch, was a police informant and was working with a neighbor to have the Family removed from the ranch. Mr. Manson, and Family members Mr. Davis, Steven Grogan, and Charles Watson lured Mr. Shea into a car. They drove Mr. Shea to a secluded area and stabbed him multiple times, killing him. Mr. Davis has acknowledged that during the attack he used a knife to cut Mr. Shea from his collar bone to his armpit.

Mr. Davis was arrested in December 1970, after evading capture for more than a year.

GOVERNING LAW

The question I must answer is whether Mr. Davis will pose a current danger to the public if released from prison. The circumstances of the crime can provide evidence of current dangerousness when the record also establishes that something in the inmate’s pre- or post-incarceration history, or the inmate’s current demeanor and mental state, indicate that the circumstances of the crime remain probative of current dangerousness. (In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal. 4th 1181, 1214.) In rare circumstances, 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. (Id. at pp. 1211, 1214.)

DECISION

I acknowledge that Mr. Davis has made efforts to improve himself over the last 50 years. Mr. Davis has earned several educational degrees while incarcerated, including a master’s degree and a doctorate. He has earned vocational certificates, engaged in significant self-help programming, and worked for the Prison Industry Authority for more than seven years. He has not been disciplined since 1980 and has never been disciplined for violent misconduct while in prison. However, these factors are outweighed by negative factors that demonstrate he remains unsuitable for parole at this time.

Mr. Davis joined one of the most notorious cults in American history and actively aided in furthering Charles Manson’s goal of triggering an apocalyptic war arising from racial tensions and with the goal of creating societal disorder. The crimes that the Manson Family committed to achieve this goal are among the most disturbing reported in our state’s history. The Family robbed, tortured, and killed at Charles Manson’s behest and Mr. Davis knowingly participated in two of these murders.

Despite his many years in prison, evidence of Mr. Davis’s unsuitability for parole persists. Mr. Davis continues to minimize his involvement in the Hinman and Shea murders and lacks insight into how he came to follow Mr. Manson and commit such extreme acts of violence.

At his 2021 parole hearing, Mr. Davis told the panel, “I was hungry for excitement. Uh, I had a lust for women and drugs. Uh, so when all those things appeared available, I was just, I was holed in.” Mr. Davis was not holed in – in fact, he left the Family, and the country in 1968, but returned because he preferred the lifestyle of the Family. Upon his return, Mr. Davis noticed that the dynamics of the group had changed, and it was discussing race wars, violence, and anarchy, yet he chose to stay. He told commissioners at the hearing, “I’m ashamed to say this, but I did not care as long as Charlie and I got along, and I got along with the girls and there was drugs, outside of that I had no concern.” Mr. Davis acknowledges this lack of empathy as a causative factor of the crime. The psychologist who evaluated Mr. Davis in 2020 noted that Mr. Davis’s lack of empathy may still be a risk factor: “Past problems with his personality functioning remain of high relevance to his violence risk as he continues to have difficulty with empathy which may disinhibit him to engage in violence.”

Mr. Davis continues to minimize his role and participation in the murders. Mr. Davis told the commissioners that he “never” touched Mr. Hinman and that his only role was holding a gun during one of the days the group of crime partners tortured Mr. Hinman. Although holding a gun to Mr. Hinman may have been de minimis in Mr. Davis’s eyes, it was a significant act in the start of the Family’s “war” that terrorized Californians. By the time of Mr. Shea’s murder, Mr. Davis certainly knew of the Family’s goal to use extreme violence, and Mr. Davis was acutely aware that he and his crime partners were going to kill Mr. Shea when they lured him into their car. Still, at his hearing, Mr. Davis attempted to minimize his participation in Mr. Shea’s torture and murder. Mr. Davis told the panel that he “found out that there was a limit to what [he] would do” and instead of cutting Mr. Shea’s head off as Manson ordered him to do, he simply “cut him” on the collarbone and down to his underarm. Mr. Davis’s statements indicate that he still lacks understanding about his conduct and the substantial role he played in the crimes. Mr. Davis does not understand that it was his agreement to participate in Mr. Manson’s plans that resulted in the torture and murder of his victims, regardless of whether he ultimately inflicted the fatal blows. This lack of insight may make him vulnerable to repeating these patterns in the future.

I commend Mr. Davis for his significant efforts in rehabilitation and encourage him to stay on this positive path. However, until Mr. Davis can demonstrate deeper insight into his involvement in these crimes and take full responsibility for his part in one of the darkest points of California’s history, he cannot be safely released.

CONCLUSION

I have considered the evidence in the record that is relevant to whether Mr. Davis is currently dangerous. When considered as a whole, I find the evidence shows that he currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time. Therefore, I reverse the decision to parole Mr. Davis.

Decision Date:
June 18, 2021
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor, State of California

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12 Responses to Newsom Reverses Bruce Davis’ Parole Grant

  1. Michael says:

    I’m no fan of Newsome but I appreciate his point about Davis minimizing his involvement. To say he never directly touched the man he assisted the murder of, or that there was a “limit” to what he could do since he only stabbed his victim rather than behead him, sounds awfully self- serving and clueless to boot.

    “Mr. Davis does not understand that it was his agreement to participate in Mr. Manson’s plans that resulted in the torture and murder of his victims, regardless of whether he ultimately inflicted the fatal blows.”

    Exactly.

  2. Dan Cotter says:

    Yes thank you Governor Newsom for doing the correct thing and keeping these nuisances behind bars. None of the Manson family currently in jail ever deserves to see the light of day again.

  3. Jason says:

    Thank God for keeping these people behind bars!

  4. Christina says:

    I couldn’t agree more none of these people deserve freedom ever.

  5. Michael says:

    Off topic, but have any of you been following the new Netflix series “Helter-Skelter: An American Myth?” It’s easily the best documentary I have seen so far on the Manson Family, and it includes interviews with Stephanie Schramm (that’s rare) and with Gypsy, Barbara Hoyt, Linda Kasabian and Dianne Lake. Very well done and not overly sensational, at least from what I’ve seen of it so far.

  6. Scott says:

    Evil and should never see the outside of Prison

  7. Old Grape says:

    Those municipalities having jurisdiction throughout the State of California failed in numerous ways for this murderous gang of faux hippies. Not once have I heard of any of those that were put on probation that they had to submit to drug and alcohol testing. Maybe if they did, then murder(s) would of been thwarted. Not to mention that most of the arrest made from Mendocino to Ventura and Los Angeles resulted in No Charges Filed. Someone was behind this, more powerful then the DA, LASO and LAPD. CHAOS for sure!

  8. Billy Esquire says:

    So now, the California parole board has recommended RFK killer Sirhan Sirhan for parole after 53 years in prison.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/us/sirhan-sirhan-parole-rfk-assassination/index.html

    Will be interesting to see what Newsom does on this one. Is the man that killed RFK as dangerous as the Manson killers?

    Since Newsom appears to make his parole decisions based on politics instead of whether the prisoner has legitimately met the requirements of parole, it’s hard to imagine he would allow the release of RFK’s killer, while proclaiming the 5 Manson killers “too dangerous”.

  9. Terry L. Slaughter says:

    I could not disagree more strongly with Newson’s decision. The fact that anyone commit a crime, regardless of its nature, does not condem that person for eternity. If thats true, then why in the hell do policemans, servicemans, and especially government officials, not be condemed for the crimes they commit? In fact, the Rodney King beating clearly shows that there are different modes of justice, or absent thereof, when it comes to ordinary peoples, and thoes mentioned above. So save the B.S. You are either fair, or crazy as hell to maintain your lopp-sided position.

  10. Michael says:

    “anyone COMMITS a crime,” not “anyone COMMIT a crime.”

    “SERVICEMEN,” not “SERVICEMANS.”

    “Ordinary PEOPLE,” not “Ordinary PEOPLES.”

    “THOSE,” not THOES.”

    “LOPSIDED,” not “LOPPSIDED.”

    If you’re going to talk down to us, at least spell it right.

  11. Rosie Lowe says:

    I agree. The officers who beat the hell out of Rodney King should have been sent to prison. However, let’s talk about Davis. He is the #1 suspect in the murder of Joel Pugh. He participated in killing Donald Shea. He enjoyed the life he lived with Manson and the drugs, the sex and the women. He was not forced to stay. Oh and I firmly believe Davis killed John Haught also. He goes to prison and find religion like so many. Funny how religion is found behind bars.

  12. Fred Bloggs says:

    Rosie Lowe says:
    However, let’s talk about Davis. He is the #1 suspect in the murder of Joel Pugh

    Er, by who ? Joel Pugh killed himself. It happened in London and Davis wasn’t even in the country at that time. Your command of the facts is simultaneously shocking and non-existent.

    Oh and I firmly believe Davis killed John Haught also

    And so….? If your beliefs are anything like your knowledge of the facts, I think we can safely acquit Bruce of this one……

    Funny how religion is found behind bars

    It’s not funny. It’s logical. Sometimes, when a person is at their lowest ebb, they are in a better position to realize their need of God. Like Jesus pointed out, “it’s not those that are well that need a doctor, but those that are sick.” You don’t generally think of going to the doctor when you’re OK unless you’re a hypocondriac !
    And on the matter of religion behind bars, think of ISIS, Al Queda and Islamic terrorism that is utterly driven by religious thought and conviction, long before any atrocities are committed.
    Then think again about what you’ve said here.

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