• Debra Tate Pens Los Angeles Times Op-Ed

Jan. 4 – Debra Tate has penned an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times in which she discusses the most recent parole hearing of Patricia Krenwinkel.

Last Thursday, the California Board of Parole Hearings issued a continuance on the parole suitability hearing for Patricia Krenwinkel, because it was suggested that Krenwinkel was a victim of “intimate partner abuse.” According to Vicky Waters, Press Secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Board of Parole hearings will conduct an investigation into the allegations, and then resume the hearing at a later date.

“I couldn’t believe it when Lam asked if Krenwinkel qualified as a battered woman,” wrote Tate. “Nor could the other family members in the hearing room.”

“Patricia Krenwinkel has been diagnosed as a sociopath more than once. In the controlled environment of prison, she has done well. But she is still a dangerous woman. Krenwinkel — and all the members of the Manson family — should never be granted parole.”

Jan. 3 – Charles Manson was rushed from Corcoran State Prison to a emergency room of a Bakersfield hospital to treat gastrointestinal issues, according to a report from TMZ earlier today.

An unnamed source, told the Los Angeles Times, that Manson’s condition was serious.

Manson’s health has been the topic for much speculation for years, but prison officials said that medical privacy laws prevented them from confirming the report.

KRENWINKEL HEARING POSTPONED FOR INVESTIGATION

Dec. 29 – After listening to testimony in a daylong hearing, the Board of Parole Hearings has issued a continuance on the parole suitability hearing for Patricia Krenwinkel, because information discussed at the hearing was cause for an investigation. According to Vicky Waters, Press Secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, once the investigation is concluded, a continuance of the hearing will be scheduled.

Krenwinkel, now 69, 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.

Krenwinkel, who was last denied parole for seven years in 2011, successfully petitioned to have her hearing date advanced earlier this year.

Dec. 2 – An inmate at Mule Creek Prison stabbed Charles “Tex” Watson in the back and then attempted to throw him over a second story tier. Watson spoke of the attack, which occurred on the morning of February 16, 2013, at his parole hearing last month.

According to Watson, he was washing his clothes in a sink on the second tier when an unidentified inmate started hovering around him with a rolled up magazine in his hand. The inmate asked Watson if he knew anything about Kabala, and Watson replied that he didn’t. As Watson walked away, the inmate began stabbing Watson in the back with a sharpened paint brush.

Watson told the Board of Parole Hearings that he didn’t think the inmate could hurt him because of the man’s small stature. According to Watson, he initially thought the man was punching him and was unaware that he was being stabbed.

The inmate then began trying to lift Watson and push him over the tier but Watson was able to hang onto the railing until staff intervened.

According to Terry Thornton, Deputy Press Secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, both Watson and the attacker complied with staff’s orders to lie down. Thornton was unable to disclose the attacker’s name.

According to Watson, the inmate was formerly in the Enhanced Outpatient Program, which is a program for inmates who have difficulty adjusting in the prison’s general population, but are not disabled enough to require inpatient care.

Nov. 8 – The California Supreme Court has requested the Attorney General provide evidence that Leslie Van Houten is currently an unreasonable risk for parole.

In April, the California Board of Parole Hearings, noting decades of favorable psychological evaluations and an exemplary prison record, recommended the 66 year-old Van Houten for release.

“After these 46 years, we looked for even a singular issue to demonstrate an indicia of evidence that creates a nexus to current dangerousness,” Commissioner Ali Zarrinnam told Van Houten in April. “There just isn’t one anymore.”

The decision outraged many and led to a campaign that culminated in victims’ family members hand delivering Governor Jerry Brown, upwards of a hundred thousand signatures from people opposing Van Houten’s release.

In July, Brown weighed in and reversed the decision, stating, “I have considered the evidence in the record that is relevant to whether Van Houten is currently dangerous. When considered as a whole, I find the evidence shows that she currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.”

In response, Leslie Van Houten’s attorney, Richard Pfeiffer, filed a writ of Habeas Corpus in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The fifty page writ outlined a history of inconsistent positions made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; claimed the office withheld exculpatory evidence in denying access to the Tex Watson tapes; and challenged that the Governor’s decision to reverse Van Houten’s parole was not supported by the record. According to Pfeiffer, “The real reason for the Governor’s reversal is the name Manson.”

In October, Superior Court Judge William Ryan denied Pfeiffer’s writ, stating that there was “some evidence” to support Brown’s decision because of Van Houten’s lack of insight. Pfeiffer promptly filed another writ in the Appellate Court where it was also denied.

The issue is now before the state Supreme Court, who informed the Attorney General that the “petitioner has established a prima facie case for relief, such that this court should grant the petition for review, and transfer the matter to the Court of Appeal with instructions to issue an order to show cause.”

The Attorney General will have until November 23 to file an answer and the court will make a ruling on or before December 30.