Leslie Van Houten's Parole. My opinion...

I’ve watched the KABC video (on the thread below) 3 times. I also watched it (a 4th time) on Brian’s radio show this evening.

The entire KABC broadcast, can be summed-up with the following exchange:

Jillian (the interviewer) said:
“What Leslie did was take a life, and when she did that, she forfeited her own freedom. Period. The end. That‘s it.”

Attorney Rich Pfeiffer responded: 
“That’s not the law in this country. She was sentenced to life, with the possibility of parole. You don’t want to follow the law. And if the law isn’t followed, and the government becomes lawless… what kind of country are we?”

That’s the cruxt of this situation.

Here’s my thoughts:

No murderer will ever truly “deserve” parole, based upon the gravity of  their crime(s). 

You can never pay back a life. That’s common sense.

As Vincent Bugliosi once explained… parole for murderers is ALWAYS based upon some degree of pardon.

From that standpoint, Leslie (and no murderer, for that matter) will ever truly “earn” or “deserve” parole. 

That’s understood.

The real question becomes:
Does Leslie “deserve” parole based upon her sentence?

The first thing we need to clarify, is WHAT EXACTLY does the phrase “with the possibility of parole” mean?

I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t tell you the answer to that key question, based upon law.

As a layperson however , it seems to me, that “the possibility of parole” means this:
If the prisoner is “good enough” for “long enough”, they will be released (i.e., “pardoned”) before their death.

But regardless of my opinion, here’s the point:
There HAS to be SOMETHING that differentiates “Life WITH the possibility of parole”, from “Life WITHOUT the possibility of parole”, other than empty rhetoric.

Think about this:
If we intend to keep Leslie incarcerated FOREVER (based upon the gravity of her crimes alone), REGARDLESS of her good behavior, and REGARDLESS of her achievements… then, haven’t we (for all intents and purposes) changed her sentence to “Life WITHOUT the possibility of parole”?? 

I mean, if we honestly believe that Leslie should NEVER be released, under ANY circumstances (like Jillian), then where is her “opportunity for parole”? 

I understand, that by law, we can keep Leslie incarcerated forever. I fully understand that. BUT, is that REALLY in keeping with the INTENT of her sentence?

If you believe like many folks, that Leslie should NEVER be released under ANY circumstances, then quite frankly, I don’t believe you’re upholding the true intent of her sentence.

I’m not a Leslie supporter... FAR from it. I'd love to see her die in prison. But, sometimes in life, you have to live with your mistakes. The idiots in California, granted Leslie “the opportunity of parole”… and now, we’re stuck with upholding it.

This is my conscience:

Does Leslie deserve release based upon her crimes? Hell No!

Does Leslie deserve release based upon her sentence (and the “pardon” it implies)? Probably, yes.

It pains me to say that… but, it’s true. 

The fact is, there’s absolutely nothing more that Leslie can possibly do (to earn her release), other than spend more time in jail.

Are we REALLY offering Leslie “the possibility of parole”? Really? 
You’ll have to answer that question with your own conscience.

Peace!

Board recommends parole for Leslie Van Houten; victim's daughter outraged

Cory LaBianca, who was 21 years old when her father and stepmother were slain, told The LA Times that she strongly disagreed with the parole board's decision. "Maybe Leslie Van Houten has been a model prisoner," Cory LaBianca said. "But you know what, we still suffer our loss. My father will never be paroled. My stepmother will never get her life back. There’s no way I can agree with the ruling today. I don’t seek revenge. I just think it's just for someone to do that to stay in prison."

I disagree with the idea that she hesitantly stabbed a 'very likely dead' woman in the back so, after all this time, let her go.

Before she supposedly 'hesitantly stabbed'...Leslie Van Houten put a pillowcase over Rosemary LaBianca's head and secured it with a cord around Rosemary's neck ...the electrical cord to a heavy lamp....with her desperate victim trying to swing that lamp back at her.... And let's say she really was dead, or as Lvh has said "I felt she was" ....who stabs a dead woman sixteen times? Is that not desecration...? Desecration of the remains of a woman you anchored in place with a pillow case over her head, fought with, and then called in a mad man to hack up, ensuring her death? So...she's been in for forty some years it's time to let her go? What about Leno?..she knew he was there, knew he was being killed. She walked right past him. Alive and dead. She placed no value on the lives of Rosemary and Leno, no horror at the terror Rosemary endured on hearing her husband being butchered in the living room. And those sixteen stab wounds to "the lower back" ...the more she did it, the easier it got....according to Leslie herself.

Leslie Van Houten entered a private home knowing full well they were there to kill. She knew her companions had slaughtered people the night before, and wanted to go this time...wanted to prove herself, and when asked "why?" several parole hearings back, her own recollection was "because I thought it needed to be done." And after she entered the house, she helped herself to knives in the kitchen.

And when the slaughter was done, she stepped over the dead woman, went thru her closet for clothes, carefully wiped down fingerprints, took a little snack from the kitchen, played with the dog, hung out in the bushes, flirted with a stranger who gave her lift etc etc

The door hasn't been opened yet. I remember a few parole hearings back,...the board seemingly sympathetic to her situation, and then the facts of the home invasion and vicious slaughter of two people came out in all its monstrous detail, and they were absolutely horrified.

The door that appeared to be opening was slammed shut real fast. And for many years afterward...because of the vicious "callous disregard" for human life. People argued back and forth that the only real criteria for denial was whether she was still a danger. Not true.

She looks terrible, and obviously has had her teeth replaced with poorly fitting dentures. If the dentures were a proper fit, maybe she wouldn't look so pathetic and decrepit. But whatever, she's getting dental treatment, as she should.

Whether Leslie Van houten's parole recommendation is upheld or not, my heart aches for Leno's sweet daughter, Corey. She speaks as a loving daughter to her father, and, always, with very warm regard for her stepmother, Rosemary. They suffered unspeakably...and not from hesitant acts of a timid little hippie girl, but deliberate acts of a nineteen year old adult woman intent on proving herself capable of murder. 

~ Marliese