Manson Follower Loses Parole Bid
Thursday, December 5th, 1985
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Dec. 5 — Robert Beausoleil, a onetime follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, lost a bid for freedom Wednesday as a parole board panel cited the “heinous, callous manner” of his crime.
The motivation for Beausoleil’s murder of musician Gary Hinman in 1969 was incomprehensible, the panel said.
While the panel commended Beausoleil for his work in a vocational upgrading program inside prison, it noted that he was cited for misconduct Oct. 23 “for operating a business without approval of the institutional staff.” The business, the parole board said, was pornography.
Beausoleil admitted publishing sexually explicit material involving adults and children through a firm called Beausoleil Enterprises operated by him and his wife, the panel said.
The panel, which said it would review Beausoleil’s parole suitability again in a year, issued a decision which cited the nature of the murder as the key reason for denying parole.
Hinman’s murder was recounted during the trial of Charles Manson and three women followers who were convicted in the notorious Tate-LaBianca killings. The Manson women contended that the slayings of actress Sharon Tate and six others were “copycat killings” committed after Beausoleil was arrested.
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