• Van Houten Requests Resentencing

Leslie Van Houten has requested to be resentenced.

In June, Governor Jerry Brown signed an assembly bill which amended the penal code to allow the Board of Parole Hearings and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the ability to make recommendations for resentencing, provided the new sentence is no greater than the original.

On Wednesday, Van Houten’s attorney, Richard Pfeiffer filed a motion with the Board of Parole Hearings and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation requesting they recommend Van Houten’s sentence be recalled by the superior court.

Van Houten is still waiting on an appellate court ruling regarding Governor Brown’s reversal of her most recent parole recommendation. Last week, Pfeiffer filed a supplemental petition bringing to light a newly published opinion that he felt bolstered Van Houten’s argument that Brown’s reversal was not supported by the record.

Van Houten’s next parole hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, January 30, 2019

The reversal of Leslie Van Houten’s 2017 parole grant has been upheld by the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

A parole board found Van Houten suitable for parole in September, but the decision was reversed by Governor Jerry Brown, who reasoned that the heinousness of the murders outweighed Van Houten’s positive prison record. Brown also accused Van Houten of downplaying her role in the murders, saying she attempted to shift blame to Charles Manson.

In January, Van Houten’s attorney, Richard Pfeiffer filed a writ of Habeas Corpus challenging Brown’s reversal, arguing the decision relied on isolated negative factors to support the conclusion that Leslie Van Houten posed an unreasonable risk if released.

In a ruling today, Judge William C. Ryan stated there was some evidence supporting Governor Brown’s decision.

“The Governor met all due process requirements, and considered all relevant statutory factors tending to show suitability, including positive psychological reports,” wrote Ryan. “This court is not entitled to reweigh the evidence before the Governor; rather it is tasked with determining whether the record contains some evidence in support of the Governor’s decision. This court finds that it does, and that there is a rational nexus between the evidence in the record and the Governor’s determination of [Van Houten’s] current dangerousness.”

This evening, Pfeiffer sought relief from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, filing 48-page writ challenging Ryan’s ruling.

Van Houten, was sentenced to death in 1971 for her part in the August 10, 1969 murder deaths of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. The following year, Van Houten saw her sentence commuted to life after the California supreme court outlawed the death penalty, stating it was unconstitutional. In 1976, an appeals court ruled Van Houten was denied a fair trial because her attorney, Ronald Hughes, disappeared while the trial was in progress.

Van Houten was retried in 1977, resulting in a hung jury. She was retried the following year and again convicted, this time sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Because of time served on her original sentence, Van Houten was already eligible for parole when she returned to prison in August of 1978.

Since then, she has been denied parole 19 times. She has been recommended for parole in her last two consecutive parole hearings. Both decisions have been reversed by Governor Brown.

Her next parole hearing is tentatively scheduled for March 2019.

May. 22 – Governor Jerry Brown relied on isolated negative factors to support his conclusion that Leslie Van Houten posed an unreasonable risk if released on parole, according to a court filing made by her attorneys in response to one made by the state’s Attorney General’s office three weeks ago.

On May 3, Deputy Attorney General Jill Vander Borght defended Brown, asserting his decision relied on both the murders and Van Houten’s minimization of her role in them. Vander Borght argued that Brown had broad discretion while considering parole suitability and that the record supported his position.

In response, Van Houten’s attorneys, Richard Pfeiffer and Nancy Tetreault, filed a 39-page traverse, arguing dissonance between the record and Brown’s conclusions.

“Under the law, the standard for parole suitability must be the same for Leslie Van Houten as it is for all other inmates in California,” wrote Tetreault. “She cannot be denied parole because she is tainted by the stigma of Charles Manson. [She] must be viewed for her own conduct involving the commitment offenses, and not judged by the conduct of Manson.”

BEAUSOLEIL PAROLE HEARING ADVANCED ONE YEAR

May 19 – Bobby Beausoleil’s parole hearing, tentatively scheduled for October of 2019, has moved up to January. Beausoleil last appeared before the California Board of Parole Hearings on October 13, 2016 and was denied parole for three years.

Beausoleil petitioned to have his hearing date moved up. In April, the board approved the request and a hearing has now been scheduled for Thursday, January 3, 2019.

Beausoleil, now 70, has been incarcerated since June 23, 1970, serving a term of 7-years-to-life, for the 1969 murder of musician Gary Hinman. He was tried twice, the first resulting in hung jury and the second, a conviction. He was sentenced to death on April 15, 1970, but saw that sentence commuted to life when the death penalty was briefly outlawed.

He has been found unsuitable for parole 18 times since becoming eligible in 1976.

DAVIS PAROLE HEARING POSTPONED ONE YEAR

May 15 – Bruce Davis’ parole hearing, scheduled for August 1, has been postponed. On May 2, Davis voluntarily waived his right to a hearing for one year, according to the California Department of Corrections.

According to his attorney, Michael Beckman, Davis will undergo hip replacement surgery and elected to postpone the hearing because he was uncertain when it would happen or how long the recovery time would be.

Davis, 75, is serving a life term at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo for his role in the 1969 murders of Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea. He has previously been found suitable for parole in the past five consecutive hearings, but has seen all of those recommendations reversed by the governor during the executive review process.

His next hearing has tentatively been scheduled for August 2019.