"Manson Family" member denied parole for 10th time

"Manson Family" member denied parole for 10th time
REUTERS

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 29: Former "Manson Family" member Susan Atkins has been denied parole for the 10th time for the murders 31 years ago of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others, a spokeswoman for the parole board said on Friday.

Atkins, 52, is serving a life sentence at the CaliforniaInstitute for Women in Frontera for the bloody rampage by Charles Manson and his followers -- who stabbed to death Tate, three of her houseguests and three other people over two nights in 1969.

Denise Schmidt, a spokeswoman for the Board of Prison Termsin Sacramento, said the board on Thursday denied any possible parole for at least four years in part because Atkins had refused to undergo a psychological evaluation.

"She needed a current psychological evaluation and she hadrefused to participate in it," Schmidt said. "They recommended she participate in that and that she take advantage of any therapy and self-help programs that were available."

Schmidt said that at the hearing Atkins told the board thatshe had done everything it had asked her to do and said she deserved parole.

Atkins and other members of the cult were convicted ofkilling Tate, the wife of film director Roman Polanski, as well as the six others in a grisly crime spree that horrified the nation and produced one of the most sensational murder trials of the century. Manson remains in Corcoran State Prison in northern California.

Debra Tate, sister of Sharon Tate, read a letter at thehearing from her father, who urged the board to deny Atkins parole due to the horrific nature of the crime. She broke down crying while reading the letter.

The father's letter said: "I don'T believe there is anyoneat the hearing who saw Sharon's house, the crime scene, as I did -- the way Miss Atkins Left it. I saw everything that has been described today and personally what she did to my child. ... If Susan Atkins is released to be rejoined with her family where will our Justice be?"