We are wisely cautioned to never forget the Holocaust, Perl Harbor, 9-11 or the terror of the lynchings and church bombings of the Jim Crow era in the southern United States. Two most recent events also suggest we should never forget what is arguably the most heinous, disgusting, and horrifying crimes ever committed on American soil.
The 2019 movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is exceptional. Its central theme is about a once, very successful Hollywood actor struggling to find meaningful work in a Hollywood that he doesn't recognize anymore. A subplot centers around the Charles Manson cult murder of Sharon Tate. It is handled in a very tactful and, to my amazement, a very entertaining fashion. I never imagined that such a gut-wrenching event would ever be acceptable to either the Hollywood community or a filmgoing audience. One is left with the impression 50 years later that either the sting of that carnage has subsided or, there just aren’t very many of us left who lived through the unspeakable horror.
Now the news has reached us that California Governor Gavin Newsom has reversed a parole board’s 2025 decision to release Patricia Krenwinkel. Krenwinkel was one of the Charles Manson cult members who was directly involved in the slaughter of Sharon Tate (eight-and-a-half months pregnant) along with four others at the Tate home and was also present at the butchery of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca.
This is what resonates some fifty-six years.
We must never lose sight and clearly understand that our judicial system’s main objective is to keep us safe. We know that we can never be certain what anyone is truly thinking and feeling or what they may do. Therefore, giving any of the Manson family members a second chance at living freely in our society is an unacceptable and grave risk.
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, another unhinged member of the Manson cult, was NOT present at the Tate-LaBianca Murders. Yet, in 1975 she tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford. After receiving a life sentence, Fromme, believe it or not, was paroled in 2008. Refusing parole should never be vindictive, hateful, or vengeful but rather necessary. The paralyzing horror perpetrated by Charles Manson’s astonishing hatreds and his mentally deranged cult members could very easily happen again. Today we live in a society racked with what is now acceptable hatreds and a society particularly callous to violence and senseless death.
The bone chilling “Helter Skelter” should be required reading and study for all Americans. For the events of August 8 and 9 of 1969 needs to also be placed in that category of we must “Never Forget.”
Who and Where Are They Today
August 9, 1969 - Watson, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten – butchered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca
August 9, 1969 – Manson sent Steve “Clem” Grogan, Atkins, and Kasabian to kill actor Saladin Nader. Kasabian thwarted the attempt
Kasabian went on both the murder raids but did not take part in the killings
Linda Kasabian - Testified against Manson and his followers – Immunity - Died 2023
Charles Milles Manson (né Maddox) – Died In Prison 2017
Charles “Tex” Watson – Guilty of 8 counts of Murder - Denied Parole 18 times
Patricia Krenwinkel - Murdered Abigail Folger – Aided in Tate Murder - Gov. Gavin Newson Reversed her 15th and finally approved parole request in 2025
Susan Atkins - Murdered Sharon Tate – Died In prison in 2009
Bobby Beausoleil - Murdered Gary Hinman – Denied Parole 18 Times
Bruce Davis-Aided Murders of Hinman & Donald “Shorty” Shea-Denied Parole 7 Times
Mary Theresa Brunner - Present during Gary Hinman murder - Paroled 1977
Leslie Van Houten - Murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca – Paroled 2023
Steven “Clem” Grogan - Murdered Donald Shea – Death Sentence Commuted - Was aided by Manson, Watson, and Davis in murdering Donald “Shorty” Shea - After revealing the location of Shea’s remains Grogan was Paroled in 1985.
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme – NOT Present at Tate-LaBianca Murders - 1975 Attempted to kill President Gerald Ford - Escaped from a West Virginia Prison - Captured and imprisoned for several more years – Paroled 2008
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