Prison boss opposes release of ailing ex-Manson follower

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- California's director of adult prisons is recommending against "compassionate release" for a terminally ill former Manson family member, a spokeswoman said.

Suzan Hubbard, director of the Division of Adult Institutions, decides that Susan Atkins' request should not be sent to the sentencing court for consideration, said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Her recommendation is advisory and will not necessarily prevent Atkins' release.

The court -- not the department or the state Board of Parole Hearings -- has the final say on whether Atkins should be released, Thornton said. "They're the only ones legally who can recall the sentence," she added.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/20/manson.atkins/index.html

---

Susan Atkins, Califorina's longest-serving female inmate, is shown in her most recent mug shot.

[tularetom]

1. Nah don't let her out

Release all the people who are in prison because they were caught with an ounce of weed and shouldn't be in there in the first place.

There's a lot of people in prison who should be released. Manson family members aren't among them.

[Raven]

2. Yup, I'm sorry for her troubles but she should stay in. I suspect she'll

get better care than many of us. Life in prison is life, after all, and this is a part of it.

[High Plains]

3. Better health care in prison?!? Are you out of your mind?

California's prison health care system is a scandal.

[AllHereTruth]

6. Please rethink that statement "High Plains"

Please rethink that statement "High Plains"

I don't have health care.
My girlfriend does not have health care.
Many of my friends don't have health care.

This "Manson Family Member" will be treated for her illness in prison.

And no, I'm not out of my mind

[closeupready]

9. I do not feel sorry for her at all, and leave her in there.

The Tate family and the family of others she harmed deserve at least that.

[Javaman]

4. She still has that crazy in the eye look to her. nt

[chatnoir]

8. I was about to write the same exact thing

Still that crazy look in her eyes. Manson the same.

[orleans]

5. no no no. she doesn't get a "get out of jail free" card just because

she's sick.

she's fucking wicked. she was guilty of the massacre. she's sick? too bad. stay there.

[cobalt1999]

7. Also why I support the death penalty

If a Manson family murderer gets out because she is sick, that reinforces my opinion that the "lock em up and throw away the key" argument is bogus.

[truebrit71]

10. Good. She should get the same compassion her victims got. NONE.

...

[Wizard777]

11. Well I don't think a 60 year old woman with one leg and brain cancer poses much of a threat.

But her crime was totally devoid of all compassion. If you cannot have compassion for a pregnant woman. Then who can you have compassion for? Better yet, why should anyone have compassion for you? Let her die in prison secure in the knowledge that the word "pig" will not be written across her cell door in her own blood. I can have that much compassion for her.

[MichiganVote]

12. I'm so sick of the Manson bunch claiming they are the victims.

There is no good reason why any of them should not serve the sentence they were given. For good.

[applegrove]

13. She's a mass murderer. She should never get out.

[jaysunb]

14. I'm surprised by the response's from supposed liberals &

progressives......

[Bush_MUST_Go]

15. Her crimes were too heinous to entitle her to compassion.

[cobalt1999]

18. Why are you surprised?

Or do you really buy the GOP lie that all liberals want to empty the prisons because we are too "soft hearted" and care more about criminals than the victims? That's B.S.

Liberals and Progressives appreciate the concept of justice. That means someone caught with some marijuana shouldn't do 20 years, and someone who brutally kills a group of people doesn't get out if they are sick.

[Mz Pip]

19. Good grief!

Where do you get the idea that liberals and progressives should be soft on crime as part of the liberal/progressive brand? This woman stabbed a 9 month pregnant woman to death. Why on earth should anyone want to see her released?

Most liberals/progressives are opposed to the death penalty but don't have a problem with life in prison. This is what she's getting - life in prison. She doesn't get a get out of jail free card because she's sick and she won't be the first murderer who dies in prison.

I hope you are not implying that we should let her out because our progressive values allow her to feel sorry for her. I do feel sorry for her as I do for anyone who ruins their life with horrible choices. But let her out? No way.

[1Hippiechick]

16. Oh, Lord, This again? She got to stay alive which is more than her victims did!

[Jack_DeLeon]

17. Good, she deserves to be in there...

infact she deserved worse.

[davsand]

20. Where was her concern about "compassion" when she killed all those people?

You have to remember, Atkins was convicted of more than just the Tate killings. Not only did she participate in the killing of Tate (who was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time) but she was also convicted of killing another person in a completely different incident.

Atkins showed zero mercy or compassion when she killed those people but NOW we are supposed to show her some mercy because she is reported to be terminally ill? Seems to me there is a very real disconnect STILL (after all these years) with the gravity and brutality of what she did.

YMMV, but I think this woman needs to stay locked away.


Laura