Re: Susan Atkins near death with brain cancer, seeks release from prison
(Premier Login spindaddydad) Forum Owner Posted Jun 13, 2008 8:43 PM
Looks like a serious injustice is about to take place. Apparently the State of California is about to release Susan Atkins on what it calls a "compassionate release" as she has only months to live. Too bad her victims couldn't have been given a compassionate way to die. I guess the only good thing that can come from this is that the expenses of her sickness and death must be taken care of by her family rather than by tax payers.
Here's the article:
CORONA, Calif. - Former Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, convicted in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, could soon be released from prison because she is near death, authorities said.
Atkins, 59, is terminally ill and being considered for so-called "compassionate release," state corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. She gave no details of Atkins' illness, but said a doctor had determined she had less than six months to live.
The corrections department was reviewing the request, which if approved would then be passed to the state Board of Parole which has the power to release Atkins under state law so they can die with loved ones, at their expense.
Such releases are relatively rare — only 10 of the 60 requests made last year were granted, Thornton said. The prisoners must have family members willing and able to care for them.
Atkins' husband has acted as her attorney over the years and would be her caretaker if she is released.
Atkins was one of cult leader Manson's ersatz hippie "family" of young killers who burst into a Los Angeles home 39 years ago and killed Tate, the pregnant wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, along with four others. The following night they stabbed to death a wealthy couple in their Los Angeles home.
Atkins has been denied parole 11 times, most recently in 2005.
She was housed in the California Institution for Women in Frontera for 37 years, but has been in a nearby hospital since March.