Leslie Van Houten

Leslie Van Houten

Crime and punishment day. I was arguing yesterday with folks who believe in summary justice (unless it is a White guy killing a Black kid, in which case, since Black kids are a priori "thugs," the rules change), that is: arrest today, convict tomorrow, execute the day after. 

Once upon a time most of us embraced the quaint notion that rehabilitation was a possibility. Now we chortle over prison rape and shrug when new Alcatrazes, worse than the old, are built apace. Consider Leslie Van Houten.

If you are asking yourself "who is Leslie Van Houten" I will guess that you are under age 45?  Forty-four years ago Leslie was part of the infamous Manson Family, up to her eyeballs in some of the most gruesome murders of the era.  Originally sentenced to death, that was overturned on appeal, and she is doing life.  She has been eligible for parole for years, and was just rejected for the twentieth time. She won't be eligible again for five more years.

Most of the Manson Family, from Charles Manson on down, were and are demented and unrepentant. Van Houten early on set herself apart.  At the time of the murders she was a severely drug addled teenager under the sway of a charismatic cult leader.  Don't take my word for it: to convict Charlie, Vincent Bugliosi had to persuade a jury of it, as detailed in his excellent account of the case, Helter Skelter.  Once removed from his sway, and no longer under the influence of psychotropic drugs, Van Houten was horrified by what she had done.  John Waters (the film director) has had a long correspondence with Van Houten, and you may find in his writings details of her life post-Manson.

If we believe in Rehabilitation, Van Houten should have been out a quarter of a century ago.  Once upon a time she would have been released.  Check out the names Caril Ann  Fugate or Nathan Leopold for examples of notorious killers who were paroled. 

One argument used these days is that we must cater to the feelings of the victim's families.  Must we? Without limits? A blank check? I think not.  As time passes the emotional wounds will or will not heal, whether or not the killers remain in prison.  It is up to society to decide what the punishment ought to be, and the families may or may not accept it, but that will always be true, regardless of sentence.  The truth is that these days we exploit the families' grief for our own bloodlust. 

Most of the Manson Family will die behind bars, and should. Van Houten should be freed, not only for her sake, but for ours.