Governor blocks parole for Manson family member Bruce Davis

[alp227]

Source: LA Times

Saying he still poses a threat to society, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday blocked parole for Manson family member Bruce Davis.

“Until Davis can acknowledge and explain why he actively championed the Family’s interests, and shed more light on the nature of his involvement, I am not prepared to release him,” the governor wrote in his decision.

Davis, 26 at the time of the killings, was convicted and imprisoned in 1972 for his role in the murders of two men, ranch hand Donald “Shorty” Shea, who also worked as a Hollywood stuntman, and aspiring musician Gary Hinman.

Details of Shea’s killing have always remained murky, muddied more by Davis’ recent account that the ranch hand was taken to a different location and killed not the night that prosecutors claimed, but the following morning. Another Manson family member, Steve “Clem” Grogan, allegedly cut off Shea’s head. Grogan, the only Manson family member convicted of murder to be set free, won parole in 1985 by leading law enforcement to Shea’s body. California corrections officials said he has since had no criminal offenses in this state.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-ff-manson-family-parole-20130301,0,2553587.story

[valerief]

1. Good for Brown! nt

[Tom Ripley]

9. Despite the mythology, Bruce Davis, not Tex Watson, was Manson's "right-hand man"

If he were almost any other convict in the California penal system, Brown would have likely approved the parole board's recommendation.
However, that "Manson brand" is indelible.

[marble falls]

2. Whether any of the Manson Family should be released or not, no governor will want to be the governor

who released any of the Mansons. Frankly I think its time to release the whole lot, Charlie included.

[jb5150]

3. Release the whole lot ....?

I have to respectively disagree.

[marble falls]

5. After forty years in prison what possible interest of society is being served by keeping ...

this geriatric group behind bars? Let alone the fact that if you or I were murdered by these people they'd have been out already. What is so inherently valuable about Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger and the rest of the victims that makes the punishment of their murderers tougher than your or my murderer would get? Forty years is more than enough. I respectfully submit.

[Raine]

11. Geriatiric or not, the family still attracts followers that weren't even

born when the murders happened. When they can attract followers while in prison I can only imagine how many they would attract on the outside.

[marble falls]

13. And this horde is only being held back because we are keeping their 70 year old leaders on ice? ....

I really think you attribute more power to the Manson family than they warrant.

[BuelahWitch]

15. Oh, I don't know, maybe because they were mass murderers?

And the way they killed their victims.
Maybe you can hate these people because they were rich. They didn't deserve this.

http://www.freewebs.com/mansonmurders/themurdersverygraphic.htm

[marble falls]

17. Hate???? You hate the Manson family and you have no proximity to them. Please. Do you really ....

fear for public safety if these geezers who've spent more than forty years in prison are released??????

[BuelahWitch]

18. Have fun under your bridge

Buh bye!

[marble falls]

21. An insult. Shame on you. Stong stuff from someone who id's as a "witch".

[leftynyc]

23. They deserve to die in jail

They deserve to never smell free again again. It's that simple.

[marble falls]

24. Not at all progressive. Are you sure you're a "lefty"? What makes this murder so much worse than ...

any other murder?

[Katashi_itto]

25. Let them rot. There's being progressive. Then there's simply being stupid.

[marble falls]

29. So the choice here is think like you do or be stupid. Reduced to insult. Shame on you.

[leftynyc]

28. What makes you think

I don't think any murderer deserves to die behind bars? Nothing particularly special about these. I don't support the death penalty but I do support lifetime sentences. And what the hell makes you the decider of who and who is not a lefty? Just who the fuck are you?

[marble falls]

30. No argument and reduced to obscenity, just because I don't agree with you. Shame on you.

[leftynyc]

39. No argument?

Are you learning impaired as well as judge and jury over who is a progressive? Laughable.

[marble falls]

40. No argument AND abusive. What danger to society does Manson present at 70+ years old and on the...

outside? Whats the matter, you can't answer a straight question?

[leftynyc]

42. What age does one have to reach

before they can no longer handle a gun? He deserves to be punished for the rest of his life - does not deserve to spend one free day - is that really so hard for you to understand? I guess I could use smaller words.

[marble falls]

43. What specific danger does Charlie Manson present to society. If the ability to hold a gun is it,....

its the same danger any criminal presents, and any free citizen, too. Let alone that California never claimed that Charlie personally shot or stabbed or killed anyone. Still insulting and all because you don't agree with me. Shame on you.

[leftynyc]

44. LOL

No - you're the one who thinks that fact I don't think this slug of a human deserves to breath free air makes me something less than a progressive. So save your martyr routine for someone else.

[marble falls]

45. Just because you personally think Manson is less than human (he is human, by the way)..

he needs to stay in prison as long as you like. That's not the law, that's not justice, that's vigilantism. In that the murders were the only criminal enterprise - no robbery or payment to commit murder compared to the punishments given to murder for hire or in commission of another crime, the Manson family has been incarcerated way too long. If the victims were you and me, they'd have been released a decade or more ago. Plus California has said repeatedly that the Manson family have been well behaved in prison. They've served plenty of time and have made no indications that they would recidivate and have behaved well in prison. Other than your personal animus towards Charlie Manson, why should they remain in prison?

[slackmaster]

46. The state of California has very specific requirements for an inmate to be considered for parole

Charles Manson has not met them. In fact, he has committed numerous criminal violations of the California Code of Regulations including illegal possession of prisoner-manufactured weapons and a cell phone.

Because of his behavior while incarcerated, because of multiple violations of Marsy's Law a.k.a. Proposition 9 or the Victims' Bill of Rights, he won't even be eligible for another parole hearing until the year 2027.

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/marsys_law.html

It's all spelled out in the transcript of his 2012 parole hearing, which Manson did not attend. However, it was noted that he had recently told a prison psychologist "I am a very dangerous man."

http://www.cielodrive.com/charles-manson-parole-hearing-2012.php

http://abcnews.go.com/US/charles-manson-denied-parole-dangerous-man/story?id=16111128

[marble falls]

47. And the others?

Charles "Tex" Watson, 63, serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison at Ione. He became a born-again Christian and ordained minister in prison. He is also married and has three children.

Bruce Davis, 66, serving a life term at California Men's Colony at San Luis Obispo. He became a born-again Christian and married while in prison. He has a teenage daughter. He works in the Protestant prison chapel as an assistant pastor. A former member of Charles Manson‘s killer cult was granted parole Thursday after 40 years in prison for murder — after having been turned down 27 times before.

Bruce Davis, who was convicted with the Helter Skelter leader and another man for two murders unrelated to the notorious Sharon Tate massacre in 1969, was told the good news on the eve of his 70th birthday by the parole board at the California Men’s Colony at San Luis Obispo.

“It’s time for him to go home,” said Davis’ attorney, Michael Beckman, who has been fighting for years to get his client released, reported ABCNews.com.

Susan Atkins, 61, lost her last chance at parole in September 2009 and died at the age of 61 at the women's prison in Chowchilla. She had been suffering from brain cancer.

Patricia Krenwinkel, 61, serving life terms at the California Institution for Women at Frontera. Death sentence commuted to life.

Leslie Van Houten, 59,serving life terms at the California Institution for Women at Frontera. Death sentences commuted to life.

So Charlie stays. Send the rest of them home.

[slackmaster]

48. Ask Gov. Brown to explain his decision. The parole board recommended parole for Bruce Davis.

The Governor has that power.

ETA it's easy to get into the penal system in the state, much harder to get out. I remember the terror that the community felt when we heard the news of the crimes of the Manson Family. I have little sympathy for them. They made poor decisions, one of which was to follow a madman.

[marble falls]

49. I edited the "and the others", Charlie may be at 75yrs old too far gone to release.

[octothorpe]

32. I think people who brutally murder anyone should be locked away for life

No chance of freedom EVER.

[treestar]

20. If that is so, then I would agree they should be released

But I'd want to see comparable cases first. If people who have committed murders in their 20s remain in jail in the 70s, then these should too, and vice versa. I kind of thought the one who died of cancer could have been released.

A poster below makes a good point about followers, too.

From what I've seen of Manson, he's insane, and if released, he'd still have to be institutionalized.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. I don't know

I'll never forgive the person who murdered my cousin 22 years ago. And no one should

I wonder - have you ever lost a close family member to a a clear cut act of violence? Not giving you a hard time - I'm just really fascinated by those who not only oppose the death penalty but ALSO oppose life sentences . . . I understand the death penalty.

But in a case like the Mansons - where due to high publicity everyone knows they did it AND they were guilty - why not just let live out their last days in prison? At this point - wouldn't it be cruel to let someone like Charles Manson go? He's probably incompetent at this point . . .

[marble falls]

31. I am sorry for your loss. Respecfully, your loss is why you don't get to be on the jury. Justice....

is about society not the individual. The question is whether a life sentence is or isn't cruel and unusual punishment, whether 20 years is enough may be debatable, but 40 years has to be. Particularly when the parole hearings were a joke and everyone knew up front that there was no political will to set these people loose. Some argue that life sentences are a form of death penalty for the weak of stomach towards execution and I think more and more each day that is so. I'd really like to know how society is served by keeping all of the Manson family in jail because Charley Manson is not a likable man, who forty years ago committed or to be caused to be committed murder.

[marble falls]

34. I believe that life sentence without parole is the moral equivelent of the death sentence...

its for those who have no stomach for execution. If the victims hadn't been prominent with powerful friends and press appeal, they'd all be released by now. This does not reflect equal justice under the law.

[JustAnotherGen]

37. That's what I'm trying to understand - thanks

I believe that life sentence without parole is the moral equivelent of the death sentence


And thanks for your condolences - but let me explain something. I'm black. My cousin was a black male. In this EXACT same world that Manson got life because people were rich and powerful - black males in 1991 and TODAY get ZERO justice when they are murdered.

I can't be lied to or given platitudes about that. Fact is - blacks in America? There is no justice for us - at all.
I look at the Tate family and I say - wow? Someone got justice. Who'da thunk it. <--- Unheard of unless you are an OJ simpson type to 'win' in the system.

So I take I guess - hmmmm - maybe an opposite approach on this. How can EVERYONE get their day in court when killed in cold blood? And I have no doubt - had Manson been a black man? It would have been curtains for him. But because he DID have the privilege of white skin - he got lucky with life.

So I think we both see GROSS injustice in our criminal :vomit: justice (if you can call it that) system - but we approach it in different ways - for different reasons.

It's not just about my cousin my friend. It's about Emmet and Trayvon. It's about Slavery by Any Other Name. Now, with a black President - black folks have not experienced such vicious broadcasted hatred in 40 year. Now is the time for the discussion. Now while they aren't being two-faced about WHO and WHAT they truly are.

And one of the key ways we've been kept on a 'plantation' has been the 'so-called' criminal justice system. And I want to thank you - because perhaps the Manson family can be used as an example. But it's got to change. Enough.

[marble falls]

38. I agree with you totally. I'll amend my statement, if Manson were black, they'd have tried harder to

execute him and he'd be in the same prison with Charlie Manson today. If the victims were black, the murderers would have been released in 10 years or less. I had deluded myself prior to the President's first election into thinking racism was on a downhill slide. I now know I was wrong. Blacks generally do not get the same justice as do whites.

Privatizing the prison "industry industry" was the first move to recreate a new slave system/state. When private industry has an interest in building more prisons and keeping them full - our local sheriff is paid a bonus by the company that build and runs Burnett County jail for keeping it as full as possible -that's a functioning slave market. Congress in the last year allowed private companies to contract out labor from jails and prisons. That's slavery. Its not coming, its here. Now.

And Trayvon has no justice and I am finally afraid Zimmerman's privledged family will get him off.

[leftynyc]

41. Manson was given the death penalty

by the jury. It was overturned by the CA supreme court:

In February 1972, the death sentences of all five parties were automatically reduced to life in prison by California v. Anderson, 493 P.2d 880, 6 Cal. 3d 628 (Cal. 1972), in which the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in that state.[2]:488–491 After his return to prison, Manson's rhetoric and hippie speeches were not accepted.[who?] Though he eventually found temporary acceptance from the Aryan Brotherhood, his role was submissive to a sexually aggressive member of the group, at San Quentin.[73]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson#Conviction_and_penalty_phase

[BuelahWitch]

4. Oh HELL NO!

They need to rot in prison for what they did. Every last one of them.

[marble falls]

6. "rot in prison", some sort of progressive penal terminology.

[BuelahWitch]

8. It's a great deal better than what their victims got

But go ahead, play your tiny violin for those poor mass murderers.

[marble falls]

12. No violins. Justice is about society. Revenge is about victims. Society does not get "revenge" ....

vigilantes get revenge.

[Evergreen Emerald]

19. Justice includes retribution

Public safety is only part of it: Punishment, deterrence, retribution, community safety.

The more heinous the crime, the more retribution required.

[marble falls]

22. No room for retribution if there's justice.

[snooper2]

14. yes, it was adopted in the fall session of 2011...

We send out the invites to participate but people don't show up so what ya gonna do?

[Dreamer Tatum]

36. Then please show us the research and case files

that indicate that any of these people are no danger to society.

Otherwise all your rhetoric is just mealy-mouthed tripe.

[ZombieHorde]

16. I agree. If they had killed poor people, they would most likely be out by now.

Seems like their continued punishment is more symbolic than anything else.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

26. Yep. You should do the popular thing as a political leader.

Not release them just because a handful of loons in this country want our murderers and rapists to live on an island like in Norway.

[Dreamer Tatum]

33. Great - let them stay at your place. nt

[apocalypsehow]

35. LOL! +1,000.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. If the same fact pattern related to non-Manson convicts

Bruce Davis would have been paroled in the 1990's, with little fanfare.

Bobby Beausoleil would have been released in the 1990's, with little fanfare.

Leslie Van Houten would have been released in the 2000's.

The rest (specifically, at this point, Watson, Krenwinkle, and Manson himself) would likely never get out, regardless of the celebrity of the case. Other than these three, the others remain in prison for one reason only: the publicity the crimes received.

Not saying that that's right or wrong, but they're certainly not being treated equally under the law. Beausoleil is an especially egregious case, since he was already locked up when the "Manson murders" as they're traditionally conceived (Tate-LaBianca) took place. Find another inmate in the entire California system convicted of a single drug-related murder 44 years ago, at the age of 19 or 20. Essentially, there aren't any. It wasn't a Life without Parole state, even after the commutation. Pretty much everyone convicted of a parallel offense has been released long ago.

[Tom Ripley]

10. +1000 (especially in regards to Beausoleil)