California governor blocks 77-year-old’s parole for second time, saying she ‘poses an unreasonable danger to society’
Gavin Newsom this week again denied parole for Patricia Krenwinkel, who has spent more than half a century in prison for her role in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca killings orchestrated by Charles Manson and perpetrated by his followers.
Nearly five months after California’s parole board found the 77-year-old suitable for release, the governor on Monday reversed the decisionand said Krenwinkel “currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time’”.
It was the second time Newsom has blocked her parole, and the decision was met with sharp criticism from Krenwinkel’s longtime attorney who argued the governor chose “politics over people” and failed to take into account the abuse she suffered from Manson.
“Newsom’s reversal of Pat’s grant has nothing to do with the record of how much she’s changed or the risk she presents,” said Keith Wattley, Krenwinkel’s attorney and the founder and executive director of the nonprofit UnCommon Law. “It is 100% political, directly contrary to the evidence and the controlling law.”
