Leslie Van Houten: Former Manson family member released on Parole.

Leslie Van Houten, a Charles Manson disciple, was released from a California prison on Tuesday, July 11 2023.

According to a representative for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Van Houten “was released to parole supervision” on Tuesday.

“Van Houten will have a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review occurring after one year,” a spokesperson said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has stopped several efforts to release Van Houten, said that he won’t ask the state’s Supreme Court to block her paroled release.

“More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims’ families still feel the impact,” Newsom said in the previous statement. Since 2016, Newsom and previous California Gov. Jerry Brown have rejected down five parole recommendations.

On May 31, a 2-1 decision by a state appeals court upheld Van Houten’s release, citing “extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, and support from family and friends.”

Van Houten was 19 years old when she joined the Manson Family and assisted in the murder of Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in 1969.