Cult survivor pens op-ed saying Manson family member who helped kill Sharon Tate is old and should be free
A cult survivor wrote an opinion piece arguing that Patricia Krenwinkel, once a murderous devotee to Charles Manson, is no longer a danger to society and should be let out of prison.
Psychologist Alexandra Stein, who spent a decade in a political cult throughout the 1980s, has since become an expert on them and wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee advocating for Krenwinkel on October 14.
Later that same day, California Governor Gavin Newsom for the second time rejected Krenwinkel’s parole after the Board of Parole Hearings recommended in May that she should be released.
Over the course of two nights in August 1969, a 21-year-old Krenwinkel and three other Manson disciples stormed into Benedict Canyon and brutally killed seven people, including rising star Sharon Tate.
Tate, 26, was married to filmmaker Roman Polanski and was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with his son.
Krenwinkel, now 77, admitted that she stabbed 25-year-old coffee heiress Abigail Folger 28 times at Tate’s house. She also confessed to breaking into the home of grocery store executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary and killing them both the following night.
Despite the brutality of her crimes, Stein believes that the 55 years Krenwinkel has served of her life sentence is enough.
‘Krenwinkel met Manson when she was just 19, after growing up in an unstable home,’ she wrote in her op-ed. ‘Manson’s charisma and promises of love and affection drew her in, but that quickly turned into an abusive, push-and-pull dynamic where Manson alternated between adoration and violence.’
Psychologist Alexandra Stein, who spent a decade in a political cult throughout the 1980s, has argued that Patricia Krenwinkel, once part of the Manson family cult, should be let out of prison
Krenwinkel, now 77, was sentenced to life in prison after she and three other accomplices twice drove into the Benedict Canyon neighborhood in August 1969 to break into two separate homes on Charles Manson’s orders. They killed seven people, including Sharon Tate
Patricia Krenwinkel (center) is pictured with two of her co-defendants, Susan Atkins (left) and Leslie Van Houten (right). Van Houten was released from prison in 2023, while Atkins died in prison in 2009
‘It is my judgement that Krenwinkel committed these crimes because she was one of the most vulnerable of Manson’s followers – both in her immediate situation and in her history of deprivation, abuse and psychological vulnerability,’ Stein added.
Drawing from her own experience breaking free from her own cult, Stein said it is possible to do so.
‘Once a follower is no longer under the influence of a cult leader and has left the cultic environment, they can regain their mental autonomy and ability to manage their own behavior and actions. This is exactly what has happened with Krenwinkel,’ she wrote.
The parole board found that Krenwinkel, now the longest-serving female inmate in California prisons, was not likely to reoffend and posed little, if no danger to society because of her age.
The commissioners also pointed to her good behavior and spotless disciplinary record while in prison.
But Newsom disagreed, writing in an order this week: ‘I have concluded that the evidence in Ms Krenwinkel’s case demonstrates that she lacks the requisite insight she needs to be safely released.’
He cited a report from Krenwinkel’s psychologist, who said she ‘exhibits some deficits in self-awareness, such as a tendency to externalize blame for her prior transgressions.’
He did, however, acknowledge her participation in self-help programs and work training. He also mentioned that she had earned several college degrees.
Manson, the leader of the cult, died of colon cancer in 2017
Sharon Tate, one of the victims of the Manson family murders, is pictured in 1967
Newsom first rejected her bid to get out of prison in 2022, again stating that she was a risk to public safety.
Krenwinkel’s attorney, Keith Wattley, said that Newsom ‘has unfortunately chosen politics over people.’
‘Even worse, he directly violated the law requiring him to give ‘great weight’ to the fact that Pat is a documented survivor of domestic violence,’ said Wattley.
‘His silence on this crucial aspect of the case is an affront to survivors everywhere, particularly during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.’
Krenwinkel’s legal team could challenge Newsom’s decision in court, though they haven’t indicated if they’ll do so yet.
Leslie Van Houten, another Manson family member who participated in the Tate-LaBianca murders, was released from prison in 2023 after Newsom’s reversal of her parole was overturned by an appeals court.
Susan Atkins, a third cult member involved in the murders, died of brain cancer in September 2009 while still in prison.
Charles ‘Tex’ Watson, the fourth accomplice, is now 79 years old and is still in prison after being denied parole 18 times.
All four defendants were originally sentenced to death, but a 1972 Supreme Court decision that briefly outlawed the death penalty immediately commuted all of their sentences to life with the possibility of parole.
Manson, the leader of the cult, was denied parole 12 times before he died of colon cancer in 2017.
