California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reversed a parole board’s decision to release Patricia Krenwinkel, a former follower of cult leader Charles Manson and one of the perpetrators of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
In a decision issued on October 13 and obtained by Fox News, Newsom wrote that Krenwinkel, now 77, “lacks the requisite insight she needs to be safely released.”
“Ms. Krenwinkel has engaged in productive introspection,” the governor’s order says, quoting the psychologist who evaluated her, “but she exhibits some deficits in self-awareness, such as a tendency to externalize blame for her prior transgressions.”
Newsom agreed that these factors remain relevant to her current risk and concluded that, despite her “commendable” progress, she “currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released.”
### Background of the Crime
Krenwinkel was 21 years old when she joined other members of Manson’s so-called “Family” in two nights of killings that left seven people dead, including actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant.
According to the governor’s summary of the case, Krenwinkel and others fatally stabbed Tate’s friend Abigail Folger and helped restrain or attack several of the victims. The following night, the group murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, leaving phrases such as “Death to Pigs,” “Rise,” and “Healter [sic] Skelter” written in blood around their home.
### Parole History and Recent Proceedings
The parole board has held 17 hearings for Krenwinkel since 1977, denying parole 14 times, with Krenwinkel voluntarily declining to seek parole once.
In May 2022, the board found her suitable for release. However, Newsom reversed the decision in October of that year, citing her lack of insight and tendency to externalize blame.
Krenwinkel challenged that reversal, but her appeal was denied by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in January 2024. The ruling was later affirmed on appeal.
The parole board held another hearing on May 30, 2025, at which Krenwinkel exercised her right not to testify. Newsom’s current decision reverses the board’s latest proposed grant of parole.
### Gov. Newsom’s Review and Decision
In his latest review, Newsom acknowledged that Krenwinkel was 21 at the time of the crimes and noted psychological evaluations that described her as displaying “transient immaturity, impulsiveness and recklessness” and “a lessened capacity to extricate herself from disadvantageous environments.”
Still, he determined that her current self-awareness remains insufficient.
The governor credited her extensive rehabilitation efforts, including self-help programs, vocational training, multiple college degrees, and mentoring work. However, he concluded that these gains are outweighed by her continuing “deficits in self-awareness” and “tendency to externalize blame.”
Newsom also considered elderly parole factors, noting Krenwinkel’s chronic medical conditions and declining strength at age 77. Nonetheless, he wrote that “her current physical condition is not the most relevant indication of her current risk level.”
“When considered as a whole, the evidence shows that she currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time,” Newsom concluded.
### Response from Krenwinkel’s Attorney and Advocates
Krenwinkel’s attorney, Keith Wattley, disputed the governor’s findings and called for her release.
“Patricia Krenwinkel is the longest-incarcerated woman in the United States,” Wattley said in a statement. “For more than five decades, she has committed to deep healing and rehabilitation, earning degrees, counseling others and becoming a mentor to younger women inside.”
He argued that under California law, parole must be granted when a person no longer poses “an unreasonable risk to public safety.”
“Patricia’s record meets that standard. She deserves to be paroled,” Wattley said, adding that her transformation from “the lost 19-year-old who sought guidance from Charles Manson” to “a compassionate mentor” exemplifies the purpose of the state’s parole system.
Advocates also emphasize that Krenwinkel qualifies under youth offender parole, elderly parole, and domestic violence survivor parole provisions—laws designed to recognize offenders who were young, vulnerable, or under coercive control at the time of their crimes.
### Current Status
The parole board finalized its most recent decision on September 27. Gov. Newsom had until October 27 to either affirm the release, block it, or refer the case for an en banc review.
With the reversal now in effect, Patricia Krenwinkel remains incarcerated at the California Institution for Women.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/16/us-news/charles-manson-follower-patricia-krenwinkel-denied-california-parole-jail-release-by-newsom/