At the direction of Charles Manson, Ms. Van Houten participated in the murder of a California couple in 1969. She was initially sentenced to death.
Leslie Van Houten, a former Charles Manson follower who played a role in the gruesome double murder of a Los Angeles couple in the summer of 1969, was released on parole on Tuesday after serving more than half a century in prison, according to her lawyer.
Ms. Van Houten’s lawyer, Nancy Tetreault, said she was taken early Tuesday morning to transitional housing at an undisclosed location. “She’s going to have to learn to live in the world after 53 years in prison,” Ms. Tetreault said in an interview. “So that’s going to take some time.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed her release to The Associated Press.
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this month that it would not challenge her release. Mr. Newsom had reversed Ms. Van Houten’s parole grant three times since taking office, most recently in March 2022.
