Comment of the Day: The Manson Family's Susan Atkins Should Be Released From Prison

• If it wasen't such a High Profile case, she would have been out years ago. People get out on parole for murder all the time. Why should Susan be any different?

• just because she has brain cancer doesn't mean that she should be granted parole. if she gets parole it could set a precidence for the rest of them. don't forget to lock your doors

• Loni~ When the law was changed in 72' their sentences should of been life without possibility of parole, instead of just life,then all of them would not continuously come up for parole, but regardless of California changing the laws reinstating the death penalty in 77', the 72' statute is retroactive. As for her receiving quality medical treatment in prison, it would be inhumane as a nation in whole, if she did not receive adequate treatment, she is a criminal, her crimes are beyond malice, but would it not put us in the same classification as her, if it were denied? Yes it would.Do you all not find it ironic she has been stricken with an illness that has ravished her mind and body? She's also paralyzed and one of her legs has been amputated, Her fate has been sealed, can we all agree on that?

• Melissa, no need to be condescending. You are right - my mistake - she was not a teen when she committed these crimes. Off point but worth mentioning since you decided to bring into the conversation: Ted Kennedy got away with killing someone, and was never charged. Atkins may still be clinging to life, but she def. got her death sentence. I've personally have witnessed someone who has died from cancer, after years of struggling with the pain, so going thru a cancer battle is much more horrendous the the gas chamber or lethal injection.

• Firstly, that is definitely not Susan Atkins' mugshot, but she was most definitely smiling when her mugshot was taken, bragged about the murders to cellmates, and her actions w/ the grand jury scream sociopath. The only reason I can see for releasing her now is the cost to the state for her medical care. However, she is responsible, along with three others, for 9 murders. Tate and her unborn son, Frykowski, Folger, Parent, Sebring, the Labiancas, and Gary Hinman. While I agree that she is not a threat to society, why should we have remorse on her when she told Sharon Tate to her face that she had no remorse? I have a great respect for Vincent Bugliosi, but I respectfully disagree with his stance that she should be released on compassionate grounds. Even he did not feel the need to go speak for her at a hearing though. She deserves to die in prison. While I believe that society should be above the criminal, in this instance I find it incredibly hard to have sympathy or remorse for the crimes she committed, whether she was brainwashed by Manson or drugged out at the time. The only member of the "family" that I believe deserves parole is Leslie Van Houten, and even there I wouldn't waste two seconds of time on her if she wasn't released.

• Okay, so perhaps this is beside the point, but... that is definitely NOT Susan Atkins' mugshot. Appears instead to be a still from the most recent made-for-tv movie based on "Helter Skelter".

• The argument over letting her loose is moot. Her parole was denied. And rightfully so. Her victims got no parole? Nor did her victim's surviving family members.

• First off, since when is 21 a young teen? Second, she is sorry, she is remorseful. The families of the victims do appreciate that. Now all they want her to do is serve her time. If she is so remorseful then why does she not realize that serving her time is her amends for her actions. Just being sorry is not making amends. Geez, just look at her smiling in that mug shot. She stabbed a woman over and over and over as she begged for her childs life and called her a pig. Smeared the word pig on the wall with her blood. She is responsible for the gruesome deaths of 9 innocent people ok? Get it? And she really must be getting very good care where she is seeing she is now 2 years with brain cancer. Ted Kennedy only held out for just more than a year and look how much money he has. Maybe she is better off there.

• What I don't get is if the State of CA did away with the death penalty in 1972 and these people got life because of that, why didn't their sentences get changed when CA reinstated the death penalty in 1977? Makes no sense to me at all.

• What guarantee do you have that the taxpayer will not pay for her insurance after she is released? Her husband used the insurance/medical care argument as a practical reason why she should be released. He and his lawyers came up with an argument that clearly has traction with the public right now. But unless Whitehouse can prove that he has adequate insurance to cover a terminal wife, I'm not convinced we wouldn't STILL be footing the bill. It's neither here nor there, since she was denied. Atkins sealed her fate years ago with her actions during the trial. Even her supposed remorse is suspect. She changes her story every couple years about what happened that night.

• Does anyone realize this murderer is getting quality medical treatment, at the taxpayer's expense, while hard working people on the outside are dying because they can't afford treatments?? She is dying - she has a death sentence that is approaching. What is the point of keeping her incarcerated? Doesn't look like she'll be getting out of that death bed.

• When her victims get parole, THEN she should get parole. If she was truly remorseful, she'd stop her bids for parole and serve her sentence. Does she even think about what the victims' families go through every time she comes up for parole? She had a choice. She chose to kill people.

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