Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.
The California department of corrections and rehabilitation said Van Houten “was released to parole supervision”.
Van Houten, now 73, received a life sentence for helping Manson’s followers carry out the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.
She was released from prison in the early morning hours and driven to transitional housing, her attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said.
Van Houten’s release comes mere days after the California governor, Gavin Newsom, rejected her parole, claiming that the convicted murderer “still posed a danger to society and provided an inconsistent and inadequate explanation of her involvement with Manson,” according to the Hill.
In May, the state appeals court ruled that Van Houten should be released. Newsom later decided not to appeal that ruling.
Newsom has now decided that he will not appeal the court’s ruling to the California supreme court, likely paving the way for Van Houten to be released.
Erin Mellon, the communications director for Newsom’s office, told the Hill that Newsom was “disappointed” with the appeals court’s decision.
“More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims’ families still feel the impact, as do all Californians,” she said.
Of these remarks, Tetreault told the Hill that Van Houten was “just grateful that people are recognizing that she’s not the same person that she was when she committed the murders”.
She added that Van Houten will head to a halfway house for about a year after her release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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