Free Republic

Gov. Jerry Brown D-Calif. has once again denied parole for Leslie Van Houten, the youngest follower of late murderous cult leader Charles Manson who blamed herself at her parole hearing Friday for letting him control her life. Brown said in his decision that Van Houten, 68, still laid too much of the blame on Manson, who died two months ago at 83. Brown acknowledged that Van Houten's youth at the time of the crime, her more than four decades as a model prisoner and her abuse at the hands of Manson make it worth considering her release. While in prison,...

One of the men who kidnapped and buried a busload of school children 30 years ago was once again denied parole Monday. Richard Allen Schoenfeld won't be eligible for parole again until 2008, state Board of Parole Hearings spokesman Tip Kindel said Schoenfeld, his brother James Schoenfeld, and Frederick Newhall Woods, were sentenced to life in prison for the crime. The men, all scions of wealthy San Francisco Peninsula families, commandeered the bus on July 15, 1976, near Chowchilla in the San Joaquin Valley. They transferred their hostages to two vans, drove about 100 miles north and put them in...