California Governor Gavin Newsom's office announced on Friday it would not challenge a state appellate court ruling to release former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten on parole.
Rich Pheiffer, attorney for the former Manson follower, told KNX News he believes his client could be free in as little as three to five days.
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Van Houten, now 73, is serving a potential life sentence for participating in the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their Los Feliz home.
While Newsom said in a statement, "More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims' families still feel the impact, as do all Californians," Pheiffer believes Van Houten deserves to be set free.
Pheiffer said of his client, "She's had an absolute perfect prison record the entire time. Nobody else in California has been in that long and has a perfect prison record."
In fact, he told KNX News, "She should have gone free 20 or 30 years ago. Anybody else in her position without the notoriety would have gone home 20 or 30 years ago."
He blames the extended timeline on politics, saying, "It's been hard on her emotionally every time she gets granted parole, and then the governor's reverse... We all know the reason why is because political fallout with votes and everything else."
Gov. Newsom's communications director said, "The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal's decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed."
So does the public have anything to worry about with Van Houten on the outside?
Pheiffer says not at all. He points to a 6.5 month period between the 2nd and 3rd trials where she was out on bail and "went to work, and there were no problems."
Pheiffer also said Van Houten recognized what she did was wrong three years after the murders, and "she's had remorse ever since then."
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