In re Van Houten (5/30/23): youngest of Manson's devotees found the Court of Appeal on her side: challenging Governor Gavin Newsom’s reversal of her 2020 grant of parole

In re Van Houten Docket: B320098 (Second Appellate District) Opinion 5/30/2023. 

  BACKGROUND INFORMATION ====== 

 A California appeals court overruled Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday to find Leslie Van Houten, one of Charles Manson's murderous "family" of followers, entitled to parole after more than 50 years in prison for her part in the cult's 1969 killing spree. Van Houten has spent more than half of her life in prison for her part in the murder (then 19, a Youth Offender) of Rosemary and Leno La Bianca, a supermarket executive. 

 A jury convicted Van Houten in 1971 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. 

Van Houten, now 73, the youngest of Manson's devotees, has been recommended for early release by the state parole board on five occasions since 2016, but was denied three times by Newsom and twice by his predecessor, fellow Democrat Jerry Brown. 

This decision appears to marks the first time a court has overruled a governor's denial of parole to a Manson follower. The California appeals court said that Leslie Van Houten, who participated in two killings at the direction of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, should be released from prison on parole.

 As we remember --> Manson, died in prison in 2017 at age 83, and directed his mostly young and female followers to murder seven people, including actress Sharon Tate, in August 1969 in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war. I

  IN COURT ======= 

Petitioner (Leslie Van Houten ) petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus challenging Governor Gavin Newsom’s reversal of her 2020 grant of parole. Petitioner is serving concurrent sentences of seven years to life for the 1969 murders which she committed with other members of a cult led by Charles Manson. This is the fourth time a governor has reversed Petitioner’s parole. 

The Second Appellate District granted Petitioner’s petition. The court held that there is no evidence to support the Governor’s conclusions. The court explained that Petitioner provided an extensive explanation as to the causative factors leading to her involvement with Manson and the commission of the murders, and the record does not support a conclusion that there are hidden factors for which Petitioner has failed to account. 

The court wrote that the Governor’s finding of inconsistencies between Petitioner’s statements now and at the time of the murders fails to account for the decades of therapy, self-help programming, and reflection Petitioner has undergone in the past 50 years. The historical factors identified in the comprehensive risk assessment (CRA) are the sort of immutable circumstances the California Supreme Court (In re Lawrence, 2008) has held cannot support a finding of current dangerousness when there is extensive evidence of rehabilitation and other strong indicators of parole suitability, all of which Petitioner has demonstrated. 

Newsom now has 10 days to request that California Attorney General Rob Bonta petition the California Supreme Court to stop her release. If the state Supreme Court denies it, the appellate court’s decision to parole Van Houten stands and it could be a matter of weeks before she is set free under parole,

People v. Pierce (2/28/23); Court must review CDCR's letter to recall sentence, base on AB 1540 recall Presumption

Case Name: People v. Pierce (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 1074, Case #: B322890, District: 2 DCA, Division: 6, Opinion Date: 02/28/2023 

The order summarily denying CDCR’s recommendation for recall of defendant’s 2011 stipulated sentence was reversed based on the new recall and resentencing procedures. The defendant entered into a plea agreement under which he received a stipulated term of 19 years 4 months. CDCR asked the trial court to recall and resentence defendant based on the amendment to Penal Code section 12022.53, allowing discretion to strike a gun use enhancement. Recall was denied. Defendant appealed. Held: Reversed. 

AB 1540, effective January 1, 2022, amended and moved the recall and resentencing provisions of former Penal Code section 1170(d)(1) to a new section, which was then renumbered to section 1172.1. Where recommended by CDCR, there is now a presumption in favor of recall and resentencing of a defendant, which may only be overcome if a court finds the defendant is an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Resentencing may only be denied after hearing and appointment of counsel. 

Further, section 1172.1, subdivision (a)(3)(A) provides that, regardless of whether the initial sentence was imposed after a plea agreement, the trial court may reduce a term of imprisonment by modifying the sentence. Here, the appropriate remedy was to reverse and remand the matter, so that the trial court can consider CDCR’s recommendation to recall and resentence defendant under the new and clarified procedure and guidelines.

 

Editor's NOTE: A Major thank you (and shout out) for all the Central California Appellate Program (CCAP) work in summarizing major cases for the month. This is a reprint for Education purposes. We review the Summary of cases and re-print the case that is more relevant to our CDCR population.

Full case at: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B322890.PDF

Per Gov. Newsom's new Prison mission: San Quentin State Prison is to become San Quentin Rehabilitation Center

SAN QUENTIN – 

Last month Governor Gavin Newsom, announced that San Quentin State Prison — the oldest and most notorious prison in California and home to the largest “death row” in the United States — will be transformed from a maximum-security prison into a one-of-a-kind facility focused on improving public safety through rehabilitation and education. The prison, will be renamed “San Quentin Rehabilitation Center,” focused on teaching those incarcerated men who are on the verge of release how to live and succeed in modern society. 

Newsom stated “We take the next step in our pursuit of true rehabilitation, justice and safer communities through this evidence-based investment, creating a new model for safety and justice, and safer communities through this evidenced-backed investment, creating a new model for safety and justice —the California Model—that will lead the nation,” Newsom announced from the grounds of San Quentin. 

In an announcement last month, Newsom outlined with some enthusiasm, how his administration plans to “spin” corrections in California 180 degree by creating a “California model” institution, modeled on the Scandinavian concept of correctional facilities, adapted for the unique qualities of California society. 

 The Governor intends to accomplish this by not only a name change, but by physically modifying San Quentin, remodeling the old, condemned row cells and a currently vacant PIA warehouse " into a center for innovation focused on education, rehabilitation and breaking cycles of crime," Newsom's office said. The goal is the have the new facility re-made and operational by 2025 and comes with an initial price tag of $20 million. 

HISTORIC ASPECT: 

San Quentin State Prison (SQSP) is a maximum security state prison for men run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). It is located north of San Francisco in the San Quentin, California community, which overlooks the San Francisco Bay. San Quentin State Prison was the first permanent prison in California, making it the state's oldest prison. It was the largest death row facility in the state and conducted all of the state's executions. The historic Face-Lift effort at San Quentin, never pursued at this scale in the United States, it will serve as a nationwide evidence-backed model to advance a more effective justice system that builds safer communities. San Quentin is the state’s oldest penal institution, established in 1852 with a beginning population of 68 inmates. Long the home of death row, over the years the walls have witnessed 422 executions, including 15 women. 

PRIOR NOTORIOUS LIFER INMATES: 

Charles Manson (now deceased: died from cardiac arrest resulting from respiratory failure, brought on by colon cancer) —was the most famous inmate on San Quentin death row; convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder. Sirhan Sirhan—Robert Kennedy's assassin - mow serving a life sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego 

INMATE TRANSFERS: 

Those inmates remaining in the death row quarters will be transferred to other facilities, as many condemned inmates have been over the last few years. The facility will become a largely Level II facility, with some individuals with higher points accepted on the basis of behavioral overrides, according to early reports. Initially, officials expect to see about 500 transfers out of San Quentin to other facilities throughout the state. 

While the new programming at San Quentin (SQ) will focus on job training centers, life skills and is envisioned as a ‘last stop’ for those approaching release from prison (2 years pre-release time frames have been mentioned) administration officials have assured Lifers will not be excluded from the new version of SQ. 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: We can only hope that the real change will be accomplished by both the changes in the physical facility, programs offered, and the dedication of the inmates and the CDCR Staff to make the change really work. Time will Tell….