— In 2020, Newsom blocked the release of Leslie Van Houten, who was serving a life sentence for helping the Manson followers carry out the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in August 1969.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s governor announced Friday that he won’t ask the state Supreme Court to block parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, paving the way for her ...

Van Houten was not at the Tate murders, but joined the gang for a second round of mayhem, this time in Los Feliz, where cult leader Charles Manson randomly chose the LaBiancas as their next victims.

In 2023, however, Van Houten was granted parole and released, after holding what many described as an exemplary record for decades behind bars.

The state parole board had recommended Van Houten for parole five times starting in 2016, but Newsom and his predecessor both reversed those decisions, most recently in 2022.