Charles Manson denied parole for 12th and possibly final time

GlobalPost

A California prison panel denied parole Wednesday to mass murderer Charles Manson in his 12th and possibly final bid for freedom.

Manson, 77, is serving a life sentence for seven murders committed in 1969 and USA Today says that Wednesday's parole hearing could be his last. He has already applied for parole 11 times, and under current state law can't request a parole hearing for up to 15 years if he is turned down again.

Manson did not attend the hearing, and has not appeared at a parole board hearing since 1997, CBS News says.

"At his age, I think he doesn't care,"  Deputy District Attorney Patrick Sequeira, who argued that Manson should not be freed, is quoted as saying.

The parole board ruled that Manson had shown no efforts to rehabilitate himself, The Associated Press reported.

"This panel can find nothing good as far as suitability factors go," John Peck, a member of the panel, is quoted by AP as saying.

According to the AP, Manson is reputed for having carried out "one of the most gruesome mass murders in American history."

He was found to have commanded a small army of young followers, several of whom are being held in Californian prisons. 

Debra Tate, the sister of one of the victims, actress Sharon Tate, told Fox News that she hoped this will be the last time she has to attend a hearing to protest against his release.

"I'm done with him," the AP quoted her as saying after Wednesday's hearing.

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, the state-appointed attorney representing Manson, DeJon R. Lewis, said he planned to argue that Manson should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

"Charles Manson does not need incarceration at this point in his life.  He needs hospitalization," Lewis said.

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