Susan Atkins -- Denied

136. I think they should withhold pain medications from her as well! Families of the victims are still feeling the pain!

Posted at 2:43PM on Jul 16th 2008 by Alecia Blackford

137. you guys don't seem to understand that Susan is in a hospital, not in a jail...she won't die in jail---because she will remain in that hospital till she dies...it has cost us 1.4 million in taxpayer money to pay for her medical expenses...

she is paralyzed on the right side, has an amputed left leg and is completely bed ridden.
if she went to her husbands care then we wouldn't have to pay for her hospital bills and care....regardless she is suffering a bunch load and isn't dying in a cell so they should have released her to die on her own expense...not ours.

believe me she is miserable and is dying miserably and slowly...better than the dealth penalty I think...

Posted at 2:19PM on Jul 16th 2008 by diana g

138. You know, all you folks who plead for compassion to Susan at this very diffilcult time in her life, you've changed my thinking. Susan has been imprisoned for almost 40 years for this crime. I think the state of California should have shown compassion all along. Poor Susan missed out on Christmas with her family, birthdays, Fourth of July. She has already missed out on so much family interaction, it's just not fair. Instead of releasing her while she's on her death bed, we should have released her years ago, while she was still healthy and strong so she could truly enjoy her freedom and life. But to release her now, as incapaciatated as she is now, is less about compassion and more about pity, and you know, Susan deserves no pity. She is a strong minded woman who would shun our pity. She would hate our pity. And she would hate us, for our pity. So, let's not pity Susan, let's allow her to die with the dignity she deserves, behind prison bars.

To those who favor compassionate release, can you please tell me when compassion starts and punishment ends in a case like this. And who are we being compassionate towards? Susan? Susan, a convicted mass murderer? Susan, a woman who by all accounts delighted in pulling a knife and stabbing her victims not once, not twice, not three times, not four times but so many times the bodies looked like they had been put through a sieve. At any time did Susan consider compassion? I think most people here who are against her release, are not monsters. I believe they have a lot of compassion and empathy, but not for Susan, for the victims of these atrocities. Many of us can't ask for compassion for Susan, knowing full well that the people most affected by these horrors, the people who have never had a night's peace since their loved ones' murders, are those families. Those families who were forced to identify the mutilated bodies of their loved ones. The famiilies who buried a tiny infant, whose only breath of air was by the knife plunged in his body, an infant who never felt the softness of his mother's hand or the whisper of her breath on his cheek. It is those families we have compassion for. Releasing Susan would be devastating for those people. Releasing Susan would send a message to the victim families that they hadn't suffered enough. No, releasing Susan Atkins would not be compassionate for all those family members, it may be compassionate for about a dozen of Susan's, but they were offered compassion all these years as the State of California housed, fed and clothed Susan. I have no medical insurance, and were I to fall ill from brain cancer, I would die a slow horrible death in my own bed, without benefit of treatment or pain relief. Susan Atkins is much better taken care of then many MANY Americans. Susan Atkins has had opportunities in prison to educate herself, and to make what ever difference she chose to make. So many Americans, leaving hand to mouth, in menial jobs, with the threat of financial doom hanging over their heads, will never enjoy the compassion the State of California has afforded Susan Atkins.

Posted at 3:16PM on Jul 16th 2008 by gazoo

139. Wikipedia states that Susan has had a leg amputated since her cancer diagnosis. And there's also a 2001 photo of her.


Again, I will state,for the people hellbent on releasing Susan, that your argument that all of who are against her release are just as bad as she was, because of our lack of compassion, please realize, we don't lack compassion for the victims and their families, which is why we believe Susan should stay in prison. I find it difficult to on the one hand feel compassion for the victim families, and then also for Susan. I am not a monster, I do have a certain amount of empathy for Susan and her family, but my compassion and empathy for the victim families is far far greater.

Posted at 3:27PM on Jul 16th 2008 by gazoo

140. May she make here peace with God before she leaves this world.

I do not condone what she did. However, God does forgive. Justice was served when she remained in prison all these years.

We all have to take that journey which is death, but let her go peacefully.

Posted at 3:43PM on Jul 16th 2008 by YouGoGirl

141. Gazoo, you have said it perfectly. Well done!

Posted at 3:46PM on Jul 16th 2008 by Mrs. Pine

142. WOW I have read all the posts and I agree she should not be set free for any reason. She and the "Family" have killed more people than we even know about. They are looking at one of ranches they lived at (can't remember the name) for dead bodies. So who knows how many they actually killed. To the Tates,Lebiancas,folgers one will be gone but the pain will always be in your heart. You just don't get over a loss of a loved one ever. know susan is having alot of pain. what comes around goes around.

Posted at 5:29PM on Jul 16th 2008 by suzanne

143. At times the Judicial System actually works. Give the probation officers a raise.

Posted at 6:10PM on Jul 16th 2008 by Linda

144. First off, it's been 39 years. Get over it. Except for being one of the people murdered by the Manson family, no one knows who Sharon Tate is anyway. She's paralyzed on her right side, had her left leg amputated, and can only speak 3 or 4 sentences a day. The chances of another murder spree aren't good.

On the other hand - she's in a hospital. Not even in jail anymore. But she's being guarded. If she were released, she'd be in a hospital and NOT being guarded. Not a whole lot of difference. Just roll with it and before you know it you'll be talking to Sharon Tate apologizing for stabbing her and her fetus to death. My bad.

Posted at 6:48PM on Jul 16th 2008 by Shawn

145. To #142 Shawn, get over it. It has been 39 years. Yes, it has been 39 years. But for those of us who lived through that nightmarish period it is like yesterday. Obviously you have never known a family who has been victimized my murder. How in the hell does one get over it? Yeah you go on with your life as best as you can but how do you avoid the memories, the anger and the loss? How do you handle the loss ? Have you ever looked at the photos of the victims, and wondered how their loved ones must feel? At least 10 senseless and brutal murders....and you say just get over it. 39 years ago, 39 days ago or 39 minutes ago, you never get over it. This is not about getting over it or compassionate release or people acting God. This is about heinous murders that happened over 2 nights, and another 2 days when they killed Gary Hinman and another night when they butchered Shorty Shea. I hope your family is never victimized because I would wonder what you would say when someone tells you "to get over it". The Manson Family terrorized all of southern Calif. in 1969 and then during the trials several members tried to steal weapons so they could highjack a 747 and kill 1 passenger at a time until the family on trial was released. Thank God that never happened. Please Shawn, just tell us how we should get over it?

Posted at 8:21PM on Jul 16th 2008 by completely disgusted

146. Our legal system is already showing her compassion by giving her medical treatment and allowing her to die in a hospital bed instead of a jail cell. No one who murders in the way that she did should get the privilege of dying at home surrounded by family and friends-which is what she wants. She should not get what she wants. She is a murderer. She had many chances over the years to show true remorse for her crimes and according to the families of the victims, she has only made lukewarm, half-hearted, 'I have to say this' type comments at her parole hearings. She's been trying to get out of jail for years. Life in prison means you spend your life-your entire life-in prison.

Posted at 10:05PM on Jul 16th 2008 by debra

147. I think Gazoo's comments (see #135) are outstanding. All of the Manson people have been shown much greater care and compassion than any of them deserve. If Ms. Atkins family is suffering, it is Ms. Atkins who is the chief cause of their suffering, through her actions. I heard that she was permitted conjugal visits with her husband, which, if true, I find to be outrageous. What kind of punishment is that? Conjugal visits should only be permitted to prisoners who are capable of being rehabilitated and who will someday rejoin society and therefore need to keep their marriages alive. Not the case in this situation.

Posted at 10:06PM on Jul 16th 2008 by debra

148. All this "compassion" for a murderer. And not a grain of it for the victims and their families.

Idealistic, deluded children who don't have a CLUE what this is all about.

True story:

Just the other day a co-worker tells us his high schooler is already studying 9-11 in his HISTORY class.
And failing it miserably...

I'm SO glad these people are in the minority...

I'm reading the bulk of these posts and my faith in humainty, America and the judicial system is renwed

Posted at 2:04AM on Jul 17th 2008 by Glory to God, God Bless America

149. If she didn't have cancer, she would not be getting out any time soon anyway and the taxpayers would still be footing the bill. Every single time any of these people ocme up for parole, they get denied. It is not a matter of the taxpayers having compassion - that is not up to us. Only God can show her compassion and forgive her - it is not up to us. She had an opportunity to cut a deal and testify at the Grand Jury hearings - she did and then she reneged on it because she wanted to protect Charlie. In 1972, the death penalty was repealed, she caught another opportunity to live. Now the prison system is allowing her to be comforted in a hospital, getting better treatment than most Americans - her third opportunity.

None of us posting against her release are judging her - the California Penal System did that already. Life in prison is life in prison and after 39 years institionalized, none of those people could survive in society without tax payer assistance.

I am very disappointed in Buglioisi supporting her release. Maybe he needs to stop promoting his inane books on OJ and Bush and re-read Helter Skelter!

Posted at 9:29AM on Jul 17th 2008 by Evita

150. THAT WHOLE SITUATION WAS A TRAGEDY.

SUSAN DESERVES TO STAY IN PRISON AND ROT THERE LIKE MANSON.


IT IS A SHAME THAT HER AND THE OTHER GIRLS WENT UNDER HIS SPELL, HOWEVER.


BUT SHE HAS TO KEEP DOING TIME.

Posted at 10:02AM on Jul 17th 2008 by lowell