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Cruel and Unusual
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In less than an hour, five people were dead, including actress Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of film director Roman Polanski who happened to be away in Europe. When it was over, the killers drove away undetected.
Manson ordered them out the very next night to repeat the carnage. The same four from the night before volunteered, plus another member of the Family, Leslie Van Houton. Once again, a house was chosen arbitrarily the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. The LaBiancas were home alone. They were captured, like animals in an abattoir, and slaughtered.
The LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) and the LASO (Los Angeles Sheriff's Office) spent the next several months investigating the murders before the case was broken. Linda Kasabian agreed to become a witness for the prosecution.
Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Van Houton, and Manson went on trial for first-degree murder. What followed in the next five months was bizarre and surreal. Nothing before or since, with the possible exception of the O.J. Simpson trial, had caught the macabre attention of the entire nation like this case. While people were mesmerized by the proceedings, they were more intrigued by Manson himself and the specter of his Family.
In spite of the circus-like atmosphere, the jury found the five guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced them to death. But in 1972, the California State Supreme Court rendered a decision effectively abolishing the death penalty in the state. Automatically, all persons awaiting execution had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
Krenwinkel, along with Atkins and Van Houton, were transferred to a special
security unit at the California Institution for Women at Frontera, where they remain today.
The atmosphere of the parole hearing was changing. Krenwinkel was about to speak. In a steady and unemotional voice, she said, "Every day I wake up and know that I am a destroyer of the most precious thing which is life. To live with that is the most difficult thing of all. But, that's what I deserve to wake up every morning knowing that."
As I watched, it was difficult to connect this woman to the events of 25 years ago. As she continued, I heard no talk of miraculous religious conversions or voices from God. No excuses for past behavior. She seemed sincere and contrite.
But as I watched and listened, I had the feeling that the die had been cast. It seemed there was no way that this board was going to release Patricia Krenwinkel. Not today maybe never. The political and social implications of her being paroled would probably be too much to overcome. Predictably, her parole was denied.
For days I couldn't forget what I had seen and heard. But why? Patricia Krenwinkel meant nothing to me. Like most of the nation, I had completely forgotten that she existed. I thought about it off and on for days and concluded that the program had forced me to examine more closely a fundamental issue in our penal system punishment versus rehabilitation.
For reasons I can't explain, I felt compelled to contact her. Perhaps it was simply to find out more about this woman. Or maybe, just maybe, it was morbid curiosity. Here was an opportunity to have a personal connection with one of the most publicized and infamous murder cases in history.
Whatever my motive, I decided to write her a letter. But what would I say? Would she question my motives when I wasn't sure of them myself? I decided to keep the letter short and simple tell her that I had seen the program on television and, on some level, I tried to understand her predicament. It wasn't a long letter, just three or four paragraphs. I really didn't expect a response, but deep down, I wanted one.
The weeks turned into months and I heard nothing from her. Eventually, I put the entire incident out of my mind. A year later, unexpectedly, I received a letter from her.
After an entire year, she had answered a letter from a complete stranger. The content of her letter surprised me. It was filled with personal feelings, philosophical observations, and detailed day-to-day activities. It was as if we already knew each other and this was just one of many letters we had exchanged. I didn't know what to make of it, but I was convinced of one thing I wanted to continue the correspondence and see where it would lead.
At the outset, I decided not to ask questions about the crimes because I wanted her to feel comfortable with our communications. What she chose to reveal to me would have to come from her voluntarily.
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