Jul 15 2008
It’s Time to Let Go
Word has just come down that Susan Atkins, one of the women convicted in the Tate-LaBianca murders along with Charles Manson, has been denied compassionate release by the California Board of Parole. Atkins is dying of cancer, cannot sit up in bed, has had a leg amputated, is paralyzed on one side and cannot even snap her fingers. The cost of keeping her in a special prison hospital under guard has cost the state of California $1.4 million just since March. She has only about three to four months to live and, at that rate, will cost the state another million.
There is no question that the murders back in 1969 were horrible and that those that committed them deserved punishment. But enough is enough. It is time to grant compassionate release to Susan Atkins, if for no other reason than the cost to the state of guarding her. But there are other reasons. As people of God, we must hold out the hope for redemption for even those that appear to deserve it the least. Susan Atkins is no longer a threat to society. It is time for society to do the right thing.
