Susan Atkins, one of the 'Manson family' killers is asking to be released from prison on grounds of compassion as she dies of brain cancer. Diagnosed in April, doctors feel she will have mere months left to live.
A born again Christian, she has been denied parole 17 times, despite her soft spoken assertions that she was brainwashed and under the influence of drugs then, mentally unsound, and she is now clear headed and truly repentant about her crimes.
Debra Tate, the last living relative of her most famous victim, Sharon Tate, has strongly opposed Atkins' release, stating that she ought to die in prison. Given that this was her original sentence when convicted, death, and it was dropped because of the changes in the legal system, is it fair to still expect death within the prison walls? Should compassion be given for Atkins and those she has left to her, an example of how society IS better than the criminals it punishes?
A born again Christian, she has been denied parole 17 times, despite her soft spoken assertions that she was brainwashed and under the influence of drugs then, mentally unsound, and she is now clear headed and truly repentant about her crimes.
Debra Tate, the last living relative of her most famous victim, Sharon Tate, has strongly opposed Atkins' release, stating that she ought to die in prison. Given that this was her original sentence when convicted, death, and it was dropped because of the changes in the legal system, is it fair to still expect death within the prison walls? Should compassion be given for Atkins and those she has left to her, an example of how society IS better than the criminals it punishes?