The Family That Slays Together Stays Together
The Manson Family left a trail of bodies in 1969. No one should have been surprised.
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Prior to the Tate-LaBianca murders, many members of the Manson Family had done stints in prison, on parole, and on probation. Nonetheless, between 1967 and 1969, they were allowed to get away with numerous crimes and violations of their sentences.
- March 21, 1967
Charles Manson is released from the Terminal Island prison on parole. Despite a near-immediate violation of that parole by leaving Los Angeles for Berkeley, Manson is allowed to remain free.
- April 11, 1967
The San Francisco Federal Parole Office accepts a transfer of Charles Manson’s parole to its purview, under the supervision of a drug researcher named Roger Smith. By the end of the year, Smith would winnow his list of parolees from 40 to Manson alone.
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