Erotic Art Charles Manson Follower Parole Hearing Postponed
Charles Manson has been serving time for his involvement with the brutal murders of several people in 1969 — but so have his cult followers. Today, almost all of them are senior citizens, and the only one of the group that ever receives much notoriety in the press is Charles Manson. In particular, Charles Manson’s latest 15 minutes of fame comes in the form of his engagement to a 26-year-old woman.
On February 19, one of Charles Manson’s followers that is known for drawing erotic photos was due to have a parole hearing — the first that he was allowed since 2008. However, a syndicated AP News story was released mid-day by multiple media sources saying that the follower’s trial had been postponed. Could it be due to the sexual art photos this murderer created?
Biography describes the events of the August 9, 1969, murders that landed Charles Manson and four followers in jail for the next 40 years. The brutal murders first occurred at filmmaker Roman Polanski’s home and included actress Sharon Tate, Folger’s coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, and writer Wojciech Frykowski and his partner.
Biography says, “Charles Manson chose four of his most obedient comrades—Charles “Tex” Watson, Susan Watkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian—to carry out these heinous crimes [at Roman Polanski’s home]. Kasabian acted as the getaway driver and was to become the star witness during the trial.”
According to ABC News, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Luis Patino, said he could not, “immediately say why the hearing was delayed or when a new hearing would be held.”
The Charles Manson follower in question is former musician and actor Robert Beausoleil, age 67. In the 45 years that this Charles Manson follower has spent in jail, he has been denied any kind of release 17 times. Originally convicted to face the death penalty, Robert Beausoleil and Bruce Davis killed musician Gary Hinman in 1969 under the influence of Charles Manson — but was not an official cult member.
Rolling Stone describes the timeline of the Charles Manson followers’ murder of Gary Hinman as a drug deal gone bad. Gary Hinman was in the biker gang the Straight Satans, and Beausoleil shot him because of it. When Beausoleil went to murder Hinman, he took along three Charles Manson followers and Manson himself. A short time later on August 6, 1969, the police caught up to Beausoleil, who was driving the dead man’s car. In the tire well, a bloody knife was hidden — and this lead to Beausoleil’s conviction as a Charles Manson follower.
When the death penalty was declared unconstitutional in 1972 in the state of California, the penalties for all Charles Manson followers were commuted to life in prison. Bruce Davis, who killed two people while in Charles Manson’s cult (one murder was done with Robert Beausoleil), was found suitable for parole in 2014 due to the fact that he had good behavior and was now 72-years-old. CNN reports that California Governor Jerry Brown immediately revoked the parole to keep the Charles Manson follower in jail.
In 1994, this Charles Manson follower was transferred to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem because he got married to a woman residing there. He went on to father four children with the woman. In 2010, Beausoleil was given another chance for parole (despite the 2008 ban) and questioned about creating a massive amount of erotic photos.
In a court transcript uploaded to Cielo Drive, Beausoleil stated that he did a series of erotic art from jail in the 1970s and 1980s. When told on the stand, he was told by James Martin, Deputy Commissioner, “The marketing of your art in the past has utilized the Manson Family as a feature of you, maybe a part of your character.”
To that, Beausoleil reported that he was done with the Charles Manson family and, “I do not market any of my art or any of my music on the basis of my relationship with Manson, or my involvement with that group, or on the basis of having, you know, a crime associated with me. I’m very, very, very careful about that. I market my art with the approval of the superintendent here at the prison. I’ve got all the correct approvals.”
Erotic photos or not, reports state that Charles Manson followers could all be blocked from parole with one vote from California Governor Jerry Brown. Other opponents to Beausoleil are anyone related to the Charles Manson murders, including Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra, and Hinman’s cousin, Kay Martley. No new parole hearing date has been scheduled at this time.
[All images via the referenced links.]
