Feminist ideology and criminal justice

books:


	• The Long Prison Journey of Leslie van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult (The Northeastern Series on Gender, Crime, ... Karlene Faith Northeastern, 2001 - 160 pages view larger image
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We reap what we sow

I was a young woman of 25 when these murders occured. My newly married husband and I attended a seminar on the Manson murders a few years after that . I enjoyed the book , but have to say, NONE of the players in these brutal murders should EVER ,EVER, EVER be released under ANY circumstances. They should all die in prison. At least they are still alive, unlike their victims. I don't care if they live to be 100 years old, they should never taste freedom again. It is befitting that they be incarcerated until death claims them all. Watch what you do in your youth and be careful the decisions you make , because you may just pay for them with your entire life.

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Feminist ideology and criminal justice

I found Ms. Faith's book quite interesting. I have worked in law enforcement and corrections at both the state and federal levels.

I do find some fault with Ms. Faith's application of feminist ideology to the case; the main theme of the book seems to be that Leslie and her co-defendants committed their crimes because they had been socialized by the culture to behave in a "feminine" manner, thereby making the girls prime candidates for Manson's diabolical brainwashing techniques. Although the girls were certainly indoctrinated, it seems evident to me that they joined the cult for the same reasons that many join young men and women continue to join cults and gangs-to find a surrogate family and acceptance.

The book raises the very important issues of justice and rehabilitation as they pertain to those who commit heinous crimes. Certainly, Leslie and most of the other Manson followers seem to have changed their lives in prison (I am including Atkins, Krenwinkel, Watson and Davis), but their crimes are so severe that justice seems to demand that they spend the rest of their lives in prison. If any of the defendants deserve release, it is Leslie (she was 19 at the time of the crimes and had a relatively minor role as compared to the others). Given the publicity and political climate, I do not believe that Leslie will be released during her natural life. Manson and his followers were such a bizarre and frightening cast of characters that any parole board or Governor (who must ultimately agree to parole in CA) would face severe repercussions and ridicule if they released anyone connected with these crimes back into society.

Ms. Faith has an important story to tell and I recommend her book to anyone interested in how our society deals attempts to balance the issues of rehabitation and justice for high profile offenders in the information age.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

At the age of twenty-one, Leslie Van Houten was sentenced to death, along with Charles Manson and his other disciples, for the infamous murder rampage spanning two nights in August 1969. Leslie, who was present at the Rosemary and Leno LaBianca stabbings, serenely accepted her sentence, wishing only that she had better served Manson in carrying out his apocalyptic vision of "Helter Skelter." When the United States temporarily suspended its death penalty, her sentence for murder conspiracy was converted to life in prison. Today, at the age of 51, after three trials and with no parole in sight, Leslie has become a remarkable survivor of a living nightmare.

This work tells about Karlene Faith's thirty-year friendship with Leslie, whom she met while teaching in prison. To everyone who encountered Leslie-including prison staff and television journalists-she was not the demon typically portrayed by the media, but rather a gentle, generous spirit who mourned her victims. But why didn't this intelligent young woman see the evil in the "messiah" who had sexually exploited her, preached a racist ideology, and ordered her to murder?

Faith pieces together the puzzle, starting with Leslie's spiritual quest within the sixties counterculture and her immediate attraction to Manson during a chance meeting. We learn of Manson's ability to look into her mind and commiserate with her turmoil. We also see his own need to control women and how his brainwashing techniques enabled his followers to embrace him as God, giving them little choice but to obey.

Leslie's journey out of Manson's grasp is a riveting feminist and spiritual story of recovering one's self. Why this rehabilitated woman, long punished for one man's madness, has not been able to leave prison is another story Faith brings to light. Filled with accounts of political injustices, this powerful book moves the reader to rethink the meanings and limits of guilt and punishment.

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