Patricia Krenwinkel, the 78-year-old former follower of Charles Manson, has once again been recommended for parole, reopening a long-running debate over rehabilitation, public safety and accountability for one of California’s most infamous criminal cases.

On October 6, 2026, Krenwinkel received a preliminary parole grant during her 18th subsequent suitability hearing. She has spent more than five decades in prison after being convicted in 1971 of seven counts of first-degree mu#der for her role in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca killings. The recommendation does not mean she will automatically be released.

The decision now enters a formal review process. California’s parole authorities must complete their review before the case reaches Governor Gavin Newsom. Once the decision is formally submitted to him, he has 30 days to decide whether to reverse it. The process includes a 120-day review period, meaning the governor’s final decision is not necessarily due immediately.

This is not the first time Krenwinkel has received a parole recommendation. In May 2022, the parole board approved her release, but Newsom reversed that decision later that year. A second recommendation was also reversed in October 2025. In his previous review, Newsom acknowledged her efforts toward personal growth in prison but concluded that concerns about public safety remained.

Krenwinkel’s supporters have pointed to her conduct in prison and her efforts at rehabilitation over the decades. However, prosecutors and members of the victims’ families continue to oppose her release, arguing that the seriousness of the crimes and the risk to public safety must remain central to the decision. The parole process is intended to ᴀssess whether an incarcerated person currently poses an unreasonable risk, rather than relying on age or time served alone.

The case traces back to August 1969, when members of the Manson group carried out attacks that killed actress Sharon Tate and four other people at a Los Angeles home, followed the next night by the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Krenwinkel was convicted alongside other members of the group and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after her original death sentence was invalidated.

For now, the central question is whether the latest recommendation will survive the review process. Newsom has reversed Krenwinkel’s parole grants before, but no final decision has been announced on this latest recommendation. Until the review is complete, her possible release remains uncertain.

Source: Los Angeles Times, NBC Los Angeles, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation