The Short Life and Tragic Death of Steven Parent

(photo source: Find A Grave) 

Other than Sharon Tate's unborn child, Steven Parent was the youngest victim of the Manson Family's August 8-9, 1969 slaughter and undisputedly the least known.  Up until his connection with the notorious crimes, he had a very ordinary, middle class upbringing. 

Steven Earl Parent was born on February 12, 1951, the firstborn child of Wilfred and Juanita Parent.  The Parent family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte - known as "Friendly El Monte" and "The End of the Santa Fe Trail" - roughly thirty miles from Beverly Hills but a world away around 1958.  Their three bedroom, two bath rambler on East Bryant Street, built in 1956, was soon bursting as Steven was joined by a sister, Janet, and two brothers, Greg and Dale.  

Steven attended high school at Arroyo High, beginning in 1965.  It was in 1966, halfway through his freshman year, that he was arrested for petty theft.  It's generally accepted that he stole several radios  - he was known to be a hi-fi bug and enthusiast and reportedly took those items apart to see how they operated.  There is, however, a February 2, 1966 Los Angeles Times article that mentions a 14-year-old El Monte teen who was arrested for committing one to six burglaries at area schools.  As the offender was a juvenile, no name was given.  Whether the teen mentioned in the Times article was Steven or not, he spent the next two years in juvenile detention.  While there, he was reportedly tested at near-genius level for electronics.  

(photo source: charlesmanson.com)

By the time he graduated from Arroyo in June of 1969, Steven stood just a whisper over six feet tall, with red hair that earned him the nickname "Carrot Top."  According to Vincent Bugliosi, the author of Helter Skelter and prosecutor of Steven's killer(s), Steven had dated a few girls in school but no one in particular.   He enjoyed listening to folk music and playing the guitar but his main passion continued to be electronics.  Planning to attend Citrus Junior College in Azusa, to the north of El Monte, in September, he was holding down two jobs to save up money for his tuition.    During the day he worked as a delivery boy for Valley Cities Plumbing Company on Rush Street in South El Monte.  In the evenings, he was a salesman at Jonas Miller Stereo on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. 

In late July, Steven picked up a hitchhiker named William Garretson.  This seemingly innocuous act would set the wheels in motion to alter the course of his life.  Garretson, an Ohio native, was the summer caretaker for the property located at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon.  The home, owned by Rudi Altobelli, a manager and producer, was being rented out to director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate.  Altobelli normally resided in the guesthouse but had hired Garretson on during the months he was in Europe.   After dropping Garretson off at the property, the caretaker told Steven to feel free to drop by anytime he should be in the area.

On Friday, August 8, 1969, Steven left home around 7:50 in the morning to begin work at Valley City Plumbing.  He came home for lunch and asked his mother Juanita to iron and lay out clothing for him so when he returned home after finishing his day at Valley City, he could quickly change and be on the way to Jonas Miller Stereo.  The day progressed normally, with Steven working his shift at Valley City, followed by Jonas Miller.  After clocking out at the stereo store, he stopped by Dales (a service station) in El Monte around 11 p.m. to chat with the brother of a girl he dated.  He asked the boy if he wanted to go for a ride; the boy declined.  From there, he made an innocent decision that would result in tragic consequences for him - he headed to 10050 Cielo Drive.  

Steve had a Sony AM-FM Digimatic clock radio he wanted to try to sell to William Garretson.  He arrived on the property around 11:45 p.m., noticing Abigail Folger and Sharon Tate in the main house as he made his way to the guesthouse.  Upon arrival, he asked Garretson who the pretty ladies were in the house and then showed Garretson the radio.  Garretson passed on the purchase but offered his guest a can of beer, which Steven accepted.  Steven also used the guesthouse phone to call a UCLA student by the name of John Friedman - he was building Friedman a stereo.  It was roughly around 12:15 a.m. when Steven bid Garretson farewell and left the guesthouse, headed for his car, his father's white 1966 Nash Ambassador, in the driveway.

Just over eight hours later, his body was found behind the steering wheel, slumped over toward the front passenger side, the clock radio beside him.  

The official story was that as Steven was leaving the property and had rolled his window down to access the button to open the gate, he was accosted by Charles "Tex" Watson, who, with Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel, Susan "Sadie" Atkins, and Linda Kasabian, were entering the property to slaughter everyone present as part of Charles Manson's ludicrous Helter Skelter motive.  As Tex ordered the boy to stop, Steven pleaded with him, "Please don't hurt me.  I won't say anything."  Armed with a bayonet and a gun, Watson at first slashed at Steven, who instinctively held up his left hand to protect himself, causing a gash on his wrist that severed his wristband and caused it to fly into the backseat, where it was found later that morning by police.  Watson then took out his gun and fired three times, hitting Steven in the left cheek and twice in the chest, the latter two wounds of which were fatal.  Watson then pushed the car back up the drive, away from the gate.  This recounting has Steven Parent being the first victim of the Manson Family that night.

Recently, however, there have been theories that Steven was not the first victim and may have been the last, or nearly so.  In these theories, Steven was walking back to his car from the guesthouse and came upon the horrific slaughter going down at the main house.  Panicked, he literally ran for his life, with a hopped up Tex Watson in pursuit, reaching his car and attempting to tear out of the property.  In his desperation, Steve backed into the split rail fence and Watson caught up to him.  It was then that Steven pleaded for his life and that Watson went after him with the knife.  Finding that it was difficult to achieve his goal with the knife while his victim was seated behind the wheel, Tex unloaded his gun three times into the boy.  

Whichever version is the correct one, the split rail fence was broken with chips of paint from the Parent car found on the fence and pieces of the wood found under the back bumper of the car.  It was agreed by the Manson Family members present that Steven did plead for his life with those exact words, leading anyone to wonder what he meant when he said "I won't say anything" if he didn't see anything, as he wouldn't if he had been the first victim. 

For Wilfred and Juanita Parent, that Friday night was long and unnerving for them.  Steven had never stayed out all night and not come home.  The police, upon finding Steven on Saturday morning, did not locate his wallet or driver's license and so he was dubbed John Doe.  A reporter on the scene managed to make out the license plate of the car and had it run, finding out it belonged to a Wilfred Parent in Elm Monte.  That reporter managed to track down the Parents' parish priest and notify him that the dead John Doe might be Steven Parent.  While the priest was headed to the morgue on Saturday evening to possibly make an identification that would spare Wilfred and Juanita, the Parent family headed out to dinner, hoping that Steven would be home when they returned.  Instead, an El Monte police officer appeared and handed Wilfred a business card with a phone number on it and instructed him to call.  Wilfred called the unidentified number and was stunned when he was connected to the L.A. County Morgue.  He was told the morgue had a body they believed was Wilfred's son.  The physical characters and clothing matched; the priest was also able to positively identify the Parents' oldest son.  That night, the Parent family, minus Steven, crawled into one bed and cried until the early hours.

Steven's funeral (photo source: RXSTR) 

Steven Parent was buried at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Rowland Heights on Wednesday, August 13.  

Arroyo High School dedicated its 1970 yearbook to four students and a teacher, with Steven being one of the students.  Part of the memorial stated: "Life goes on with all its joy, sorrow, love, pain, and laughter . . . yet death continues."  

His family eventually left California, finding the memories and publicity of the notorious killings too painful.  They relocated in Texas, where Juanita had lived during her later childhood and before her marriage to Wilfred.  

In 1972, the UCLA student Steven had spoken to before leaving the Cielo guesthouse published a sci-fi book under the name David Gerrold.  He dedicated the book to Steven.    

In 2009, Linda Kasabian participated in a documentary where she admitted for the first time that, on Tex Watson's orders, she crawled over Steven's dead body, searching for a wallet and/or money.  This explains why no wallet or identification was found on him (and also further supports a burglary angle or motive.)  

In the decades since his untimely and terrifying death, people who once knew Steven leave memorials for him on the Find a Grave website.  They mention summers past, of swimming together, of playing in fields behind homes, and pretending to be radio announcers and that Steven was always thrilled to share a birthday with Abraham Lincoln.  The girl named Tina - now a woman in her sixties - who had Steven as her prom date only months before he was killed still muses on whether they would have eventually married, had children and grandchildren together.  It can never be known.  

 

Steven's final resting place (photo source: Find a Grave) 

    

 

Gary Hinman: The Forgotten Manson Family Victim

Gary Hinman (photo: charlesmanson.com)

On July 25, 1969, Gary Allen Hinman was 34 years old, a UCLA student who was aiming to add a PhD in Sociology to his existing degree in chemistry.  To support himself, he worked at a music shop teaching piano, drums, the trombone and the bagpipes.  He also reportedly sold relatively small amounts of mescaline and/or marijuana for extra money.  

A year earlier, he had become interested in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and by the summer of 1969, he was planning a religious pilgrimage to Japan with his parents, who were going to pay for the trip.  A kind and gentle soul, Gary was known to open his Topanga Canyon house to friends and acquaintances in need.  Unfortunately, this generosity would cost him his life.

He had met Bobby Beausoleil and other so-called Manson Family members through the commune scene and counterculture that enveloped Los Angeles in the late Sixties.  An open-minded man who had once played at Carnegie Hall, Gary allowed Bobby (and others) to stay in the basement of his home in 1968.    

Beausoleil was 20 years old when he met and moved in with Gary.  He was a musician and an actor, having appeared in Mondo Hollywood and Kenneth Anger's 1967 film Lucifer Rising, as well as contributing to the movie's soundtrack, which was a condition in order for him to appear in the film.  (He would eventually produce the soundtrack from prison.)   He was living with Gary when he was cast in a supporting role in  the X-rated The Ramrodder, which was filmed at Spahn Ranch in late 1968.  It was Beausoleil's first introduction to Charles Manson and his so-called "Family."   Although he would never become a full-fledged member, he did associate with them and the girls.  

At some point, an invitation to join The Family was reportedly extended to Gary, who, being devoted to Buddhism, declined.  However, he did give Beausoleil and Manson guitar lessons.  

Gary's home at 964 Old Topanga Canyon Road
(photo: cielodrive.com) 

There are conflicting accounts as to what exactly led to Gary's murder.  Some say The Family was given incorrect information that he had recently come into $30,000.  There was also the story that Manson was offended that Gary had refused to join The Family, which would have included turning over all his assets to Manson.  Beausoleil, in a 2018 interview, claimed that he had purchased 1,000 tabs of mescaline from Gary and then turned around and sold the drugs to another person, who complained of the quality.  Beausoleil went to Gary's home on July 25, 1969, looking to get his money back with two girls in tow, Mary Brunner and Susan Atkins.   Mary, a former librarian at the University of 'Wisconsin, was Manson's first follower and mother to his then 15-month old child.  When the baby had been born, it was Gary who had donated formula, baby food, and clothing for his benefit.  Susan, a former stripper and devoted Manson follower, had a nine-month old baby behind at Spahn Ranch.  Both girls were allegedly sent along as Manson felt they could help to encourage Gary to hand over money as it was said that Gary had been intimate with both at times in the past.  

The trio found that Gary did not have the money to refund Beausoleil.  Nor, apparently, did he have any recent financial gains, much less $30,000.  He showed the people he considered friends that he only had $50 in his checking account.   When threats with a gun didn't work, Beausoleil beat the peace-loving Gary, while Mary and Susan apparently looked for anything worth selling in his home.  At some point, Gary either voluntarily signed over title to his two vehicles or did so by force.  

Mary Brunner recalled later that Manson was called at the Ranch and informed that Gary was not forthcoming with any money.  Shortly afterward, Manson, armed with a Samurai sword and fellow Family member Bruce Davis, arrived at Gary's residence and after walking through the front door, without a word, slashed Gary's left ear and down the side of his face.  It bled profusely.  According to Beausoleil, Manson told him he had cut Gary to show Beausoleil "how to be a man."  Manson then left in one of Gary's vehicles, leaving the bleeding and pleading man with Beausoleil, Brunner, and Atkins.  

Over the next 24 hours, Brunner and Atkins stitched up Gary's damaged ear with dental floss while Gary chanted and prayed.  According to Mary Brunner, he told the trio he would forget what had happened and would call his wound just a scratch, so long as they just left.  

Reporting following another phone conversation with Manson, Beausoleil informed Brunner that he was going to kill Gary.  

Beausoleil said that Gary had insisted on receiving medical attention, leaving Beausoleil to realize there was no way out of the situation he had gotten himself into.  

At some point on July 27, 1969, Beausoleil stabbed Gary twice in the chest.    However, Gary lingered for hours with the wounds before Beausoleil, Brunner, and Atkins took turns holding a pillow over Gary's face to speed his death along.  It was Atkins that was holding the pillow when Gary took his last breaths.  Once he had died, they used his blood to write "Political Piggy," along with a cat's paw, on the wall, thinking it would implicate the Black Panthers.  

The three then left the home with the whopping $20 they managed to score from their crime.  They used the money to buy coffee and strawberry cake.    

On Thursday, July 31, authorities received a report of a possible homicide and found the body of Gary Hinman.  He was still clutching his prayer beads in his hand.  

A week later, on August 7, 1969, Beausoleil was found on the 101, between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, sleeping in Gary's other vehicle, with the murder weapon secreted in the tire well.  He was arrested for the murder and on April 18, 1970 he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.  His sentence was commuted in 1972 to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

Beausoleil under arrest
(photo: thejuicyreport.com)

Over the years, it was speculated that the Tate-LaBianca murders, occurring on the evenings of August 8-9, 1969 and August 10, 1969, were committed in a haphazard attempt to free Beausoleil by showing copycat murders happening while he was in jail on charges for Gary's murder.  

Beausoleil himself would change details regarding the killing of Gary.  In 1981, he would claim that the murder was solely the result of a botched drug transaction, although a drug deal was never brought up during his trial.  He also claimed that he had unknowingly supplied members of the Straight Satans motorcycle gang with a bad batch of drugs and they had demanded their money back from Beausoleil.  In that interview, he denied that Manson had ever come to Gary's home and that it was Beausoleil himself who had cut Gary's face with a knife when the two were struggling over the gun.  

In 1998, Beausoleil reversed course again, saying that it was indeed Manson who had inflicted the facial wounds.  

Before her death in 2009, Susan Atkins said she had never heard mention that the trio went to Gary's home over drugs.  "In hindsight," she said, "the death of Gary is perhaps the hardest thing to understand or make sense of."  

Gary in life 
(screenshots from Helter Skelter: An American Myth)

Bobby Beausoleil remains incarcerated for taking the life of Gary Hinman.  He was recommended for parole on his 19th suitability hearing, in January of 2019, although the governor of California reversed that decision in April that same year.  Today, he claims to regret what he did to Gary Hinman, a man he considered a friend, and says he should have faced the music but "instead, I killed him."     

   

Gary's final resting place in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
(photo: findagrave.com) 

Leslie Van Houten: Denied!

In a stunning case of good sense and forethought, California Governor Jerry Brown has gone against the recommendations of the parole board and denied Manson Family killer Leslie Van Houten parole.

Last September, a California Board of Parole panel found her "suitable" for release but Brown, on January 19, denied her that privilege, believing that she should remain incarcerated due to the "aggravated nature of the crime" and Van Houten's reluctance to wholly take responsibility.

This is who counts - Leno and Rosemary

I absolutely agree with Governor Brown's decision.  As he said, "The devastation and loss experienced by the LaBianca family and all the victims' families continues today."  What Van Houten did - - regardless of her age - - cannot be righted. Ever.  I have read where people say that she was young, she made a mistake . . . she was nineteen or twenty at the time.  Old enough. Making a mistake is dropping out of school or quitting a job or settling for a poor boyfriend.  Not stabbing a woman in the back with a knife, to the hilt.

What I find interesting is that while some want to give Leslie Van Houten mercy, claiming her age at the time or her small victim count compared to the other killers, they were never merciful toward Charles Manson, who didn't put a knife in any of the victims.  Yes, he at the very least suggested his merry little band of murderers where to go and what to do and he did initially tie up Rosemary and Leno LaBianca but he did less in action than Van Houten did.  So why the push to grant her parole?

A joyful Leslie (right) during the trial

I've said this in other posts and I'll say it again.  Leslie Van Houten was considered the least devoted of Manson's minions.  The least.  Let that sink in.  Yet she still willingly and happily accompanied the group that night back in 1969, knowing full well what their bloody mission would be, and partook in the violence.  She had zero sympathy for Rosemary LaBianca, fighting for her life, as she helped to put a pillowcase over her head and a lamp cord around her neck and then took a knife to her. She had zero sympathy for her, or any other victim, when she sang and giggled in court.

Leslie Van Houten wasn't a child, she was a legal adult.  I don't care what kind of drugs you are doing, or what kind of alcohol you are drinking, or if your mother forced you to get an abortion or your parents were mean or you weren't popular in school or whatever else.  It's no excuse for murder. None.   And blaming Manson, at least in part, seems to be the modus operandi for those left, as both Patricia Krenwinkel and Tex Watson have done the same.

Governor Brown previously denied Van Houten parole in 2016.

Does the Death of Manson End the Family Mystique?

The news that Charles Manson had died of natural causes (unlike the victims who died due to his orders/influence/crazy) on Sunday has put his infamy back on the front page and dredged up the summer of 1969. 

From this . . . 

I have to admit that while news of Manson's passing isn't wholly surprising (he was 83 and in failing health, after all) there was still a part of me that figured Manson would outlive everyone else involved in this horrible case.  I'm happy to be wrong here.

Manson, whether alive or dead, seems to generate more vitriol and hatred than any other Family member.  Understandable, to a degree, since he was the "face" of the Family and certainly the one who garnered the most press attention, both during and after the trial.  Does that hatred now transfer to the still living killers?  It should. 

Tex Watson should be hated just as much as Manson.  He personally shot Steven Parent to death; he personally shot and stabbed Jay Sebring and Voytek Frykowski to death; he stabbed an already dead or dying Abigail Folger; he personally stabbed to death Leno LaBianca; he at the least held Rosemary LaBianca, and more likely stabbed her.  He admitted to cutting Sharon Tate's face before she was slaughtered; who personally stabbed her to death has been under debate for decades.

. . . to this. 

Bobby Beausoleil personally stabbed Gary Hinman to death, after Gary begged him not to.

Bruce Davis was present when Gary Hinman's ear was sliced off by Manson.  He was also present when Donald "Shorty" Shea was killed, as well as when Family member John Philip Haught committed suicide (or should I say "committed suicide" since Haught was playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded handgun.) 

Patricia Krenwinkel was present at both the Tate-Polanski residence and the LaBianca residence on both nights of murder.  She personally stabbed Abigail Folger in the residence and, wielding an upraised knife, ran after Abigail when the poor woman made a break for it, out the back door.  She caught Abigail on the lawn and continued to stab her.  She stabbed Leno LaBianca after Watson had killed him and left a carving fork and knife in his body.  She stabbed Rosemary LaBianca and helped to hold the woman down.  She wrote in blood at the LaBianca residence.

Leslie Van Houten was not present for the Tate murders but she was for LaBianca, and she knew full well what was going to happen. She personally stabbed Rosemary LaBianca, possibly administering the death blows. She also aided and abetted in the murder of Leno LaBianca and, with Watson and Krenwinkel, ate the LaBiancas' food, showered in their bathroom and played with their dogs after butchering the couple.  

With old Charlie's death, that's two Manson Family killers who have died where they belong - - in prison.  (If you're not sure, the other is Susan Atkins -  she who told Sharon Tate "Bitch, I have no mercy for you," and who actually tasted Sharon's blood, who died in 2009.  Nope, I didn't cry for Susan then and I'm not now.) 

Manson's death ends an era in a way that the deaths (and eventual deaths) of his followers (convicted or not) has not and will not.  While California taxpayers should be rejoicing that they no longer have to support Manson's sorry ass, they do still have to contend with Watson, Krenwinkel, Beausoleil and Davis.  Van Houten has once again been granted parole by the Parole Board; it's a wait and see game, once again, with Jerry Brown.  But that's another story.

Does the story of "Helter Skelter" die with Manson?  Will interest in the crimes and the remaining Family fade away?  I think not.  The brutality the laughing killers used on their victims, as well as the celebrity factor (Sharon Tate being an actress and the wife of Roman Polanski; Jay Sebring being a hair stylist to the stars; Abigail Folger being heiress to the Folger Coffee empire) and the sad/gory fact that Sharon Tate was heavily pregnant at the time she was killed will keep the murders in the forefront of true crime.  It may be harder to comprehend today, where such violence isn't as shocking, sadly, but the Tate-LaBianca murders truly were the crimes of the century.  Before August 9, 1969, even in Los Angeles, people did leave their doors unlocked. Inviting strangers, or friends of friends of friends, into your home wasn't crazy.  After that weekend in Los Angeles, things changed.

What do you think?  Does the story of "Helter Skelter" die with Manson?  Will the case finally gather dust on the crime books?

Manson Family Update: Bobby Beausoleil Denied Parole; Tex Watson Up Next

Beausoleil; Denied

As I predicted, Governor Jerry Brown's decision to deny Leslie Van Houten parole, after it was recommended by the parole board, did not bode well for fellow inmate and fellow Manson Family perp Bobby Beausoleil.

Bobby, now 68, came up for parole on Friday, October 14 and the board decided that the Family member formerly known as "Cupid" had not yet paid his debt to society for the murder of musician Gary Hinman on July 27, 1969 - - a week before the infamous Tate-LaBianca homicides.

Given that Beausoleil was initially given the death penalty, which was commuted to a life sentence (as were the death penalty sentences of the other Manson family killers), I can't be too upset about him not getting parole.  Last I checked, Gary Hinman, an innocent victim, will never get parole.

Beausoleil claimed to have been a musician and kinda-sorta actor before fucking all that up by joining Charles Manson's merry band of craziness.  If you're into that sort of thing, he has written and recorded music while behind bars.  It was reported that he was denied parole, in part, because he has been selling his music without permission of the California authorities.  He had permission from Oregon authorities, where he had been serving his sentence until last year.  (He had requested and was granted a move to Oregon in 1994 after he married a clearly unhinged Oregon woman, whom he went on to have four children with.  He was transferred back to California after his wife died and he had an infraction - - what a surprise - - in Oregon. )  He also sold suggestive drawings of children to pedophiles back in the 1980s - - nice guy.  I'm guessing he didn't exactly have permission for that.

Californians can breathe easier knowing that the man who made the statement "You'd better hope I never get out!" will not be eligible for parole again for another three years.  Here's hoping that parole attempt number 19 will be equally unsuccessful.

Watson:   He's soooo sowwwwwwy

In my search on upcoming information on Tex Watson, whose next parole hearing is scheduled for end of this month, I found an article from The Boston Tribune that claims that Manson's self-professed right hand man will be granted parole at this hearing due to his "clear and sustained rehabilitation" and a recently diagnosed health issue.

First, I can tell you his health issue. He's an asshole.  And worse, a murdering asshole.  Second, are they serious?  Watson has had a series of infractions over the years of his lengthy stay as a guest of the State of California.  Let's not forget his prison scam, where he was claiming to be a born again Christian, and minister of his ministry, which allowed his then-wife to collect monies received for said ministry in order to support herself and the four children California allowed him to spawn (yes, after he personally butchered a pregnant woman.)   Not only did he have that going on but he also had fellow inmate and fellow Mansonite Bruce Davis "working" alongside him in the prison ministry - - an absolute no no.   Perhaps the worst offense are the books Watson has written while in prison, "literary" attempts to convince the public of his Christianity and how it was all Manson's fault. Sure.  He was just some misguided kid who thought butchering absolute strangers for shits and giggles made perfect sense.  (And if he did, he was a moron and I still don't want him in my neighborhood.)

So. I'm not exactly sure how The Boston Tribune seems in the know about Watson's impending release but I'm with Debra Tate on this one.  Her older sister Sharon, over eight months pregnant with a baby boy at the time, was killed at Watson's hands. He was personally involved in the murders of at least nine people that we know of, including Sharon's unborn baby.  I'm fairly certain that I don't want to run into him at Ralph's picking up groceries so I did my part and signed Debra's petition requesting denial of  Watson's parole.  Please do the same.

Even if you buy that he's been rehabilitated -  which is a questionable prospect at best; even if you buy that he's ill and rapidly declining - - Susan Atkins was terminally ill, given very few months to live and was rightly denied, dying in prison where all Manson Family members should die; I ask that you remember this.  He's been incarcerated since 1971.  That's a total of 45 years.  Sure, that's a lot.  But if you divide that by the nine human beings he slaughtered, that's only FIVE YEARS PER VICTIM.  How is five years, for shooting, bludgeoning, hanging and viciously stabbing a living and breathing person enough time?  It's not in my world and it shouldn't be in any sane person's. Furthermore, he's had 47 years to live that he denied all of his victims.  One did not even have the opportunity to take his first breath.

Debra Tate's petition can be found here.