were born with a death penalty? in a gas chamber? i believe what i m told to believe. don t you? because of that california state supreme court ruling, the sentences were reduced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. even for manson. and that touched off a debate that still reaches decades later. can people like these be rehabilitated? should they ever be released? there are so many reasons why has anthony dimaria spent most of his adult life fighting parole for the killers of his uncle, jay sebring. when somebody says i ve change, i ve rehabilitated. well, you might have. but your victims are dusty and rotting in a grief. over the years, manson, tex watson, patricia krenwinkel and susan atkins all had parole hearings. each time they were quickly
i believe what i m told to believe. don t you? because of that california state supreme court ruling, the sentences were reduced to life in prison with the possibility of parole even for manson. and that touched off a debate that still rages decades later. can people like these be rehabilitated? should they ever be released? there s so many reasons why. anthony has spent most of his adult life fighting parole for the killers of his uncle. i ve changed, i ve rehabilitated. well, you might have, but your victims are dusty and rotting in a grave. over the years manson, techs watson, patricia and susan atkins all have parole hearings. each time they were quickly denied but leslie seemed to have some hope of being paroled.
this is her hearing in 2000. it s really hard to live with the murder. reporter: van houten has been a model prisoner earned two degrees behind bars, runs a self-help group for inmates, has expressed remorse for decades. i accept responsibility. i know that what i did is inexcusable. reporter: in 2016, van houten was recommended for parole, but it was vetoed by the governor. sharon tate s sister debra strongly opposes her release. i don t think she deserves it. these people were brutally butchered. there has to be some kind of accountability in this world. there just simply has to be. reporter: and it doesn t stop when a person is 65 no. reporter: and the man behind it all, who wanted so desperately to be famous?
the pimps. from them, he learned how to control woman who were and this is his quote bent but not broken. manson also became fascinated with a popular book by dale carnegie called. hot how to win friends and influence people. this is so strange to hear that he red dale car neg ghi. not only read dale carnegie, absorbed it. that wasn t the only thing manson picked up in prison. another inmate gave him guitar lessons and one day in a prison workshop a radio was blaring the top 40 of 1964. he hears the song by the beatles, so he sets a goal for himself of becoming even better than the beatles and he starts writing songs and performing in prison shows. and so, by the time charlie manson was released in prison on parole, his fantasy was very
i believe what i m told to believe. don t you? reporter: because of that california state supreme court ruling, the sentences were reduced to life in prison with the possibility of parole even for manson. and that touched off a debate that still rages, decades later. can people like these be rehabilitated? should they ever be released? there are so many reasons why i m against parole. anthony dimaria has spent most of his adult life fighting parole for the killers of his uncle jay sebring. when somebody says, well, i ve changed. i ve rehabilitated. well, you might have, but your victims are dusty and rotting in a grave. reporter: over the last four decades, manson, tex watson, patricia krenwinkel, and the late susan atkins, who died in prison, all had parole hearings. each time they were quickly denied. but leslie van houten seemed to have some hope of being paroled.