Susan Atkins at age 21
It was forty years ago this past August that the evil Charles Manson and his cult followers murdered several innocent people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate. It was a high profile story because of our society's fascination with horrible deaths, and because of the fame of Tate's husband, director Roman Polanski, who was away from their home at the time.
One of the cult members Susan Atkins died the other day at the age of 61. Forty years ago she readily admitted at her trial that she had stabbed Tate to death, even as Tate pleaded for mercy. Atkinson was never released from prison, even after a recent plea to spend her last days with her family. The prosecutor at the sixties trial, Vincent Bugliosi felt that Atkins should have been released.
Atkins was one of those people who "finds God" in prison. Her faith in Christ gave her a degree of peace for her participation in evil. To quote from one article:
"Her last conscious moments were with her husband and her brother, and her last whispered word was 'Amen.' No one (on) the face of the Earth worked as hard as Susan did to right an unrightable wrong," her husband added.
It is easy to be cynical about jailhouse conversions but when I worked in chaplaincy at Kingston Penitentiary I spoke with men who were overwhelmed with guilt over the heinous crimes they had committed. They would not get out of jail early because of their remorse, but a new-found faith was the key to release from another sort of prison.
2 comments:
I have to admit I am not shedding any tears about Sharon Tate's death. While I realize that she and other killers in prison have a lot of time to consider their evil actions - and some are truly repentant - I still find it hard to find any sympathy.
I have had close dealings with family members of murder victims, and their pain is real and endless. They are the people I prefer to think about.
I acknowledge that some inmates can turn themselves around - and that's great - but I think for anyone who is convicted of 1st degree murder, imprisonment should be life, not 25 yrs with the chance of parole. Anything short of life, in my opinion, is an affront to the victim and his/her family.
That "Lockerbie" bomber should never have been released, regardless of whether he has a few months to live or not. He was given a hero's welcome in Libya, much to the disgust of family members of the victims.
Thanks Johnny -- just a note: it was Sharon Tate who was murdered and Susan Atkin who died in prison.
I am strong believer that any person can change, through their choice and the grace of God. Societies choose what they consider reasonable punishment, but no amount of time in prison can right the wrong of murder. Many of the families of victims of violence realize this and work toward restorative rather than retributive justice.
Atkins situation is an interesting example. She was 21 when she murdered Tate. Many of the people I met in prison committed their crimes as virtual kids. Time and repentance can change people.
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