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Manson Follower Denied Parole, Can't Ask Again for 5 Years
Beausoleil during his trial
Convicted and imprisoned for his role in the 1969 murder of Gary Hinman, onetime Manson Family member and Spahn Ranch resident Robert "Bobby" Beausoleil, 63, was once again denied parole yesterday, according to Chatsworth Patch. Though sentenced to death in 1970, Beausoleil's sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972, and like all other Manson followers, has been continually denied release. As part of Monday's two-member panel of the California Board of Parole Hearings, Beausoleil was issued a denial that runs five years, keeping him behind bars until at least 2015.
At the time of the stabbing murder of Hinman, Beausoleil had ambitions to pursue a career in music, which, according to his own website, has remained a focus for his time and energy:
While in prison he has, by turns, and despite tremendous obstacles and restrictions, taken up the visual arts, started music programs and formed bands, taught himself electronics, invented and built innovative musical instruments, composed and recorded an impressive body of original music, produced numerous videos in support of youth outreach programs and cognitive programs for prison inmates (in cooperation with community efforts to reduce crime and recidivism), and is the author of a modest assortment of creative writing projects, some of them ongoing.
Affiliated with the Manson Family, Beausoleil was not part of the famous "Helter Skelter" murders of Sharon Tate and friends, or the La Bianca family, as he was already in jail for the Hinman killing at the time.
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