Charles Manson's Right-Hand Man Seeks Parole

Relatives of some of the Manson Family's victims will gather at a California prison today to explain why they think Charles Manson's former right-hand man should not be freed. Seeking parole is Tex Watson—who has been in prison for 42 years for his role in seven horrific murders in 1969 by the Manson cult, including the death of pregnant actress Sharon Tate. Watson, 65—who married and divorced while in prison and fathered four children during conjugal visits—has been denied parole 13 times, notes AP.

"There's no question these were some of the most horrific crimes in California history in terms of the brutality, the multiple stab wounds, the gunshots, the large number of victims over a two-day period," an LA County deputy district attorney says. "For a group of people to just slaughter strangers in hopes of igniting a race war is extremely horrifying." Watson, who became a born-again Christian in 1975, did not attend his last parole hearing in 2006. (More Tex Watson stories.)