California Gov. Gavin Newsom is giving up his quest to keep Manson Family killer Leslie Van Houten behind bars. Newsom announced Friday that he will not appeal a court ruling that the 73-year-old should be paroled after serving more than half a century for murder. That means Van Houten could be freed in as soon as two weeks. “She’s thrilled and she’s overwhelmed,” her attorney, Nancy Tetreault, told the Associated Press. “She’s just grateful that people are recognizing that she’s not the same person that she was when she committed the murders.” Van Houten was convicted for abetting Manson in the 1969 murders of a Los Angeles grocer and his wife.
