'I can create a world where I make amends' Lesie Van Houten up for parole

'I'm trying to be someone who lives a life for healing rather than destruction.'

Decades after taking LSD then brutally murdering Rosemary LaBianca and her family, Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is up for parole for the twentieth time.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to NCB News, Van Houten admitted her actions were "unforgiveable" and apologized for the murders at her last hearing in 2013.

"I can create a world where I make amends," she stated. "I'm trying to be someone who lives a life for healing rather than destruction."

The LA Times reported a group of protestors has formed to fight against Van Houten's parole.

LaBianca's family members and LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey have teamed up to fight Van Houten's release.

Since her imprisonment, Van Houten has exhibited good behavior and started counseling other women.

Should she be recommended for parole, Gov. Jerry Brown will have an opportunity to deny her release. In January this year, Brown rejected parole for Manson associate Bruce Davis after stating, "Davis' own actions demonstrate that he had fully bought into the depraved Manson family beliefs."

LaBianca's stepdaughter, Cory LaBianca, stated: "Maybe Leslie Van Houten has been a model prisoner, but you know what? We still suffer our loss. My father will never be paroled. My stepmother will never get her life back. There's no way I can agree with the ruling today."

LaBianca's grandson, Tony LaMontagne, told CBS News: "What type of decision has the parole board actually made? They're making a decision to allow a murderer to come back into your neighborhood, my neighborhood. Last time they were in my neighborhood, they killed my family."

Another family member, Louis Smaldino, explained: "The Manson family are terrorists, albeit homegrown. They're long before their time. What we're seeing today, these people were back in the '60s."

Despite the strong words against her, Van Houten's attorney, Rich Pfieffer, believes she deserves to be released.

Van Houten, now 66, was only nineteen-years-old when she helped murder the LaBianca family. She described her actions as those of a misguided teenager under the influence of a serious drug. Her supporters agree and insist she was a victim of Charles Manson's "mind control."

Whether Van Houten will be granted parole remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: The LaBianca family will do everything in their power to keep her locked away for the entirety of her nine life sentences.

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