Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French (“voice”, “spoken word”). Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their word of honor to abide by certain restrictions. One proposed reform is that parole bonds be used to incentivize defendants not to re-offend. Parole should not be confused with probation, as parole is serving the remainder of a sentence outside of prison, where probation is given instead of a prison sentence and as such, tends to place more rigid obligations upon the individual serving the term.

Criminal justice

In criminal justice systems, parole is the supervised release of a prisoner before the completion of their sentence in prison. This differs from amnesty or commutation of sentence in that parolees are still considered to be serving their sentences, and may be returned to prison if they violate the conditions of their parole. A specific type of parole is medical parole or compassionate release which is the release of prisoners on medical or humanitarian grounds. Conditions of parole often include things such as obeying the law, refraining from drug and alcohol use, avoiding contact with the parolee's victims, obtaining employment, and maintaining required contacts with a parole officer. Some justice systems, such as the United States federal system, place defendants on supervised release after serving their entire prison sentence; this is not the same as parole.

Difference between parole and mandatory supervision

Some states in the US have what is known as "mandatory supervision," whereby an inmate is released prior to the completion of their sentence due to legal technicalities which oblige the offender justice system to free them. In some states such as Texas, inmates are compensated with "good time," which is counted towards time served. For example, if an inmate served five years of a ten year prison term, and also had five years of "good time," they will have completed their sentence "on paper," obliging the state to release them. Where parole is granted or denied at the discretion of a parole board, mandatory supervision does not involve a decision making process: one either qualifies for it or does not. Mandatory supervision tends to involve stipulations that are more lenient than those of parole, and in some cases place no obligations at all on the individual being released.

Early history of parole

Alexander Maconochie, a Scottish geographer and captain in the British Royal Navy, introduced the modern idea of parole when, in 1840, he was appointed superintendent of the English penal colonies in Norfolk Island, Australia. He developed a plan to prepare them for eventual return to society that involved three grades. The first two consisted of promotions earned through good behavior, labor, and study. The third grade in the system involved conditional liberty outside of prison while obeying rules. A violation would return them to prison and starting all over again through the ranks of the three grade process.

China

In China, prisoners are often granted medical parole or compassionate release, which releases them on the grounds that they must receive medical treatment which cannot be provided for in prison. Occasionally, medical parole is used as a no-publicity way of releasing an accidentally imprisoned convict.

The Chinese legal code has no explicit provision for exile, but often a dissident is released on the grounds that they need to be treated for a medical condition in another country, and with the understanding that they will be reincarcerated if they return to China. Dissidents who have been released on medical parole include Ngawang Chophel, Ngawang Sangdrol, Phuntsog Nyidron, Takna Jigme Zangpo, Wang Dan, Wei Jingsheng, Gao Zhan and Fang Lizhi.

Italy

Libertà condizionata is covered by Article 176 of the Italian Penal Code. A prisoner is eligible if he has served at least 30 months (or 26 years for life sentences), and the time remaining on his sentence is less than half the total (normally), a quarter of the total (if previously convicted or never convicted) or five years (for sentences >7.5 years). 21 inmates were granted libertà condizionata in 2006.

United States

Early history

Penologist Zebulon Brockway first introduced parole when he became superintendent of Elmira Reformatory in New York state. In order to manage prison populations and rehabilitate those incarcerated he instituted a two part strategy that consisted of indeterminate sentences and parole releases.

Modern history

In the United States, courts may specify in a sentence how much time must be served before a prisoner is eligible for parole. This is often done by specifying an indeterminate sentence of, say, "15 to 25 years," or "15 years to life". The latter type is known as an indeterminate life sentence; in contrast, a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole" is known as a determinate life sentence.

In most states, the decision of whether an inmate is paroled is vested in a paroling authority such as a parole board. Mere good conduct while incarcerated in and of itself does not necessarily guarantee that an inmate will be paroled. Other factors may enter into the decision to grant or deny parole, most commonly the establishment of a permanent residence and immediate, gainful employment or some other clearly visible means of self-support upon release (such as Social Security if the prisoner is old enough to qualify). Many states now permit sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (such as for murder and espionage), and any prisoner not sentenced to either this or the death penalty will eventually have the right to petition for release (one state Alaska maintains neither the death penalty nor life imprisonment without parole as sentencing options).

Before being granted the privilege of parole, the inmate meets with members of the parole board and is interviewed, The parolee also has a psychological exam. The inmate must first agree to abide by the conditions of parole set by the paroling authority. While in prison, the inmate signs a parole certificate or contract. On this contract are the conditions that the inmate must follow. These conditions usually require the parolee to meet regularly with his or her parole officer or community corrections agent, who assesses the behavior and adjustment of the parolee and determines whether the parolee is violating any of his or her terms of release (typically these include being at home during certain hours which is called a curfew, maintaining steady employment, not , refraining from illicit drug use and sometimes, abstaining from alcohol), attend drug or alcohol counseling, have no contact with their victim. The inmate gives an address which is verified by parole officers as valid before inmate is released on to parole supervision. Upon release, the parolee goes to a parole office and is assigned a parole officer. Parole officers go to parolees' houses or apartments to check on them as unannounced visits. During these home visits officers look for signs of drug or alcohol use, no guns or illegal weapons are in the parolees residence, and look for signs of other illegal activities. Should parolees start to use drugs or alcohol, they are told to go to drug or alcohol counseling and NA or AA meeting. Should they not comply with conditions on the parole certificate a warrant is issued for their arrest. Their parole time is stopped when the warrant is issued and starts only after they are arrested. They have a parole violation hearing within a specified time, and then a decision is made by the parole board to revoke their parole or continue the parolee on parole. In some cases, a parolee may be discharged from parole before the time called for in the original sentence if it is determined that the parole restrictions are no longer necessary for the protection of society (this most frequently occurs when elderly parolees are involved).

Service members who commit crimes while in the US military may be subject to Court Martial proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). If found guilty, they may be sent to Federal or Military Prisons and upon release may be supervised by U.S./Federal Probation Officers.

Parole is a controversial political topic in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at least sixteen states have abolished parole entirely, and four more have abolished parole for certain violent offenders. During elections, politicians whose administrations parole any large number of prisoners (or, perhaps, one notorious criminal) are typically attacked by their opponents as being "soft on crime". The US Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in 2005 that about 45% of parolees completed their sentences successfully, while 38% were returned to prison, and 11% absconded. These statistics, the DOJ says, are relatively unchanged since 1995; even so, some states (including New York) have abolished parole altogether for violent felons, and the federal government abolished it in 1984 for all offenders convicted of a federal crime, whether violent or not. Despite the decline in jurisdictions with a functioning parole system, the average annual growth of parolees was an increase of about 1.5% per year between 1995 and 2002.

A variant of parole is known as "time off for good behavior", or, colloquially, "good time". Unlike the traditional form of parole which may be granted or denied at the discretion of a parole board time off for good behavior is automatic absent a certain number (or gravity) of infractions committed by a convict while incarcerated (in most jurisdictions the released inmate is placed under the supervision of a parole officer for a certain amount of time after being so released). In some cases "good time" can reduce the maximum sentence by as much as one-third. It is usually not made available to inmates serving life sentences, as there is no release date that can be moved up.

US immigration law

In US immigration law, the term parole has three different meanings.

A person who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa may be allowed to enter the U.S. for humanitarian purposes. Persons who are allowed to enter the U.S. in this manner are known as parolees.

Another use related to immigration is advance parole, in which a person who already legally resides in the U.S. needs to leave temporarily and return without a visa. This typically occurs when a person's application for a green card (permanent residency) is in process and the person must leave the U.S. for emergency or business reasons. In the wake of September 11, 2001, there has been greater scrutiny of applications for advance parole.

A person who goes out of the country on "advanced parole" has to go through the following process: Canada by road: US Immigration officers will require you to submit one parole document to them. They will stamp your passport and another parole document, and issue a new I-94 form.

The term is also used to denote scenarios in which the federal government orders the release of an alien inmate incarcerated in a state prison before that inmate's sentence has been completed, with the stipulation that the inmate be immediately deported, and never permitted to return to the United States. The most celebrated example of this form of parole was that of Lucky Luciano, who was being "rewarded" for cooperating with the war effort during World War II. In most cases where such parole is resorted to, however, the federal government has deemed that the need for the immediate deportation of the inmate outweighs the state's interest in meting out punishment for the crime the inmate committed.

Prisoners of war

Parole is "[t]he agreement of persons who have been taken prisoner by an enemy that they will not again take up arms against those who captured them, either for a limited time or during the continuance of the war". The US Department of Defense defines parole more broadly. "Parole agreements are promises given the captor by a POW to fulfill stated conditions, such as not to bear arms or not to escape, in consideration of special privileges, such as release from captivity or lessened restraint."

The practice of paroling enemy troops began thousands of years ago, at least as early as the time of Carthage. Parole allowed the prisoners' captors to avoid the burdens of having to feed and care for them, while still avoiding having the prisoners rejoin their old ranks once released; it could also allow the captors to recover their own men in a prisoner exchange. Hugo Grotius, an early international lawyer, favorably discussed prisoner of war parole. During the American Civil War, both the Dix-Hill Cartel and the Lieber Code set out rules regarding prisoner of war parole. Francis Lieber's thoughts on parole later reappeared in the Declaration of Brussels of 1874, the Hague Convention, and the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

In the United States, current policy prohibits US soldiers who are prisoners of war from accepting parole. The Code of Conduct for the US Armed Forces states: "I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy." This position is reiterated by the Department of Defense. "The United States does not authorise any Military Service member to sign or enter into any such parole agreement."

See also

Parol evidence rule

Ticket of leave

Release on temporary licence

References

US Department of Justice, "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2004" (pdf file)

External links

California Reentry Programme - Helping parolees re-enter society

Category:Criminal law Category:Legal terms

Name	Alain Delon
Caption	Alain Delon at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
Birth name	Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon
Birth date	November 08, 1935
Birth place	Sceaux, France
Years active	1957–present
Occupation	Actor
Partner	Romy Schneider (1958-1963)Mireille Darc(1969-1984)
Spouse	Nathalie Barthélemy (1964-1968)Rosalie van Breemen (1987-2001)
Website	http://www.alaindelon.com/e/

Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (born 8 November 1935) is a César Award-winning French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 he was being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot. Over the course of his career, Delon has worked with many well-known directors, including Luchino Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni and Louis Malle.

Delon acquired Swiss citizenship in 1999 and the company managing products sold under his name is based in Geneva.

Early life

Delon was born in Sceaux, Seine (now Hauts-de-Seine), Île-de-France, a suburb of Paris. His parents, Édith (née Arnold) and Fabien Delon, divorced when Delon was four. Both remarried, and Delon has a half-sister and two half-brothers. He attended a Roman Catholic boarding school, the first of several schools from which he was expelled because of unruly behavior. Teachers once tried to convince him to enter the priesthood because of his aptitude in religious studies.

At 14, Delon left school, and worked for a brief time at his stepfather's butcher shop. He enlisted in the French Navy three years later, and in 1953/54 he served as a fusilier marin in the First Indochina War. Delon has said that out of his four years of military service he spent 11 months in prison for being "undisciplined". In 1956, after being dishonorably discharged from the military he returned to France. He didn´t have any money, and got by on whatever employment he could find. He spent time working as a waiter, a porter, a secretary and a sales clerk. During this time he became friends with the actress Brigitte Auber, and joined her on a trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where his film career would begin.

Career

(1966).]] At Cannes, Delon was seen by a talent scout for David O. Selznick. After a screen test Selznick offered him a contract, providing he learned English. Delon returned to Paris to study this language, but when he met French director Yves Allégret, he was convinced that he should stay in France to begin his career. Selznick allowed Delon to cancel his contract, and Allégret gave him his debut in the film Quand la Femme s'en Mêle (When the Woman Butts In). Delon then appeared in the film Faibles Femmes (Women Are Weak/Three Murderesses). This was also the very first of his films to be seen in America, where it became a huge success.

In 1960, Delon appeared in René Clément's Purple Noon, which was based on the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. He played protagonist Tom Ripley to critical acclaim. He then appeared in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers. Critic Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said Delon's work was : "touchingly pliant and expressive." John Beaufort in the Christian Science Monitor said: :"Rocco's heartbroken steadfastness furnishes the film with the foremost of its ironic tragedies ... [I]ts believability rests finally on Mr. Delon's compelling performance."

Delon made his stage debut in 1961 in John Ford’s play, 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore alongside Romy Schneider in Paris. Visconti directed the production. Delon would work with him again for Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). Delon also worked with Jean-Pierre Melville, who directed him in Un Flic, Le Cercle Rouge, and Le Samouraï.

In 1964, the Cinémathèque Française held a showcase of Delon's films and Delon started a production company, Delbeau Production, with Georges Beaume. They produced a film called L’insoumis, which had to be re-edited due to legal issues. Delon then started his own production company, Adel, and starred in the company’s first film, Jeff. Delon followed the success of the film with Borsalino, which became one of France’s highest grossing films of the time. In 1973, he made a duet with the French pop singer Dalida on "Paroles, paroles". He also played Johnston McCulley's popular masked hero in 1975's Zorro. In 1976 Delon starred in the César awards (French equivalent of Oscars) - winning Monsieur Klein. .]] He was awarded the Best Actor César Award for his role in Bertrand Blier's Notre histoire (1984), and portrayed the aristocratic dandy Baron de Charlus in Swann in Love in the same year. Then followed a string of box office failures in the late 1980s and 1990s, culminating in the failure of Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux. Delon announced his decision to give up acting in 1997, although he still occasionally accepts roles.

In 1990, he worked with auteur Jean-Luc Godard, on Nouvelle vague, in which he played twins. In 2003, the Walter Reade Theater showed a series of Delon's films under the aegis, Man in the Shadows: The Films of Alain Delon.

Products

Since the formation of a perfume label in his name, Delon has had a variety of products sold under his name including wristwatches, clothing, eyewear, stationery and cigarettes.

Delon's sunglasses brand became particularly popular in Hong Kong after actor Chow Yun-fat wore them in the 1986 crime film A Better Tomorrow (as well as two sequels). Delon reportedly wrote a letter thanking Chow for helping the sunglasses sell out in the region. The film's director John Woo has acknowledged Delon as one of his idols and wrote a short essay on Le Samourai as well as Le Cercle Rouge for the Criterion Collection DVD releases.

Relationships

On 20 March 1959, Delon was engaged to actress Romy Schneider, whom he met when they co-starred in the film Christine (1958). During their relationship, he had an affair with German actress, singer and model Nico. On 11 August 1962 Nico gave birth to a son, Ari (Christian Aaron), who was fathered by Delon. The child was raised mostly by Delon's parents.

In December 1963, Schneider and Delon decided to break the engagement. On 13 August 1964, Delon married Nathalie Barthélemy. Their son, Anthony Delon, was born in September. The couple divorced on 14 February 1969.

In 1968, during the shooting of Jeff, he met French actress Mireille Darc with whom he had a 15-year relationship until 1982.

In 1987, Delon met Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen on the shooting of the video clip for his song "Comme au cinéma" and started a relationship. They had two children: Anouschka (25 November 1990) and Alain-Fabien (18 March 1994). The relationship ended in October 2002.

Scandal

In 1968, one of Delon’s bodyguards, Stevan Markovic, was found shot in the head in a dumpster outside Delon’s home. Delon’s friend, Corsican gangster François Marcantoni, was charged with accessory to murder. Delon himself was held by police for questioning, despite the fact that the murder took place in Paris, and Delon was filming in St. Tropez. Delon's then-wife, Nathalie, was also questioned.

Honours

At the 60th Cannes Film Festival, he presented the Best Actress Award to South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon for her role in Lee Chang Dong's Secret Sunshine. She became the first South Korean to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the 2008 César Awards on February 22, 2008, he presented the César Award for Best Actress to Marion Cotillard, who in two days would win the Academy Award for Best Actress for La Vie En Rose.

Delon appears on the cover of the 1986 album The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths.

He was made Officier (Officer) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 1995. He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur on 21 February 1991.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine Category:César Award winners Category:French film actors Category:French military personnel of the First Indochina War Category:French television actors Category:French Roman Catholics Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Officiers of the Ordre national du Mérite Category:French people of Corsican descent

Subject name	Susan Atkins
Image name	Susan atkins.jpg
Birth date	May 07, 1948
Birth place	San Gabriel, California, U.S.
Death date	September 24, 2009
Death place	Chowchilla, California, U.S.
Alias	Sadie Mae Glutz
Conviction	Murder
Conviction penalty	Death, commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty
Conviction status	Deceased
Spouse	Donald Lee Laisure (1981–1982)James Whitehouse (1987–2009, her death)
Parents	Edward John Atkins (deceased)Jeanette (nee Jett; deceased)
Children	Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz (son)(name given at birth in 1968; later adopted/renamed)}}

Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was a convicted American murderer who was a member of the "Manson family", led by Charles Manson. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California, over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969. Known within the Manson family as Sadie Mae Glutz, Atkins was convicted for her participation in eight of these killings, including the most notorious, "Tate/LaBianca" murders. She was sentenced to death, which was subsequently commuted to life in prison. Incarcerated from October 1, 1969 until her death, Atkins was the longest-incarcerated female inmate in the California penal system, having been denied parole 18 times.

Early life

Born in San Gabriel, California, the second of three children, Atkins grew up in northern California. Both her parents, Edward John and Jeanette, were, according to her, alcoholics.

Her older brother, Michael, had previously left home to join the Navy. Susan Atkins dropped out of high school at the age of 18 and went to San Francisco, where she supported herself as a secretary, an office gopher and topless dancer. During her time as a stripper, Atkins met Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey when she was hired for a stage production which featured her as a vampire.

During this time, she also had contact with local law enforcement authorities. In 1966, she was arrested and charged with possession of a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property.

In 1967, Atkins met Charles Manson when he played guitar at the house where she was living with several friends. When the house was raided several weeks later by the police and she was left homeless, Manson invited her to join his group, who were embarking on a summer road trip in a converted school bus painted completely black. She was nicknamed "Sadie Mae Glutz" by Manson and a man who was creating a fake ID for her at the time. Atkins later claimed to have believed Manson to be Jesus. The growing "Manson Family" settled at the Spahn Ranch in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, where on October 7, 1968, she bore a son, by Bruce White, whom Manson named Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz. Atkins' parental rights were terminated once she was convicted of the murders and no one in her family would assume responsibility for the child. Her son was adopted and renamed from the time of her incarceration in 1969. She had no further contact with him.

Murder of Gary Hinman

During the summer of 1969, Manson and his commune at Spahn's Ranch were attracting the attention of the police, who suspected them of auto thefts and were suspicious of the high number of underage runaways. In an attempt to raise money to move away to the desert, Manson encouraged drug dealing. Purportedly, a botched drug scam by Family member Charles "Tex" Watson led Manson to confront and shoot a man by the name of Bernard "Lotsapapa" Crowe. Manson believed he had killed Crowe, and he further believed Crowe to be a Black Panther. Neither was true. Nonetheless, Manson feared retaliation from the Black Panthers and pressured his followers for more money. During this time someone suggested that an old friend, Gary Hinman, had just inherited a large sum of money. Manson hoped Hinman could be induced into joining the commune and contributing his purported new inheritance.

Manson sent Atkins, Bobby Beausoleil and Mary Brunner to Hinman's home on July 25, 1969. Atkins claimed she didn’t know a crime was going to take place, a claim she made when she pleaded guilty to the murder, although she wrote in her 1977 book that she went to Hinman's home to get money and knew that it was possible they were going to kill Hinman.

When Hinman insisted he had not inherited any money, Beausoleil beat him severely. When this didn't change Hinman's story, Manson himself showed up, and swung at his head with a sword, slicing his face and severely cutting his ear. Manson directed Atkins and Brunner to stay behind and tend to Hinman's wounds. Two days later, and after a phone call from Manson, Beausoleil had Hinman sign over the registrations to his cars and then killed him. Beausoleil left a bloody handprint on the wall along with vaguely revolutionary words that were reportedly placed there in hope of implicating the Black Panthers. Beausoleil was arrested on August 7, 1969, when he was found asleep in one of Hinman's vehicles. He was still wearing the blood stained clothing he wore during the crime. The murder weapon was hidden in the tire well of the car's trunk.

Tate/LaBianca murders

On the evening of August 8, 1969, Manson gathered Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel in front of Spahn's Ranch and told them to go with Charles "Tex" Watson and do as they were told. In Atkins' grand jury testimony, she stated that while in the car, Watson told the group they were going to a home to get money from the people who lived there and to kill them.

Five people were murdered at the Beverly Hills home where Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate lived: Tate (who was eight months pregnant), Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger. Polanski, Tate's husband, was in Europe finishing work on a film project. Forensic evidence indicated that the murders were brutal. Just prior to leaving the residence, Atkins wrote "PIG" on the front door in Sharon Tate's blood.

The following night, August 9, 1969, Manson commented that the murders at the Tate residence had been too messy, and announced he'd have to take his followers out and "show them how it's done". Manson called Atkins, Krenwinkel, Watson, Kasabian, Leslie Van Houten and Steve "Clem" Grogan, and they left Spahn's Ranch. Driving most of the night, he eventually found the home of grocery store owner Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary in Los Feliz, a section of north-eastern Los Angeles. Manson and Watson entered the home and tied the couple up at gunpoint, winning their compliance by convincing them they were only going to be robbed. He then went back to the car and sent Krenwinkel and Van Houten inside to do as Tex said, once again directing them to leave writings in blood, and to hitchhike back to Spahn's Ranch. Manson then drove Atkins, Kasabian, and Grogan to Venice Beach where Kasabian said she knew an actor named Saladin Nader. Manson dropped them off and told them to kill the actor, and hitchhike back to the ranch, but when Kasabian deliberately went to the wrong apartment, the three aborted the plan. Grogan allegedly threw the gun away. As the group abandoned the murder plan and left, Susan Atkins defecated in the stairwell.

Motivation

At trial, the prosecution stated Manson's desire to start "Helter Skelter" (an apocalyptic race war) was the motive for the crimes. Initially, Manson told the group that during this war, they would hide in a hole in the desert, and would emerge when the war was over. He said the blacks would win the war, but would be unable to govern and would turn to Manson. In the weeks prior to the murders, Manson began to say that the war wasn't starting fast enough and the group would have to start it by murdering wealthy white people. As evidence for this motive, several witnesses testified to Manson's statements regarding "Helter Skelter" and his obsession with the Beatles' music, and the individuals convicted for the murders have testified at various parole hearings that this was the motive (e.g., Leslie Van Houten testified to this at her 1993 parole hearing). During Beausoleil's trial for the murder of Hinman, the defense, in order to discredit the prosecution's case, argued that the crimes were copycat murders made to misdirect police suspicion away from Beausoleil. The prosecution discounted this claim.

In later years, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi stated that he believed the murders had numerous, disparate motives, all of which served to benefit Manson. The home where Tate and Polanski were living with friends was known to Manson and Watson, who had been there once and knew where it was, and Manson knew that wealthy, famous people lived there. One former tenant of the home was Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son, a record producer who Manson believed had made promises to him which had never materialized. Prosecutor Bugliosi suggested Manson may have very briefly encountered the eventual murder victims when he went to the home looking for Melcher and was reportedly turned away by Sharon Tate's photographer.

Arrest and grand jury testimony

On August 16, 1969, Spahn's Ranch was raided by the police in connection with auto thefts. The charges were later dropped and everyone was released. Soon after their release, Manson and his followers left Spahn Ranch for Barker Ranch, another isolated location. However, the authorities were still suspicious of the group and the new location was raided in October 1969 with the outcome that the group was arrested again on auto theft charges. It would be the last time many of them would be free. Just after this arrest, another member of the group implicated Atkins in the Hinman murder and she was charged with that crime.

While in jail, Atkins befriended two middle-aged career criminals, Virginia Graham and Veronica "Ronnie" Howard, to whom she confessed her participation in the Tate/LaBianca murders, for example telling the women that she stabbed Tate and that she had tasted Tate's blood. They subsequently reported her statements to the authorities. This, combined with information from other sources, led to the arrest of Atkins and others involved in the Tate/LaBianca murders (Van Houten, Krenwinkel, Kasabian and Watson).

Atkins agreed to testify for the prosecution in exchange for dropping the death penalty, and she then testified before the grand jury as to what had transpired on the nights of August 8 and 9, 1969. When asked if she was willing to testify knowing that she was not being given immunity, was not being freed of any of the charges, and that she might incriminate herself in her trial testimony, she responded, "I understand this, and my life doesn't mean that much to me, I just want to see what is taken care of."

Atkins told the grand jury that she stabbed Frykowski in the legs and that she held Tate down while Watson stabbed her. She also testified that Tate had pleaded for her life and that of her unborn child, to which Atkins replied, "Woman, I have no mercy for you." Her explanation to the grand jury was that this was talking to (convince) herself, and not addressed to Sharon as "I was told before we even got there no matter what they beg don't give them any leeway". She also denied her earlier statement to Howard and Graham that she had tasted Tate's blood. She told her 1985 parole board that her son was legally adopted in either 1972 or 1973.

Atkins claimed over the years that her participation in the crimes led by Manson was passive and that she did not actually kill anyone. In his 1978 memoir, Watson declared himself responsible for all of Tate's injuries, characterizing Atkins' initial confessions as exaggeration, jail house bragging, and a bid for attention.

Tate/LaBianca trial

Manson, Krenwinkel, Van Houten and Atkins went on trial on June 15, 1970. Watson was later tried separately as he was at the time in Texas fighting extradition. Kasabian was offered, and accepted, immunity. As Kasabian had not played a direct part in any of the murders and never entered either residence, and by several accounts had challenged Manson over the killings, the offer of immunity to her was less bitterly contested, particularly by the prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, who commented that he was relieved the offer was withdrawn from Atkins.

During the sentencing phase of the trial, Atkins testified that she stabbed Tate. She stated that she had stabbed Tate because she was "sick of listening to her, pleading and begging, begging and pleading". She also denied that Manson had any role in orchestrating the murders. Little credibility was given to Atkins's testimony in general, as it frequently contradicted known facts. Atkins claimed that "(Manson) told us that we were going to have to get on the stand and claim we had deliberately and remorselessly, and with no direction from him at all, committed all the murders ourselves".

In 1977, Atkins published her autobiography, Child of Satan, Child of God, in which she recounted the time she spent with Manson and the family, her religious conversion, and her prison experiences.

From 1974 onwards, Atkins stated she was a born-again Christian. She became active in prison programs, teaching classes and received two commendations for assisting in emergency health interventions with other inmates, one of which was a suicide attempt. She was married on September 9, 1981 to Donald Lee Laisure, a Texan claiming to be a multi-millionaire who would use his resources to help secure her freedom, but Atkins had the marriage annulled in 1982 when it was revealed that many of his claims were false. She married a second time, in 1987, to a man 15 years her junior, James W. Whitehouse, who earned a degree from Harvard Law School and represented Atkins at her 2000 and 2005 parole hearings. He maintained a website dedicated to her legal representation.

During her 2000 parole hearing, Tate's sister, Debra, read a statement written by their father, Paul, which said in part, "Thirty one years ago I sat in a courtroom with a jury and watched with others. I saw a young woman who giggled, snickered and shouted out insults, even while testifying about my sister's last breath, she laughed. My family was ripped apart. If Susan Atkins is released to rejoin her family, where is the justice?"

In April 2002, she told a reporter of her work to discourage teenagers from idolizing Manson and her hope of someday leaving prison to live in Laguna Beach, California.

In 2002, Atkins filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that she is a "political prisoner" due to the repeated denials of her parole requests regardless of her suitability.

On June 1, 2005, Atkins had her 17th parole hearing. This hearing was attended by various family members of the victims, such as Debra Tate and members of the Sebring family, and they requested that her parole be denied. She received a four-year denial. Bugliosi also stated that he supported her release in order to save the state money. The cost for Atkins' medical care since she was hospitalized on March 18, 2008, has reportedly surpassed $1.15 million with additional cost of over $300,000 to guard her hospital room."

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley stated that he was strongly opposed to the release, saying in a letter to the board it would be "an affront to people of this state, the California criminal justice system and the next of kin of many murder victims." Cooley wrote that Atkins' "horrific crimes alone warrant a denial of her request" and that she "failed to demonstrate genuine remorse and lacks insight and understanding of the gravity of her crimes."

Gloria Goodwin Killian, director of ACWIP (Action Committee for Women in Prison) and a Pasadena legal researcher and prisoner advocate, spoke in support for Atkins' compassionate release, arguing, "Susan has been punished all that she can be. Short of going out to the hospital and physically torturing her, there is nothing left anyone can do to her. The people who are suffering are the people you see in this room today." In July 2008 Atkins' husband, James W. Whitehouse, told the board, "They tell me we're lucky if we have three months. It's not going to be fun. It's not going to be pretty." On September 24, 2008, Atkins was transferred back to the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California to the facility's skilled nursing center.

Prior to her 2009 parole hearing, a website maintained by Atkins' husband claimed that she was paralyzed over 85 percent of her body and unable to sit up or be transferred to a wheelchair. For the eighteenth time, Atkins was denied parole on September 2, 2009.

Death

Susan Atkins died on September 24, 2009, at the Central California Women's facility in Chowchilla. A prison spokesman announced to reporters that her death was due to natural causes. Her husband, James Whitehouse, subsequently released the following statement: "Susan passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and loved ones and the incredible staff at the Skilled Nursing Facility at the Central California Women's Facility ... 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."

References

Further reading

External links

Susan Atkins' Website

Susan Atkins' Prison Ministry

Associated Press. June 1, 2003. Ex-Manson Follower Sues Calif. Governor

CNN. June 20, 2008. Prison boss opposes release of ailing ex-Manson follower

Deutsch, Linda. 2001. Atkins Denied Parole Again Associated Press article republished by the Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements

Los Angeles Times. June 14, 2008. 40 years after brutal murders, Susan Atkins asks for mercy.

OC Weekly. April 25, 2002. "All in the Family".

State of California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). No date. History of capital punishment in California Web page.

Category:1948 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American amputees Category:American Christians Category:American female murderers Category:American people who died in prison custody Category:American prisoners sentenced to death Category:American people convicted of murder Category:Converts to Christianity Category:Crimes involving Satanism or the occult Category:Manson Family Category:People convicted of murder by California Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:People from the San Gabriel Valley Category:Prisoners who died in California detention Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by California

Name	Vasco Rossi
Background	solo_singer
Born	February 07, 1952
Origin	Zocca, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Genre	Pop Rock
Years active	1977–present
Url	VascoRossi.net

Vasco Rossi (born February 7, 1952), also known as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter. During his career, he has published 24 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over 130 songs, as well as lyrics for other artists. He calls himself a "provoca(u)tore" (an Italian portmanteau for "provoking author") as throughout his career he has been regularly criticized over his choice of lifestyle and the lyrics in his songs.

Biography

Rossi was born in Zocca, in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna). His father, Carlo Rossi, was a truck-driver, and his mother, Novella, a housewife. It was his mother herself who decided to enroll him in singing school when he was a little boy, a choice that must have seemed rather peculiar within the mentality of a small village in the Apennines like Zocca. Nonetheless, Rossi fell in love with music and at the age of 14 began playing with his first band.

Rossi and his family moved to Bologna, Italy, where he studied accounting in high school. Upon graduating he opened a music club, Punto Club, and enrolled in university at the faculty of Economics and Commerce. In the meantime he supported himself by working as a DJ and founding, along with friends, one of the first private radio stations in Italy, "Punto Radio", with which he began slowly and timidly showcasing his own songs.

Encouraged by his friend Gaetano Curreri (now leading member of Italian rock band Stadio), Rossi released his first EP on June 13, 1977, which included the songs "Jenny è pazza" (Jenny is mad) and “Silvia", and a full-length album in 1978, Ma cosa vuoi che sia una canzone. In 1979, he released a second album, Non siamo mica gli americani ("We are not the Americans"), which included, "Albachiara" ("Whitedawn"), one of his biggest hits, and a ballad considered emblematic of Rossi’s poetic style. His most controversial album, Colpa d'Alfredo ("Alfredo's fault") followed in 1980; its title-track was censored from the radio and let loose bitter criticism because it contained some lyrics referring to women considered too explicit at that time. The controversy actually increased Rossi’s popularity, and he quickly saw himself famous on a national level, particularly after performing live on Domenica In, a popular Italian television program. The performance did not particularly please journalist Nantas Salvalaggio, who published a scathing article against Rossi calling him drug-addict. Rossi argued that Salvalaggio evidently did not understand his music and remarked how easy it is to criticize a still unknown artist who cannot defend himself.

In 1981, the album Siamo solo noi ("It's just us") was released. The title track, another signature song of his, would become commonly recognized as a generational hymn.

In 1982, Rossi took part for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Vado al massimo" ("I go to the max"). Here, he once again found himself under the harsh criticism, and came in last place in the festival. In April of the same year the album Vado al Massimo was released. The following year, he reappeared at the Sanremo Music Festival, this time performing “Vita spericolata" (Daredevil Life), probably his most popular song, and finishing in second-to-last place due to his apparent state of intoxication. The following album, Bollicine ("Bubbles"), published in 1983, was his sixth in seven years, and was the album that consecrated him definitively an idol of the new generation and an icon of Italian rock. The title track, whose lyrics are about Coke (but also demonstrate a clear assonance with cocaine), won the Festivalbar ‘83, and his tour that year was an enormous success.

To celebrate this positive period in his career, Rossi released his first live recording in 1984, Va bene, va bene così ("It’s alright, it’s this way"). In April, however, he was arrested on charges of drug possession. He was immediately granted provisional release from jail, but subsequently sentenced to 2 years and 8 months of probation. Shortly thereafter he released his next album, Cosa succede in città ("What’s going on in the city"), which became one of his weakest critically and did not reach past sales.

In 1987 Vasco Rossi’s ninth album, C'è chi dice no ("There Are Those Who Say ‘No’"), was released; the ever-increasing numbers of fans showing up to his concerts forced him to quit performing in clubs and normal-sized venues and begin the era of something for which he is known to this day—playing in and selling out big arenas and stadiums.

His tenth studio album, Liberi liberi ("Free free"), followed in 1989. The success of his 1989 tour brought the release of the live album Fronte del palco (a pun of the Italian title of Marlon Brando's film "Waterfront" which was "Fronte del porto") and the organization of two concerts in 1990, one at the San Siro stadium in Milan and the other at the Flaminio in Rome.

Rossi's next album, Gli spari sopra ("The shots above"), released in 1993, went platinum ten times. The title track, which was a major hit, is a cover version of Celebrate by the Irish band An Emotional Fish. In 1994 he gave the unreleased "Senza Parole" ("Wordless") as a gift to members of his official fan-club.

In 1995, Rossi was again the star at San Siro with a double concert, Rock sotto l'assedio ("Rock under siege"), which protested the war in Yugoslavia. Rossi invited a few Serbian and Croatian bands to perform but was heavily criticized by the press because the proceeds weren't given to charity, despite the fact they were never meant to.

In 1996, Rossi recorded a new studio album, Nessun Pericolo... Per Te ("No Danger... For You"), featured songs “Sally” and "Gli angeli", (the video of the latter was directed by Roman Polanski).

In 1998 Rossi rediscovered his singer-songwriter side, recording and releasing the album Canzoni per me ("Songs for me") with a softer and less “rock” sound, even remaking never-published songs written at the beginning of his career. The nature of the songs, however, did not impede Rossi from winning his second Festivalbar with the song, "Luna per te" ("Moon for you"). Given the low propensity of these songs to fit in his live show with the songs his fans had up to that time become accustomed, he decided to hold just one concert in 1998, accepting the proposal to be a guest star on the first evening of the new Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola, Italy. The evening is immortalized in both video and in the 1999 live album Rewind. A few days into the tour, Rossi’s inseparable friend, as well as guitarist and writer/cowriter of many songs and lyrics, Massimo Riva, died unexpectedly. He would be remembered and celebrated by Rossi and fans in nearly every concert that followed.

In 2001, Stupido Hotel ("Stupid Hotel"), was released, and Rossi won his third Festivalbar, this time with the song “Siamo Soli” ("We are alone"). In 2002 Rossi released his first official recording of remastered songs in their original version, Tracks, which was followed by three sold-out gigs at San Siro Stadium in Milan. His album Buoni o cattivi ("Good or Bad") was the most successful album in Italy in 2004.

On May 12, 2005, Milan’s IULM conferred an honorary degree in Communication Sciences to Vasco Rossi.

On September 9, 2005, Rossi released the double DVD È solo un Rock'n'Roll show ("It’s Only a Rock’n’Roll Show"), launching the concept of the ‘movieclip,’ in which all the songs from Buoni o cattivi’ are used in a 2-hour long music video. Three months later, Buoni o cattivi live anthology 04.05 was released, a comprehensive box-set comprising a double CD and a triple DVD, recorded live from the record-setting Buoni o cattivi tour of 2004 and 2005. In December 2005 he returned to Zocca, the town of his birth, where his childhood friends and the rest of the community organized a tribute in his honor, including a photo display and other celebrations.

In 2007, he released the "Vasco Extended Play", that contains the hit single "Basta Poco". The EP topped the Italian FIMI Charts for 21 Weeks, making that the Italian best-selling single of 2007 thus far.

In late 2009, SingStar Vasco Rossi was released.

Vasco Rossi's fans considered him a God: they very often say: "God in the sky, Vasco on the earth".

On 4 May 2010 the "Corriere della Sera" reported Vasco Rossi as saying the Americans and British governments had been responsible for preventing him and other Italian musicians from becoming known in those countries. “Just as Bob Dylan was banned from playing in China, for 20 years I was barred from London. … It’s one of the many ‘presents’ that America left us after World War II. To favour the importation of American and British music to Italy and discourage the export of our talents abroad.”

Official discography

LPs

Ma cosa vuoi che sia una canzone (1978)

Non siamo mica gli americani (1979)

Colpa d'Alfredo (1980)

Siamo solo noi (1981)

Vado al massimo (1982)

Bollicine (1983)

Va bene, Va bene così (1984)

Cosa succede in città (1985)

C'è chi dice no (1987)

Liberi... Liberi (1989)

10.7.90 San Siro (1990)

Fronte del palco (1990)

Gli spari sopra (1993)

Nessun pericolo... Per te (1996)

Rock (1997)

Canzoni per me (1998)

Rewind (1999)

Stupido Hotel (2001)

Vasco Rossi Tracks (2002)

Buoni o Cattivi (2004)

Buoni o cattivi - Live Anthology 04.05 (2005)

Il mondo che vorrei (2008)

Vasco Rossi Tracks 2 (inediti & rarità) (2009)

Vasco London Instant Live (2010)

EPs & Singles

"Jenny / Silvia" (1977)

"La nostra relazione / ... E poi mi parli di una vita insieme" (1978)

"Albachiara / Fegato, fegato spappolato" (1979)

"Non l'hai mica capito / Asilo repubblic" (1980)

"Voglio andare al mare / Brava" (1981)

"Splendida giornata Remix" (1982)

"Vado al massimo / Ogni volta" (1982)

"Vita spericolata / Mi piaci perchè" (1983)

"Brava Giulia / Blasco Rossi" (1987)

"Non mi va Remix" (1987)

"Gli spari sopra (Hard Attack Mix) / Delusa (Mode Mix) / Delusa (Club Mix)" (1993)

"Gli spari sopra (Celebrate)/Delusa (Rock Party Mix) /Se è vero o no/ L'uomo che hai di fronte (B. Mix)" (1993)

"Senza Parole Remix" (1994)

"Senza Parole" (1994)

"Vasco Remixed" (1996)

"Gli angeli" (1996)

"Praticamente perfetto Remix / Io Perderò Remix" (1996)

"Quanti anni hai" (1998)

"L'una per te" (1998)

"Io no" (1998)

"Rewind (single)" (1998)

"La fine del millennio" (1999)

"Buoni o Cattivi (single)" (2004)

"Come Stai (single)" (2004)

"Buoni o Cattivi Remix" (2004)

"Un senso (single)" (2004)

"Anymore (single)" (2004)

"E... (single)" (2005)

"Cosa vuoi da me remix" (2005)

"Vasco Extended Play" (2007)

"Basta poco" (2007)

"Il mondo che vorrei (single)" (2008)

"Gioca con me Remix" (2008)

"Colpa del Whisky Remix" (2009)

"Sto pensando a te" (2009)

"Ad ogni costo" (2009)

"Ho fatto un sogno" (2010)

DVDs

Rewind (1999)

Vasco Rossi Tracks (2002)

Vasco Rossi @ S. Siro 03 (2003)

E' Solo Un Rock'N' Roll Show (2005)

Buoni O Cattivi Live Anthology (2005)

Fronte Del Palco - Live 90 (2006)

Gli Spari Sopra Tour (2006)

Vasco@Olimpico.07 27.28 giugno sold out (2007)

Vasco Rossi. Il mondo che vorrei. Live (2008)

External links

Official website

Vasco Rossi Music Videos

Category:1952 births Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Modena Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian singer-songwriters

Sopho Khalvashi ( ; born 31 May 1986 in Batumi, Adjara) is a Georgian musician. She comes from a family of Adjarian origin. It was announced on December 12, 2006 that she would represent her home nation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The song "Visionary Dream" was Georgia's first entry into the contest. The song was previously called "My Story".

In the semifinal on May 10, 2007 she finished eighth; as one of the Top 10 qualifiers she secured a spot for Georgia in the final. In the final on May 12, 2007, she finished 12th, earning maximum points from one country, Lithuania.

She claimed third prize at the commercial song contest "New Wave" 2006 in Jūrmala, Latvia. After success there she signed a contract with Russian management agency "ARS" led by Russian composer Igor Krutoy, and returned in triumph to her homeland, where she immediately received an offer from the Imedi TV channel to host local talent show "On Imedi's waves".

External links

SophoKhalvashi.net

Site of Sopho Khalvashi

Sopho's fans site in Israel

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:English-language singers Category:Georgian Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2007 Category:Georgian-language singers Category:People from Batumi Category:Laz people Category:Georgian pop singers

Sara Jessimy Kruzan (born January 8, 1978), convicted of first degree murder, is a victim of human trafficking and inmate of Central California Women's Facility, Chowchilla. In 1994, at the age of 16, she was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole after being convicted of murdering her alleged pimp, George Gilbert Howard. On January 2, 2011, Kruzan was granted clemency by outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who commuted her sentence to 25 years with the possibility of parole.

Early life

Kruzan grew up in Riverside, California with her drug addict mother, where she was an honor roll student at school. During her childhood she met her father only three times because he was serving long prison terms. Since the age of 9, Kruzan has suffered from severe depression, being hospitalized because of the condition on a number of occasions.

At the age of 11, she met 31 year old Howard, calling himself "G.G.", who, it is alleged, began grooming her for a life of prostitution. By the age of 13, Kruzan became a victim of human trafficking, forced to work as a child prostitute, and subjected to sexual abuse.

Murder of George Gilbert Howard

A week before the killing she had moved into a house in the Rubidoux area belonging to convicted felon and suspected drug dealer, James Earl Hamilton. Kruzan arranged to meet Howard on March 9 for a date and agreed to spend the night with him. On March 10, Kruzan shot Howard in the neck at close range in a room at the Dynasty Suites Motel. She then took $1,500 from his wallet, as well as the keys to his Jaguar car and went to meet Hamilton and her then boyfriend Johnny Otis in a local supermarket. Her identification card and purse had been left in the motel room and were later found by the chamber maid who discovered Howard's body. Kruzan told the police four days later and admitted her guilt on the defense stand. During her trial she told the court that she had killed Howard because Hamilton had ordered it and had threatened to kill both her and her mother if she did not carry out his orders. In his closing arguments at her trial, Freer cautioned jurors not to be swayed by the appearance of an attractive, petite teenager who may not fit their image of a murderer.

On Thursday May 11, 1995, a Riverside Superior Court jury of seven women and five men found her guilty of First-Degree murder affirming two special circumstances - that Howard was murdered during a robbery, and that Kruzan had been lying in wait to kill him - to justify a no-parole life term. The US has been criticized by judicial reform groups, such as the National Center for Youth Law, for the frequency with which it sentences juveniles to life without parole, with Kruzan often mentioned as an example of the need for greater compassion. In February 2009, Human Rights Watch released a viral video featuring Kruzan on YouTube to highlight their campaign for a ban on sentences of life without parole for juveniles in California. Michelle Quann of change.org said that the state has the highest racial disparity rate in the US in this area of juvenile justice, and in November 2010 change.org began a petition to then-current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant Kruzan clemency before leaving office. In reaction to this case Democratic Senator, Leyland Yee of San Francisco stated, "Life without parole means absolutely no opportunity for release... It also means minors are often left without access to programs and rehabilitative services while in prison. This sentence was created for the worst of criminals that have no possibility of reform and it is not a humane way to handle children. While the crimes they committed caused undeniable suffering, these youth offenders are not the worst of the worst.”

References

External links

Human Rights Watch You Tube video

Free Sara Kruzan campaign website

Category:American prisoners and detainees Category:People from Riverside, California Category:Prisoners and detainees of California Category:Juvenile law Category:Life imprisonment Category:1978 births Category:Living people