The Region : Manson Follower Watson Denied Parole

The sixth parole bid by Charles (Tex) Watson, a Charles Manson follower convicted in the murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others, was rejected. A three-member Board of Prison Terms panel unanimously refused Watson’s plea for freedom, citing the “heinous, atrocious, cruel” nature of the 1969 slayings. “You became not only like him (Manson), but worse. You inflicted 156 stab wounds, he didn’t,” panel member Ray Jauregui said. The board also cited contradictory psychiatric evaluations on Watson, who is serving a life term at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. One report called him a “walking time bomb,” while another said he was ready for parole. Watson will be able to seek freedom again in one year, the board ruled. Watson told the board he wanted to return to his hometown, Copeville, Tex., to work in his family’s grocery store.