Charles Manson, 77, Gets Chance At Parole

After more than 42 years of imprisonment in California Department of Corrections facilities, Charles Manson, 77, is up for his twelfth chance at parole.

Manson, who was originally sentenced to death for the August 9, 1969 murder spree with his "family" that left the 8 1/2-month-pregnant Sharon Tate, 26, wife of director Roman Polanski, dead, along with six others — Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; Abigail Folger, 25; Steven Parent, 18; as well as Gary Hinman and Donald "Shorty" Shea, from separate incidents.

Manson's death sentence, however, was overturned in 1977, after the California Supreme Court held that the state's death penalty law was unconstitutional. Manson's sentence was changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

That possiblity has arisen 11 times before and been turned down, most recently in 2007 when Manson did not even attend his own parole hearing. "He refused to cooperate, so the conclusion they drew from the reports is he still remains a danger to the public," said L.A. County Deputy D.A. Patrick Sequeira at the time, according to the L.A. Times.

Even if Manson chooses to attend this hearing, he has not been a model inmate in recent years, according to The Boston Channel. He has been in possession of a makeshift weapon and contraband cell phone in an incident that is still under investigation.

Manson's parole hearing will be held on April 11.