Patricia Krenwinkel granted parole for third time, with release still uncertain

Patricia Krenwinkel received a third parole grant from California’s Board of Parole Hearings on October 6, 2026, the Guardian reported, reopening the possibility of release after nearly six decades in prison for her role in the Los Angeles Tate-LaBianca murders. The decision does not mean she has been freed: Governor Gavin Newsom reversed her previous two grants, and California requires further review.

Krenwinkel, 78, was convicted in 1971 for her role in the 1969 killings. The crimes over two nights claimed seven lives, including actor Sharon Tate and grocery owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. Krenwinkel was 21 when the killings occurred.

Her attorneys are urging Newsom to let the latest grant stand. The Guardian reported that his spokespeople had not immediately responded to an inquiry on October 7. No decision by the governor on this grant, or date for Krenwinkel’s release, has been established.

Why Krenwinkel’s parole grant does not mean immediate release

Under the Board of Parole Hearings’ published review procedure, hearing-panel decisions are proposed decisions. They undergo review for up to 120 days before becoming final at board level. The board’s legal division must examine every grant of parole, so a favorable hearing outcome is one stage of the process.

Once a decision becomes final at board level, the governor has 30 days to review it. In murder cases, he may reverse the decision, allow it to stand without taking action, or refer it to the full board for further consideration.

The board says a person whose grant stands without gubernatorial action will be scheduled for release, although additional barriers can apply in some cases. These general rules do not provide a confirmed timetable for Krenwinkel. If the governor reverses a grant, another hearing is scheduled within 18 months of the previous hearing.

The rehabilitation case made by Krenwinkel’s lawyer

The Guardian describes Krenwinkel as California’s longest-imprisoned woman. It reports that the parole board has repeatedly recognized her rehabilitation and concluded that she would not pose a danger in her elderly years. Her longtime attorney, Keith Wattley, says the latest decision follows decades of work confronting her conduct and its consequences.

“She fully accepts responsibility for her actions, everything she contributed to, and every life she destroyed in 1969,” Wattley said in a statement quoted by the Guardian. “Pat does not excuse or minimize that harm.”

Wattley, who has represented Krenwinkel for 16 years, said she has maintained a clean disciplinary record. He also said nine consecutive psychological evaluations over the past 40 years assessed her as a low public-safety risk. Those assessments are described by her lawyer; the underlying evaluations were not available for independent examination.

He cited extensive therapy and group counseling, a college degree and work training service dogs for people with disabilities. “I firmly believe she is ready to return home,” he said. His statement expresses the case for release, rather than a determination that the remaining reviews are complete.

Why Newsom reversed the previous parole grants

Newsom overturned Krenwinkel’s earlier grants in 2022 and 2025. His office’s annual record of parole reversals dates the second reversal to October 13, 2025, following a hearing on May 30 that year. That record concerns the previous decision, not his response to the October 2026 grant.

In the 2025 decision, Newsom acknowledged her education, vocational training, self-help work, excellent disciplinary history and service-dog training. But he cited a psychologist’s concern about externalizing blame and concluded that she needed deeper insight before release. He also acknowledged chronic medical conditions that reduced her strength, while finding those mitigating factors insufficient.

The decision said youth-related diminished culpability must receive great weight, while age, time served and diminished physical condition require special consideration when assessing future risk. The governor’s record also says a court challenge to his 2022 reversal was rejected in January 2024 and that ruling was affirmed on appeal.

Debra Tate, Sharon Tate’s sister, has repeatedly opposed releasing Krenwinkel and other Manson followers, according to the Guardian. Its report provides no fresh response from her to this grant. The next established steps are the board’s review and, if the grant becomes final there, gubernatorial review; the outcome remains unresolved.