California parole hearing postponed for Charles Manson follower convicted of 1969 killing

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A parole hearing set for Thursday for a Charles Manson follower has been postponed because of an allegation that he broke prison rules, a California corrections spokesman said.

Parole officials want to wait until the allegation against Robert Beausoleil is resolved before they consider his possible release.

However, a hearing will be held no later than March 3, said Luis Patino of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Patino said Beausoleil is accused of violating prison rules on Jan. 27, but he didn’t know which ones.

Beausoleil has spent 45 years in prison and been denied supervised release 17 times. At his request, he was transferred to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem in 1994, after he married a woman from Oregon while in prison and fathered four children.

The Oregon Department of Corrections also could not provide details about the allegation against Beausoleil.

California parole officials planned to conduct his hearing by telephone.

Beausoleil, 67, originally was sentenced to death for the 1969 slaying of musician Gary Hinman. That sentence was commuted to life in prison when the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972.

If parole officials were to recommend his release, the decision would be reviewed by the entire parole board. Gov. Jerry Brown also could block his parole.

In August, Brown blocked the release of Bruce Davis, 72, who was convicted in the slayings of Hinman and stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea. The parole board had found Davis was suitable for parole based on his age and good conduct in prison.

Beausoleil was an aspiring musician and actor before he joined the Manson family.

He was in jail when other followers of the cult leader killed actress Sharon Tate and four others, then murdered grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary.

His release faces opposition from Hinman’s cousin, Kay Martley, who lives in the Denver area, and Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra Tate, who lives in the Los Angeles area and is the last surviving member of her immediate family.

Both planned to testify by telephone. Tate said in a telephone interview that Beausoleil should serve out the rest of his life sentence in California instead of Oregon.

Beausoleil has worked since 2009 in a furniture factory operated by Oregon Corrections Enterprises, according to California corrections officials. He develops and produces orientation, safety training and promotional videos and materials for the prison industry program.

Beausoleil previously had no disciplinary violations since 2008, and he has participated in conflict resolution seminars, corrections officials said. He also has attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings and completed a literature class and a sociology class through the University of Oregon.