'Manson Girl' Released From Prison: A Story About LSD, Mind Control, Violence And The CIA's Secret Experiments

Original story by Natalia Kesselman on El Planteo.

The purpose of this article is not to defend or justify Van Houten's actions or to demonize psychedelics which, if used correctly, have been shown to have enormous benefits. Every day there is more research and treatment based on psychotropic drugs that are changing the landscape of mental health. However, with great power comes great responsibility. This is a case where the strength of psychedelics was in the wrong hands.

Former Charles Manson fan Leslie Van Houten, who played a key role in the heinous 1969 murder of a Los Angeles married couple, was released on Tuesday, July 11, after serving 53 years in prison, confirmed her attorney, Nancy Tetreault.

As reported by New York Times, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation supported her release, and Mary Xjimenez, spokeswoman for the department, indicated that Van Houten will have a three-year probation term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom had revoked Van Houten's parole grant three times since coming to power, most recently in March 2022. However, this month he chose not to oppose her release. The governor's spokeswoman expressed Newsom's disappointment with the appeals court's decision but clarified that there will be no further action, considering the success of future appeals unlikely.

Van Houten was just 19 years old when she, along with other members of the so-called Manson Family, broke into the home of wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, repeatedly stabbing them early on August 10, 1969.

See Also: He Survived a Massacre: Today He Uses Comprehensive MDMA Therapy For Post-Traumatic Stress

In 1971, Van Houten was sentenced on two counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Although she was originally sentenced to death, her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment when California prohibited such a sentence the following year.

Years after her conviction, Van Houten expressed her regret for her part in the murders and admitted to suffering from mental illness, aggravated by the use of LSD (Lysergic Acid). “I thought Manson was Jesus Christ,” Van Houten confessed. "I bought everything he said, from start to finish."

Long Before Manson: The CIA, Mind Control and Psychedelics

Van Houten's allusion to her persistent use of LSD from her, the effect this might have had on her psyche and Manson's ability to control her and get what he wanted from her, is actually nothing new. The CIA did it first.

Forty-five years ago, the CIA admitted to funding mind control experiments under the top-secret MK-Ultra program, which involved the use of psychedelic drugs like LSD and extreme torture techniques. These experiments were ultimately aimed at developing new substances and methods for obtaining confessions in interrogations. The aim was to reduce patients to an infantile psychological state in order to take advantage of their cognitive vulnerability.

The program began in the 1950s and one of the early projects, known as Operation Midnight Climax, involved administering LSD without knowledge or consent to men to observe their reactions. According to BBC reports, "acid tests" were carried out involving parties with sex workers, organized under the influence of LSD and with live music.

In the most damaging experiments, patients admitted for minor problems were placed in a chemical coma in a "bedroom." Subsequently, they were given high-powered electroconvulsive therapy (electroshock) to disrupt their minds, followed by a reprogramming regimen with high doses of LSD, PCP and other hallucinogenic and dissociative drugs. In addition, they were subjected to listening to repetitive messages for hours, even while sleeping.

It is clear, although his methods of coercion were more "subtle", Manson did not invent anything new.

The Crimes, the 'Manson Girls' and Lysergic Acid

The massacres, known as the Tate-LaBianca murders, were a series of crimes committed one night apart, orchestrated by Charles Manson and carried out by his followers.

On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson led four of his followers to the Cielo Drive home of actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant. She was brutally murdered, along with four other guests present in the house that night.

See Also: Psychedelics Don't Make You More Progressive: The Far Right Also Takes Drugs

The following night, Manson's followers, accompanied by their leader, went to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, where they stabbed and mutilated the couple. The words “Death to Pigs” and “Helter Skelter” were written in blood on the walls.

Manson managed to penetrate deeply into the minds of his followers, with the help of acid before, during and after the crimes. And although Tex Watson participated in them, he has been overshadowed in history by the four infamous "Manson girls".

Leslie “Lulu” Van Houten, once a prom queen of hers, stabbed Rosemary LaBianca 14 times through her back under the influence of LSD. Although she denied receiving Manson's instructions at trial, she said years later that excessive LSD use caused her to lose control.

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Tweet: Leslie Van Houten on her way to court in 1971

According to Infobae, Susan "Sexy Sadie" Atkins, known as the most fearsome of the Charles Manson clan, said she enjoyed the deaths. She repeatedly stabbed Sharon Tate and bragged in jail that she was responsible for the killing.

"She was high on acid, I don't know how many times I stabbed her," she said of Tate at the trial. I don't know why I did it. She begged me, she implored and pleaded with me and I got sick of listening to her, that's why I stuck the knife in her,” she said.

See Also: How Can Psychedelics Help Women's Mental Health?

Patricia Krenwinkel was involved in the attack on Sharon Tate's residence, where she brutally stabbed Abigail Folger. The next night, she stabbed Rosemary LaBianca while Watson murdered Leno. It was she who wrote messages on the walls with the blood of the victims.

Finally, Linda Kasabian witnessed the LaBianca killings, although she did not physically participate in the crime. Terrified by the violence and unable to stop them, she left the group and cooperated with the authorities, receiving immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony. Kasabian showed remorse and was the only one to express regret for the victims.

Video: The Manson Girls sing on their way to court.

The Manson Family and Drugs as an Instrument of Control

One of the key elements in the coercion of Charles Manson was the constant and excessive use of hallucinogenic drugs. There seemed to be an endless supply of marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, amphetamines and PCP on his ranch. Following the arrest of members of his group, it was reportedly revealed that they had taken LSD several times a day, every day, for a period of almost six months.

According to The Crime Sheet, Manson was the one who administered these drugs and therefore also determined their dosage in a manipulative way. He knew exactly the amount needed to induce extraordinary experiences of him in his followers, yet keep them lucid enough to remain impressionable.

During these psychedelic trips, Manson's followers claimed to see him perform miracles, such as reviving a bird. The leader also claimed to have had visions while he was under the influence of these drugs, the most notable of which was of the brutal massacre, which took place just three months later.

Van Houten, Influenced by LSD: Legal Ploy or Actual Drama?

The strategy of Van Houten's attorney, Maxwell Keith, was based on showing that Manson's powers of persuasion and drug use were key factors in his involvement in the murders.

As reported by the New York Times on March 4, 1971, the day of Leslie Van Houten's sentencing, hallucinogenic drug expert Dr. Keith Ditman exposed in court a possible connection between Charles Manson, LSD and the defendant. He argued that Manson could have persuaded Van Houten, a chronic LSD user, to commit murder.

See Also: Michael Pollan's 'How to Change Your Mind': Mental Health Crisis Made Study of Psychedelics Respectable

The lawyer proceeded to present a hypothetical situation to Dr. Ditman. “Suppose,” he said, “that she [Miss Van Houten] went to a ranch where she met a short, bearded man [Manson] who was 'intelligent, eloquent, persuasive and very philosophical,' and suppose he told his followers that 'killing is not wrong, you should never be afraid of death,' and that she was deeply 'influenced by his point of views.'”

Leslie Van Houten arrives at the Los Angeles Criminal Courts building for a new arraignment and hearing on setting a new trial date for her role in the LaBianca murders. // December 27, 1976 // John Malmin, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Having presented the context, Keith asked, "Bearing all of these alleged facts in mind and basing your opinion on reasonable medical probability, can you say whether Manson's alleged influence and Leslie's use of drugs led to her involvement in the murder?"

Dr. Ditman answered confidently: “Yes. Being under the influence of the drug (LSD) at that time would have a marked and profound effect on one's behavior and such things could occur." Likewise, he affirmed that the mind, when under the effect of LSD, "works in an intoxicated way" and that a person "can make strange judgments and do strange things." Even murder? The doctor believed it possible: "One of the basic effects of the drug is that it makes an individual more suggestible." The room fell silent.

For her part, during her testimony, Van Houten vehemently protested her lawyer's strategy, denying that her behavior was incited by Manson: “I was influenced by the Vietnam War and television!” she yelled. "This is all a big lie!"

See Also: What Happens When You Take Other Drugs on Your LSD Trip?

The confessions of the three women showed a surprising lack of remorse. According to Dr. Ditman, this was not unusual, as LSD has the ability to alter a person's values.

But that testimony was not enough and Van Houten was sentenced to death. However, in 1972 this sentence was abolished throughout the State of California, so there was another trial in 1976 where her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. This week, 54 years later, Van Houten was paroled.

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Cover photo Via YouTube, edited in Canva by El Planteo