Criminologist Karlene Faith first met Leslie Van Houten, the youngest member of Charles Manson's infamous "family" in 1972 at the California Institute for Women. Faith, a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, was teaching and researching at the prison. Van Houten was serving life for her participation in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca killings. They've stayed in touch ever since.

Van Houten was 19, a nice middle-class girl from a good family, a former homecoming princess with a big smile, who, like a lot of young people in the sixties, left home to "seek enlightenment." Unfortunately, she found Manson, a charismatic con man, who attracted naive young women, fed them a diet of LSD, amphetamines, and sex, and brainwashed them.

Everything culminated on a hot August night in the murders of actress Sharon Tate and four others, followed the next night by the murders of wealthy grocery chain owner Leno LaBianca, and his wife, Rosemary. Van Houten was not at the Tate home, but she confessed to stabbing Rosemary LaBianca at Manson's command, believing that LaBianca was already dead. Manson, Van Houten, and the others involved, Charles (Tex) Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkle, were all sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to life in prison in the early 1970s.

Faith's insightful book argues that as a cult member, Van Houten was brainwashed to do anything Manson asked. She argues that Van Houten has been a model prisoner who has participated in every program that has been asked of her; parole board members frequently comment on her "good work record, lengthy record of disciplinary-free prison conduct, volunteer work as a tutor, and positive attitude and performance." Yet each time she comes up for parole, the board has new reasons why she must remain in jail.

Faith's book contains excerpts from letters written to her by Van Houten, and also considerable self-analysis by Faith herself as she comes to terms with the "incomprehensible." She concludes that Van Houten and the other members of the Manson family were "victims of a murderous, controlling man, a man with a penchant for seducing and exploiting trusting, vulnerable young women." She further concludes that the state has a need for vengeance and that is why Van Houten has remained in prison long beyond the then-average of 10 to 12 years for similarly serious crimes. On June 28, 2002 Leslie Van Houten, after 33 years in jail, was denied parole for the 14th time. aq

Karlene Faith is one of this year's recipients of the Dean of Arts Medal for research, teaching, and service. The others are Carole Gerson (English) and Neil Watson (psychology). Faith is a leading scholar in the areas of women and crime and the imprisonment of women. She received the International Helen Prize for humanitarian works in 2000, and a lifetime achievement award from the American Society for Criminology in the fall of 2001. Faith plans to retire next year.

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