LOS ANGELES -- Slain actress Sharon Tate's mother -- with tears rolling down her cheeks -- said Monday she would personally oppose parole for Charles 'Tex' Watson, one of the Charles Manson Family members convicted of murdering her daughter.
'I will testify on behalf of Sharon and her unborn son and for the millions across this nation who have suffered similarly,' Doris Tate said at a news conference.
'If it means facing this man to keep him from being released from prison, and taking Sharon's part, I will,' she said.
Watson, 38, was one of the Manson Family members convicted of the bloody August 1969 murders at the homes of Sharon Tate and Leno LaBianca.
Watson originally received a death sentence but the California's capitol punishment law was overturned in 1972. His sentence was converted to life imprisonment.
His sixth parole hearing was set for Tuesday at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.
Mrs. Tate, noting her daughter had 'begged and pleaded' for the life of her unborn child, said she was appalled Watson has been allowed conjugal visits that led to his wife having two children.
'What an injustice that our society has the audacity to give him conjugal visits,' she said.
Earlier this year San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge William Fredman ordered the hearing for Watson, ruling the killer was entitled to a parole hearing annually. The parole panel, citing a new law, recommended last year that Watson not be reconsidered for three years.
'We consider Judge Fredman's actions to be a dangerous precedent ... This must not be tolerated any longer,' said John Mancino, president of the Southern California-based Citizens For Truth.
'Death should mean death and life in prison should mean life in prison,' he said.
Mrs. Tate and the Citizens for Truth last year collected 50,000 signatures and 80,000 letters opposing parole for members of the Manson Family. Two days later the Board of Prison Terms denied release for Watson.
Mrs. Tate, who is seeking a state Assembly seat, said she would present 60,000 more letters and signatures during Watson's sixth hearing.
Watson, who has said he became a born-again Christian in prison, has failed to persuade the board he is no longer the 23-year-old sex and drug cultist who led the other Manson Family followers on the grisly rampage that left seven dead, including coffee heiress Abigail Folger.
In rejecting his fifth plea, the three-member board said Watson committed the murders in 'a cold, calculated manner, reminiscent of a wartime search-and-destroy mission.'
Manson and the other members of his family responsible for the Tate-LaBianca murders -- Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel -- all have been denied repeated bids for parole. Linda Kasabian testified against the other family members at their trials and was not prosecuted.
