Would-Be Ford Assassin Goes Free

Susan Atkins suffers from brain cancer 40 years after slashing Sharon Tate

(NEWSER) - The Charles Manson cult member who held down pregnant actress Sharon Tate and stabbed her 16 times will plead for sympathy today at her 13th parole hearing, reports CNN. Susan Atkins, 61, is suffering from brain cancer and is 85% paralyzed, according to her husband. The hearing may be held at her bedside at Chochilla prison in central California, officials said. More»

(NEWSER) - Squeaky Fromme is going free. The Manson follower who attempted to assassinate President Ford in 1975 is scheduled to be released from prison on Aug. 16, ABC News reports. Fromme, real name Lynette, pointed a pistol at Ford from about 2 feet away before an agent wrestled it away. Now 60, Fromme actually finished her term for the assassination attempt last year—this additional time is for a brief escape in 1987. More»

She thought it would spark revolution

(NEWSER) - The woman who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975 says she was “misled” and “mistaken” to do so. “I really thought that it would trigger a new revolution,” Sara Jane Moore told NBC today after serving 32 years in prison. “I think I made a serious error. I had to learn later that everyone else didn't feel that way.” More»

Moore, 77, makes parole after serving 30+ years of life sentence

(NEWSER) - One of the two women who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975 was released today from a federal prison outside San Francisco, CNN reports. Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison after firing one shot at Ford outside the St. Francis Hotel on September 22, 1975. It was the second attempt on Ford’s life in 17 days. More»