Charles Manson follower Bruce Davis recommended for parole

Former Charles Manson follower Bruce Davis has been recommended for parole during his 27th appearance before a parole board panel.

Davis, 70, was imprisoned for 40 years over the double murder of music teacher Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea in 1969, killings engineered by Manson, The Chicago Tribune reported.

According to the Associated Press, Davis maintained he was a bystander in the men's killings, but acknowledged in recent years that because he was present he shared responsibility.

He was not involved in the infamous Sharon Tate murders in 1969. However, Tate's sister, Debra Tate, had opposed his release.

He was granted parole in 2012, but it was reversed by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said in an eight-page review that releasing Davis would pose an "unreasonable risk of danger to society at this time."

Schwarzenegger, who left office last year, wrote that the killings were "especially heinous because both victims were abused, tortured and mutilated."

According to Agence France-Presse, he wrote: 

"Indeed, some murders are so atrocious that the gravity of the murder, by itself, evidences current dangerousness. I believe this is such a case."

The parole board’s latest decision is subject to a mandatory review, Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, told Agence France-Presse.

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