Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme released from prison today

The follower of Charles Manson was convicted of trying to kill President Gerald Ford in 1975, at age 26. She is 60 years old, and left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth this morning. AP via NYT

Previously:

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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Xopher

Keeper…did you really want CHENEY to be President?
Maggie Koerth-Baker

#35

I remember reading elsewhere that there was a good reason for that. Fromme staged a successful escape attempt in the late 80s. The agreement made during her parole hearing was that she would be paroled, but would serve an extra year on account of that bad behavior.

Whether or not you agree with that decision = shrug. But this wasn’t a violation of human rights where somebody was paroled and then randomly just kept in jail for an extra year with no knowledge of why.
Anonymous

She has done her crime and her time.simple.we r still all humans.
Anonymous

What does Squeaky like on her Pizza.?
Xopher

More precisely, she was granted parole on the initial charges against her, but had to serve the additional time added to her sentence for charges related to the escape.

But Maggie is right; there’s no miscarriage of justice involved in that delay.
Ned613

Why after 34 years must the media still refer to her as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme. Could we possibly confuse her with some other public figure named Lynette Fromme? It’s not like there is Senator Lynette Fromme or Oscar winning actress Lynette Fromme. Actually come to think of it she could run for Senator or maybe pursue a career in acting.
Ned613

I mean she definitely as the name recognition to pursue either of these to career paths.
buddy66

That was always the question, Xopher. I spent eight years afraid somebody would shoot the little cheerleader.
AnoniMouse

@3
Most prisons have libraries, and many have computers. While I’m sure the new iPhone may be somewhat wondrous, prisoners still get to the the ads- just like everyone else.

What we should be considering is how people who have been institutionalized learn to cope with living on the outside. Squeaky hasn’t gone to a grocery store in almost 50 years! No bank account! No doctor, no dentist, no marketable skills to get a job. Who is going to hire her, a 60 year old convicted, famous, murderer? ANd the system doesn’t provide any safety nets. Prisons do not rehabilitate, they handicap.
Anonymous

they release this woman knowing she is still a bit of a well ding bat .
Yet they deny parole to Susan Atkins and Paricia Krenwinkle and Leslie VanHouton who while they were involved in the murders have changed their lives GREATLY One is slated to die soon and is paralyzed. She would go from Jail to a nuirsing home or a home with constant nursing care. How can this be a bad thing??

These woman can not at least show their rehabilitation all because Debra Tates sheer Anger and hate. They have expressed their remorse MANY times but it is Never enough for Debra. She is seriously eaten up by Hate Mind you I have experienced a death of a loved one he was murdered while I carried our daughter He was and still is 24 years later my one true love even though he is no longer here. but come on i can not spend my life jumping across the country making sure the killer stays in prison just because of my pain How can one live like that?

Ms Fromme has shown many times and still speaks highly of Manson. :0(( She has been in trouble in prison and escaped once too. The other ladies have all good things no issues

How does this happen??

the others admit their mistakes they were young woman high and misled by a loony bird.

It makes me wonder about our system and why it never changes for the good.
Anonymous

Reality Show!!!
Purly

Is this the chick that John Waters is friends with?
Anonymous

wow. She’s in for a big, nasty shock… imagine being locked up since 1975 and then finally getting out this year and seeing how much the world and technology have changed. It’s like stepping out of a time machine, no?

I often wonder how people, who have been in prison so long, have any idea what the Internet is like and what a modern computer looks like.
cory

JW is friends with Leslie van Houten, not Ms. Fromme.
Anonymous

#3

SQUEAKY “Do Sonny and Cher still have that stupid show?”

BROCKMAN “No! She won an Oscar, and he’s a congressman.”

SQUEAKY “GOOD. NIGHT.”

*flatline*
Anonymous

@3

Yes, because prisons are technological voids, completely shut off from society, change, and cultural influences…
busydoingnothing

#5, Anonymous: +5 for excellent Simpsons reference. Easily one of my favorite scenes.
buddy66

The first thing she’s going to do is head straight for Charlie.
buddy66

The extended Family will provide…
Xopher

BobsYerUncle, why are you doing Squeaky with a lower class English accent? She’s an American, from California.
randalll

John Waters is gonna be pissed!
bobsyeruncle

@Xopher

Here’s the reference: Ivan Dobsky (Monkey Dust)
Xopher

Ah. Watched the first few minutes, and now I get your reference. Damn that’s depressing. Poor guy.
Xopher

Squeaky didn’t actually murder anyone. She made a not-very-credible attempt, as I recall. Van Houten was actually involved in the torture-murders.
ARCANE12

And the “squeaky” wheel gets the grease—rolling all the way out of prison, despite trying to kill the president and escaping from a prison briefly and hitting another inmate with a hammer!
TroofSeeker

Too bad Squeeker didn’t get out ten years ago. She could have taken some pot shots at Dubya.
People in prison have TV’s and internet. If anything surprises her, it’s how Spanish is becoming our primary language.
Keeper of the Lantern

Xopher…

Good point. I forgot about Dubya’s “bullet-proof shield”…
mdh

She did her time – Squeaky’s clean.

(sorry for that, it had to get out)
mdh

troof – citation please re: spanish is becoming…
Anonymous

Here’s what I would like to know: what is a this real life theater game ‘creepy-crawling’ that Krassner was referring to? Seriously, what is that? I did a quick google search but just kept getting a definition for creepy crawly.

What exactly is a game of ‘creepy-crawling’?
Zan

@#9: Van Houten may have been involved in the torture-murders, but was never convicted as such. She is serving a life sentence for theft.
Xopher

Buddy66 32: Save the Cheerleader, Save the World.
Brainspore

I bet the biggest culture shock will be all the mobile devices. Even if she was introduced to the internet in prison I doubt they let inmates own iPhones or Blackberries. Heck, I still get weirded out by kids today with their constant texting and I was around to watch it happen.
Anonymous

@13: No, she was convicted of robbery, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. I see no reason she should ever be free.
TheWillow

As little respect as I have for Bush, I find assassination jokes to be in seriously poor taste. After all, if someone were to joke about her going after Obama *now,* it would be considered offensive.

*shrug* sorry for taking it seriously.
DasBub

#11

Dude, that was cheesy. In fact, the French would call it “Frommeage”…
IamInnocent

The few long term prisoners who were freed that I am aware of were pretty much drunk all the time. They didn’t survive to become 100 either.
Keeper of the Lantern

Squeaky Fromme and the Mansons are mentioned numerous times in the new Pynchon book, Inherent Vice, which is hilarious by the way (kind of a combination of the Big Lebowski, Phillip K Dick and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

As for her getting out, well, too bad they didn’t let her out during Bush II’s reign…hope it’s just a coincidence they’re letting her out now!
bobsyeruncle

Halloo! I’m Lynette Fromme. I’m the Manson Family murderer only I never done it. But I said I did. I had to, otherwise they’d ‘ave put me head back in the toilet. I’ve spent all me money and I wish I was back ‘ome in me cell…. :(
Anonymous

The biggest story here got missed:
She was approved for parole in JULY OF 2009 it is AUGUST OF 2009!!!! There is NO WAY on god’s green earth that anyone given parole should have to wait THAT LONG to get out. If you aren’t going to release her before August of 09, then grant her parole in June of 09, NOT in July of 08!

Whether or not you support her parole(I personally am ambivalent!)Basic concern for human rights alone dictates that this not happen again!
IamInnocent

Apparently a near-half of the people wants her to stay in jail because she tried to kill a president, while nearly the other half want her to stay in jail for failing.