FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 14, 2009
Manson Disciple "Squeaky" Fromme Set Free
Lynette Fromme Released More Than 30 Years After 1975 Assassination Attempt on Gerald Ford
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A 1970 photo of Lynette Fromme, known as Squeaky, a member of the Manson family, the group involved in the Sharon Tate murder. Fromme is shown here at a pre-trial hearing in Los Angeles. Fromme, now 60, was released from a Texas correctional facility Aug. 14, 2009 after 34 years in prison. (AP Photo)
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, 60, left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth at about 8 a.m. EDT Friday, spokeswoman Dr. Maria Douglas said. Though a few photographers had camped out since the night before outside the facility surrounded razor wire-topped fences, Fromme slipped by the group unnoticed in one of the many cars streaming in and out of the front gate Friday morning.
It was a far cry from her antics that captivated the United States' attention 30 years ago: shaving her red hair and carving an "X" into her forehead after Manson was convicted for orchestrating a mass murder, wearing a red robe when she pulled a gun on Ford, being carried into her trial courtroom by marshals when she refused to walk.
In September 1975, Fromme pushed through a crowd, drew a semiautomatic .45-calibre pistol from a thigh holster and pointed it at Ford, who was shaking hands with well-wishers while walking to the California state capitol in Sacramento. But Secret Service agents grabbed her and the gun, and Ford was unhurt.
Fromme, who reportedly got her nickname while in Manson's "family," possibly because of her voice, had become its leader. She was never implicated in the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and eight others, for which Manson is serving a life term in Corcoran State Prison in California.
During her trial, Fromme either refused to attend or had outbursts. Her attorney argued that she wanted to call attention to environmental issues and Manson's case and never meant to kill Ford. A few bullets were in the gun but not in the chamber.
Crimesider Blog Exclusive: My Private Letters from "Squeaky" Fromme
Fromme was convicted and got a life term, becoming the first person sentenced under a special federal law covering assaults on U.S. presidents, a statute enacted after President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination.
She later was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was tacked onto her life term for threats against the president, after escaping from a women's prison in Alderson, West Virginia, in 1987. She was recaptured two days later about two miles away after a massive search. Fromme had said she escaped from prison to be closer to Manson after hearing rumours that he was dying.
Fromme was granted parole in July 2008 for "good conduct time" but was not released until Friday because of the additional time for the prison escape, prison officials said.
She will be on parole supervision. A U.S. Parole Commission spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment about the terms.
Fromme had been at the Fort Worth prison since 1998. The facility specializes in providing medical and mental health services to female offenders and also has a maximum-security unit, a minimum-security camp and an area for low-security inmates, Douglas said, declining to say where Fromme had been housed.
Prison officials previously said she was placed in the maximum-security unit for inmates who have escaped or been involved in assaults.
She had spent her sentence at several prisons. Fromme started out at the West Virginia prison, then was transferred to the prison at Pleasanton, California, in 1978 after prison officials said she had become a "model inmate." But she was sent back to West Virginia in 1979 as punishment for striking another inmate with a hammer while the two tended a garden on the prison grounds. She later was moved to Kentucky and then to Florida.
Fromme declined a recent interview request from The Associated Press.
In 2005, Fromme responded to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's interview request with a 35-line letter in elegant cursive handwriting, the newspaper reported. At the time she had not sought release, although she became eligible for parole in 1985.
"I stood up and waved a gun (at Ford) for a reason," she wrote. "I was so relieved not to have to shoot it, but, in truth, I came to get life. Not just my life but clean air, healthy water and respect for creatures and creation."
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 38 Comments
- lynett squeaky fromme is an angel ! luv u 4 eva lass
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- she'll end up going back.
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- If you do not want more assassination attempts on our elected officials, you better keep the thugs locked up for good with no chance of parole.
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- I have never in my life seen more unmerciful empty souls as I have in these blogs. Some of you might consider mental health assistance. Your venom is too rich.
She served her time. Now leave her be. I sort of hope some of you naysayers get your just desserts. Ugly mean hateful crumb bums. - Reply to this comment
- First off this has nothing to do with liberals you morons. Secondly, she is as crazy as she has always been. She will always be a threat to society because of her love for Manson. Get a grip conservative nuts who want to plan liberals or Dems for everything.
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- Squeaky has nothing to do with the left or right. You can all pigeon hole yourselves if you so chose. It is funny that she is accused of being right wing because she carried a gun, and left wing because she is concerned about the environment. Also, as for comments in regards to starting a race war that is not what the Tate/LaBianca murders were about. That is what Bugliosi sold to the court and made millions off of. Even Doris Tate, Sharons mother admits that here daughter was a wrong place wrong time victim in a drug burn payback murder. As for the LaBianca murders there were mob ties with Manson and Frankie Carbo, and Leno had a serious gambling debt due to the mob. That does not mitigate the acts committed, but it should serve as a reminder to chew before you swallow.
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- If I was the authorities I would definitely keep a close eye on her. Manson is the devil incarnate and she is still a professed disciple. There are others of his 'followers' still out there. Manson gets TONS of fan mail so he has followers. Keep a close eye on her because I don't think we have heard the last of her in the least.
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- Send her to Gitmo to be one of the guards. She will know what to do.
Shame that they let this left wing nut job out of jail. She should have never seen the light of day on the outside.
Gerald Ford was a great President. She tried to kill him. - Reply to this comment
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- I agree that Gerald Ford was a great President. In fact, I believe he was the greatest president in my lifetime. He was a very smart man, and, I believe he sacrificed himself to save the Presidency from a complete loss of public respect. Specifically, when he pardoned Richard Nixon, he doomed himself to lose in the next election, however, I think he did it knowing that, if Nixon had gone to prison, it would have permanently tarnished the Presidency in the eyes of many Americans, and possibly even shaken the Constitution that we are still blessed to have today. By pardoning Nixon, he allowed the Watergate affair to eventually "blow over" and be largely forgotten, however, he accomplished this by sacrificing his own chances at a second term in office. One could also argue that, by pardoning Nixon, Ford single handedly saved the Republican Party from complete loss of credibility and ultimate destruction. Yes, I think we all owe a lot to President Ford, and I am very happy to have had him as one of my Presidents.
That said, I disagree with your assertion that this woman should "never see the light of day on the outside". Considering the fact that no one was actually hurt as a result of her crime, I think she has paid a substantial, and very adequate debt to our society. I say she belongs free.
- Maybe you didn't read the constitution as it was written,
It states that no president can be pardoned while procedings continued on impeachment.
Gerald Ford was never elected by the people to be President or Vice President.
If you remember, Spiro Agnew CHEATED on his TAXES...and made a deal to keep his butt out of PRISON where he and TRICKY DICK NIXON belonged.
As for Nixon, he is guilty of treason to our nation. That will never change.
- All true, Illuminated1,
However, if an immediate ex president had been sent to prison for crimes comitted while still in office, it would have shaken America's trust in the Presidency. Nixon and Agnew probably both did deserve prison time, however, had they actually been made to serve it, even bigger problems could have resulted for our country. As it was, many Americans lost faith in the Presidency, and, it wasn't until Ronald Reagan that they finally began to respect it again. These may be difficult facts, but there's nothing we can do to change them. President Ford will be forever hated by a lot of Americans, because he pardoned Nixon. However, one must remember that it was a dirty job that I think Ford realized needed to be done for the good our our Country. And, thus, the sacrifice that Ford made. He gave up all hope to a second term (which I think he would have served extremely well) in order to save his country from further political chaos. Sometimes it is better that people don't "get what they deserve", as it may lead to consequences of much greater magnitude. Had Richard Nixon been sent to jail where he belonged, America could have sunk into a deep chasm of political chaos - one from which it might not have arisen.
- I agree that Gerald Ford was a great President. In fact, I believe he was the greatest president in my lifetime. He was a very smart man, and, I believe he sacrificed himself to save the Presidency from a complete loss of public respect. Specifically, when he pardoned Richard Nixon, he doomed himself to lose in the next election, however, I think he did it knowing that, if Nixon had gone to prison, it would have permanently tarnished the Presidency in the eyes of many Americans, and possibly even shaken the Constitution that we are still blessed to have today. By pardoning Nixon, he allowed the Watergate affair to eventually "blow over" and be largely forgotten, however, he accomplished this by sacrificing his own chances at a second term in office. One could also argue that, by pardoning Nixon, Ford single handedly saved the Republican Party from complete loss of credibility and ultimate destruction. Yes, I think we all owe a lot to President Ford, and I am very happy to have had him as one of my Presidents.
- In my opinion, it makes no sense to sentence someone to additional time for escaping from prison. If they want to find the person responsible for letting the escape happen, and then give that person a 15 month sentence, I would agree. Let's face it. When people are incarcerated, they're being locked away in a place they don't want to be. So, why shouldn't that person want to escape? When they succeed, I think we should return them to prison to complete their sentence, and congratulate them for outwitting us. Sure, if the convicted person remains free for an extended period of time before being re-captured, that amount of time should not be counted as "time served", and the person should be required to complete that time by staying in jail after the date when they would have been released, had they not escaped. But, to "punish" them for doing exactly what we should only expect them to do? Where's the sense in that? When we incarcerte someone, we take responsibility for keeping them in a location where we want them to be, and, presumably, a location where they DON'T want to be. How can we fault an incarcerated person for wanting to get out, and for making use of an opportunity to get out? Perhaps we should offer that person a reduction in their prison time if they tell us exactly how they escaped, so that we can make the appropriate adjustments so similar escapes won't happen in the future. Provided no one got hurt during the escape, re-capture, and time in between, perhaps we should be a good sport and give these escapees a pat on the back for outwitting us. After all, when we take a really close look at this, doesn't it become starkly apparent that all this really is, is a game - a game of "cat and mouse"? Sometimes we win, and sometimes be get beat. In the end, if the person gets re-captured, and is re-incarcerated, this time in a higher security facility, isn't it us who has the last victory?
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- from the article: ""Fromme declined a recent interview request from The Associated Press.""
ah yes...she's waiting for interview requests + fat stacks! smart. - Reply to this comment
- How do you get 'good behavior' off for a life term, especially when you've escaped before???????????????????????????
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- Come on folks this isn't the first time someone has been released.
The international community let Hermine Braunsteiner live out her days as a free person. - Reply to this comment
- Apparently the Republican healthcare terrorist squad has hired her to go around scaring seniors in assisted living centers.
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- If the law does not allow a longer sentance then it needs to be changed. In her case they should have been allowed to holder her for as long as necessary to insure that she is not able to do a repeat performance
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- Ya know, she was quite talented as a singer/dancer in her teens.
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- They released her so that they wouldn't have to provide her medical coverage...
In some countries poverty is a misfortune, in America it's a crime perpertrated by the poor. Only in America do they repress people and then blame them for it. - Reply to this comment
- brooke50
She was not pardoned. She was not paroled. She completed her sentence. The last day she could legally be held was Sunday and they processed her out on the preceding Friday. They stated last week that they do not process inmates out on weekends. - Reply to this comment
- Great job!
Set her free. Now, she'll become a millionaire with all the TV interviews and spots that our wonderful media will shower her with. - Reply to this comment
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- [Set her free. Now, she'll become a millionaire with all the TV interviews and spots that our wonderful media will shower her with. ]
are you going to watch it all and comment on it then too moron?
the people who consume it are the ones creating the demand ... not the ones filling the demand.
- Bobnloserville,
You'll be watching, front and center and you know you will. So, why not be honest instead of making a comment that only someone from jersey could make.
- [You'll be watching, front and center and you know you will. So, why not be honest instead of making a comment that only someone from jersey could make. ]
is this all you have ... some disparaging comment based on where someone lives ... casue if that's the case ... you're the loser ... who couldn't argue your way out of wet paper bag.
you're the one who made the comment about her notoriety being the fault of the media ... but you read the story about her ... you commented on the story about her ... and you're still commenting on the story about her.
so lets be honest ... this makes you full of cr@p ... but we all already knew that.
- [Set her free. Now, she'll become a millionaire with all the TV interviews and spots that our wonderful media will shower her with. ]
- AOCGUY - I agree with you! Why people have to keep bringing Liberals and Bush up, and not actually state reasons is dumb.
I don't care if Bush is used as an example, but 2 things:
1) state exactly what he did (don't have to quote, but a hint would be good.
2) Bush made decisions on info He had THEN - Obama is making decisions on info HE has NOW - two totally different MEN and TIMES.
Now, as to the article at hand:
Did she deserve to be pardoned? Honestly, I don't know, yes and no. I do feel though that after 30 years, she will be so "institutionalized" that I think she will find it very difficult to adjust. - Reply to this comment
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- What she did exactly was she showed up in Sacramento to "greet" Gerald Ford. She brought along a .45 auto, strapped conspicuously to her hip. When she got close enough to (presumably) use it, she drew it and ... what can I say. She was too damned weak to work the slide. Thus, she never even got to chamber a round before being confronted by Secret Service.
- SQUEAKY! go baby
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The road ahead in Afghanistan, and the crucial decision Obama faces.
