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Welcome to the web site supporting Susan Atkins-Whitehouse. Convicted for her part in the Tate-Labiance murders in 1969, Ms. Atkins has spent the last 36 years working at the California Institution for Women. Though the case has attained almost urban-myth proportions, Ms. Atkins' incarceration is in stark contrast to the sensationalism of the crime, being characterized by an unwavering decades-long commitment to the community punctuated by contributions to earthquake victims, aids sufferers, 9/11 victims, homeless children, victims of violent crimes, at-risk youth, and National Security. This web site has been constructed with the hope of allowing the public to see who this woman is and the extent to which she has contributed to, and continues to contribute to, our community. |
My Mission
Statement
It is a great opportunity whenever you get a chance to work on issues that will impact and effect all Americans. And when these issues involve the Constitutional protections afforded all Americans, and their preservation, it is not just an opportunity but a responsibility. Democracies are doomed to failure if the people governed do not care enough to invest in their preservation. A nation's commitment to justice is proven, not by how it treats the rights of those society admires, but how it treats the rights of those whom society disdains. More and more often in this country we are afforded rights and Constitutional protections only when we don't need them - the moment we actually need them they disappear. Issues involving Susan Atkins have always received more attention then the same issues involving less controversial members of the community. In most cases this is an extreme handicap, but when the issues involve the manner in which a society, faced with pressure and change, chooses to maintain or ignore the justice and liberties - the Constitutional Rights - that defined this Country 225 years ago at it's birth, it may help to provide a definitive forum for social discussion about a subject that is extremely important. And at a time in the history of America where we are determining whether we as a nation still promote and embody those rights and liberties, and whether we still believe that these liberties and justice belong to all people as Thomas Jefferson pronounced in the very first sentence of the Declaration that announced the creation of a new democratic Nation to the world, and if we still pledge our allege to a flag and a country devoted to "liberty and justice for all." James W. Whitehouse |