A California panel has voted to give Charles Manson follower Bruce Davis parole.
Davis was convicted of participating in two murders with Manson in 1969. He's been imprisoned for over 40 years.
Davis testified that he helped Manson kill musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea, attacking Shea with a knife and holding a gun to Hinman while Manson tortured him. He's currently imprisoned at California Men's Colony at San Luis Obispo, and has faced 31 parole hearings so far.
Davis says he was not involved in the more infamous Tate-Labianca murders carried out by Manson's followers that same year. Those killings left seven people dead, including actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant at the time.
Manson convinced his followers the murders would usher in an apocalyptic race war he called "Helter Skelter" — a term taken from a Beatles song. Manson and four of his followers were convicted and sentenced to death in 1971, though their sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after California abolished the death penalty.
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Davis has been approved for parole several times in the past, but each time, California's governor has stepped in to override the parole board's decision.
Manson and some of his followers are still serving life sentences in California and have unsuccessfully applied for parole. Manson himself was recently rushed to the hospital after a health scare.
Patricia Krenwinkel, another Manson follower, is also undergoing a parole hearing. A decision was delayed in December 2016 after Krenwinkel's attorney claimed she was abused by Manson.
