Manson comes up for his 12th parole hearing next week and is certain to be denied. . It could be his last because state law now allows a denial of parole for up to 15 years.
Manson has not attended a parole hearing since 1997, when he rambled on for hours, denying that he had killed anyone and espousing the beliefs that guided his cult.
He is serving a life sentence at Corcoran State Prison for the Tate-La Bianca murders in 1969.
Manson is an old man living among a few other notorious killers whose lives would be in jeopardy if released into the general population at Corcoran State Prison, Thornton said. They are in a protective housing unit and can go outside into a yard.
Even now, Manson is a problem prisoner, having racked up rules violations for receiving smuggled cell phones and for having a homemade weapon in his cell last October.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
