The Return Of "Miss X"

After 34 years, Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme to be released from prison.

As a rapacious reader of all things involved in Manson Family lore, Lyn Fromme (pronounced "Frum-me") always struck me as the only one of the "faithful" that seemed the least capable of harming or killing another person. Some have even speculated that this was why she wasn't one of the people chosen to go on either night of killing sprees at the Tate/LaBianca houses those nights in August 1969.

But did she have it in her to kill President Gerald Ford? Without being in the mind of the woman herself, we may never really know. Lyn's weapon contained an ammunition clip, but the clip contained no bullets. She was heard to remark at the scene and later at the police department that "It didn't go off", which would lead one to believe that she thought it was loaded at the time. Despite Lyn's professed knowledge of rifles in the 1973 Manson documentary, Lyn really didn't know a thing about guns, and had only fired a pistol once, on a shooting range with a group of non-Manson family member friends. Did she even know the gun wasn't loaded? Or did she not even know how to load one, and went ahead on the pretense that it was merely to try to get the attention of the media -- to create a platform to voice her environmental concerns, and to try to win another, more fair trail for those Manson family members incarcerated (although the defendants were no doubt hideously guilty, I have to admit the trail itself wasn't exactly very fair). Nobody knew her thoughts that morning when she left for the park with her pistol. But she obviously put some thought into it, as evidenced by the elaborate gun holster she strapped to her leg under her dress (photo above).

I suppose moments like these, especially when they involve the forever stigmatized Manson family members, always raise the debate over incarceration as a rehabilitation tool or as punishment for a crime, no matter how rehabilitated the subject may be. Is the girl the media once called "Squeaky" still capable of murder? Controversially, from what I've read of her, I really didn't think she was capable of it even back then. But the parole board seems to think she's ready to be released. And people point unloaded pistols at other people all the time. But very, very few have ever been the President of the United States. I guess it's time.

Godspeed, 'lil Squeak. I hope you finally find out there what your life was really missing all along.