Debra Tate uses her pain after Manson killings to help others

CULVER CITY, Calif. (FOX 11) - The sister of murdered actress Sharon Tate is using her pain to help others as a victims rights advocate.

In January, Debra Tate was set to give victim impact statements at two separate parole hearings for members of the Manson Family Cult.

The first was for Robert (Bobby) Beausoleil and the second is for Leslie Van Houten.

"I prepare myself for being in the presence of pure evil," said Debra Tate who says she is worried for society if the Manson Cult members are granted parole.

"I am definitely worried of what can happen if they get released, there are armies of people, like-minded people, and hate groups that see these people [Manson Family members] as fearless leaders," said Tate.

The likelihood of the Manson Family members getting parole was increased in the 1970's when then first-time Governor Jerry Brown commuted all death penalty sentences. They went up again in 2017, when lawmakers created what is known as the "Elderly Parole Program," in an effort to ease prison overcrowding in California.

"And what that states is - when any inmate is 60 years of age - whether or not they meet the criteria - …the board must give them an exit date. Which is why I do hearings every year," said Tate.

Tate has had a lifetime of attending parole hearings after her sister Sharon Tate was brutally murdered along with five others and her unborn child at a rented home in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles.

In an interview with FOX 11 News, Tate describes the first time she came face to face with Cult leader Charles Manson.

"I made an effort to and got myself in…smuggled into LA County Jail - and got to look Charlie in the eye - and you know what I saw? Absolutely nothing. Not one ounce of humanity and when I look into those other prisoners eyes when I go to the hearing…I see the same thing, " said Tate.

2019 marks the 50th anniversary for the murders. For Tate, it has been a life sentence.