Debra Tate, the sister of actress Sharon Tate, who was killed in 1969 along with four others by followers of Charles Manson on his orders, said she cried and prayed for Manson’s soul when she heard the killer died Sunday of natural causes in prison at age 83.
"I said a prayer, shed a tear, stuck a flower under my cross in my bedroom and emailed Roman (Polanski)," Tate told the New York Daily News.
Polanski was married to 26-year-old Sharon Tate at the time of the killing, and Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time of the murder.
"I've processed through all of my hate for him. Hate isn't health. It won't bring my sister back," Tate said. "One could say I've forgiven him, but there's a difference between forgiving and forgetting."
Tate wasn’t worried about Manson getting parole for his crimes, but she attended parole hearings for all of the followers who stabbed her sister repeatedly to argue against them getting out of jail early for their crimes.
She said she prays for their souls and believes God will take care of them, including Manson, but believes they could still commit violent acts today if those still alive were to be released from prison.
"These are sociopaths," Tate said, People reported. "They're no less violent today than they were then."
"I've dedicated myself to seeing they stay right where they are until they draw their last breath,” Tate told the Daily News. “So they can’t hurt anyone else.”
Tate has counseled violent crime victims and advocated for them in the years since her sister’s death.
In 2014, Debra Tate published a book celebrating Sharon Tate’s life. Debra is currently battling breast cancer at age 65.
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