So, Susan Atkins, a Manson "family" member convicted in 1969 of killing actress Sharon Tate and six others, is dying of brain cancer. And she wants to be released after spending nearly 40 years in jail. In interviews with Dianne Sawyer, she comes off as a changed person, fully contrite and wholly civilized. I'd let her baby sit my pet ferrets, Point and Click, if I didn't know better.

But can it really be that hard to change from a monster to a moonbeam, if you have 37 years of down time? And remember where she's starting from. Susan didn't just kill a family, she killed Tate's unborn baby, after Tate pleaded with her not to. During the trial, Atkins laughed at and mocked her victim's families. At that nadir, you really can't get worse. Only better.

Now she disavows her horrific behavior, and I believe her. But - does it matter if she's changed? Sharon Tate's changed too. Forever. It's called death.

And in my book, being alive, happily married (which Atkins is) and being interviewed by a famous news anchor trumps being dead. No matter the punishment, Atkins still has a life.

But now, with brain cancer, she's going to lose it and wants to live her final months in freedom. I'm inclined to say no.

But if she is let out, it should be under one provision: she spends her remaining days not walking in forests and communing with nature - but working 24/7 for the Tate family. Let her take out the garbage, mow the lawn, clean the toilets. Let her rake the lawn until she drops dead. It might make up for one-thousandth of one percent for what she did to that family. But at least it'll keep her from laughing.

And if you disagree with me, you probably use ear wax as a lip balm.