In Memory of Susan Denise Atkins-Whitehouse
Her name was Susan ~
Susan Denise Atkins.
Susan was famously known to some by another name,
which will never be seen here because it's distasteful.
Her name was Susan.
Susan was born the 7th of May, 1948.
Susan was a person.
A human being who made mistakes,
tragic mistakes.
We do not seek sympathy for Susan.
To do so would be insensitive and disrespectful
to the families of those taken.
We remember them, and we honor them.
Why this site?
This is a place for people to come
who understand that years ago
a lost young girl,
at a time in her life when
she was most vulnerable and susceptible,
and under the frightening influence of drugs,
and those stronger than her,
made tragic mistakes,
and spent the rest of her life paying for those mistakes.
Susan's reality at that time,
no right and no wrong,
was a nightmare from which she could not awake;
something no one should ever experience;
Susan lived it.
These are horrifying consequences of drug abuse,
to the extreme,
and Susan would be the first
one to tell you that.
This is a place for those who can see
the horrible waste of a life
a young girl unknowingly tossed away,
and spent the rest of her life thanking God
for the second chance she was given.
Susan was arrested October 1969
and never saw the light of freedom again.
At the age of 22,
Susan was sentenced to death-
at the age of 22.
That was commuted to life in prison.
Susan knew that was her second chance;
Susan knew not many get a second chance.
Susan was born again in 1974,
accepting Jesus Christ as her personal savior.
Susan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008.
Susan passed away
Thursday, September 24, 2009.
Susan had been in custody almost 40 years,
making Susan the longest serving female inmate
in the history of the California penal system at that time.
That distinction has fallen to one of Susan's former associates.
Susan lived a life of repentance,
and to quote her husband,
Mr. James W. Whitehouse,
"No one on the face of the earth worked as hard
as Susan to right an unrightable wrong"
Susan turned her life around during her
many years of incarceration,
and what she accomplished, both for the community, and for herself,
is a story of true strength and courage,
and something to be admired.
Susan knew she could not change history,
but her work, dedication, and sacrifice,
is something worth exploring for everyone.
Some believed there should have been compassion for Susan,
or at least in her final days during her illness,
when Susan's family requested compassionate release,
and was denied.
Some believed there should not have been compassion for Susan.
All are God's children.
God forgives all.
We cannot be so arrogant as to believe we can choose
who is worthy of compassion and forgiveness,
and who is not,
beyond the laws of our society.
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind"
Susan Denise Atkins.
Susan was famously known to some by another name,
which will never be seen here because it's distasteful.
Her name was Susan.
Susan was born the 7th of May, 1948.
Susan was a person.
A human being who made mistakes,
tragic mistakes.
We do not seek sympathy for Susan.
To do so would be insensitive and disrespectful
to the families of those taken.
We remember them, and we honor them.
Why this site?
This is a place for people to come
who understand that years ago
a lost young girl,
at a time in her life when
she was most vulnerable and susceptible,
and under the frightening influence of drugs,
and those stronger than her,
made tragic mistakes,
and spent the rest of her life paying for those mistakes.
Susan's reality at that time,
no right and no wrong,
was a nightmare from which she could not awake;
something no one should ever experience;
Susan lived it.
These are horrifying consequences of drug abuse,
to the extreme,
and Susan would be the first
one to tell you that.
This is a place for those who can see
the horrible waste of a life
a young girl unknowingly tossed away,
and spent the rest of her life thanking God
for the second chance she was given.
Susan was arrested October 1969
and never saw the light of freedom again.
At the age of 22,
Susan was sentenced to death-
at the age of 22.
That was commuted to life in prison.
Susan knew that was her second chance;
Susan knew not many get a second chance.
Susan was born again in 1974,
accepting Jesus Christ as her personal savior.
Susan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008.
Susan passed away
Thursday, September 24, 2009.
Susan had been in custody almost 40 years,
making Susan the longest serving female inmate
in the history of the California penal system at that time.
That distinction has fallen to one of Susan's former associates.
Susan lived a life of repentance,
and to quote her husband,
Mr. James W. Whitehouse,
"No one on the face of the earth worked as hard
as Susan to right an unrightable wrong"
Susan turned her life around during her
many years of incarceration,
and what she accomplished, both for the community, and for herself,
is a story of true strength and courage,
and something to be admired.
Susan knew she could not change history,
but her work, dedication, and sacrifice,
is something worth exploring for everyone.
Some believed there should have been compassion for Susan,
or at least in her final days during her illness,
when Susan's family requested compassionate release,
and was denied.
Some believed there should not have been compassion for Susan.
All are God's children.
God forgives all.
We cannot be so arrogant as to believe we can choose
who is worthy of compassion and forgiveness,
and who is not,
beyond the laws of our society.
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind"
