Doris Tate

Doris Tate
Tate (seated) in 1992 being acknowledged by President George H. W. Bush for her work in support of victims' rights. Also pictured are Tate's daughters Patti (left) and Debra (right).
Born	Doris Gwendolyn Willett Doris Willett (1924-01-16)January 16, 1924 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died	July 10, 1992(1992-07-10) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Brain tumor
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery
Known for	Mother of Sharon Tate
Spouse(s)	Colonel Paul James Tate
Children	Sharon Marie Tate Debra Ann Tate Patricia "Patti" Gay Tate

Doris Gwendolyn Tate (January 16, 1924 – July 10, 1992) was an American campaigner for the rights of crime victims. After the murder of her daughter, actress Sharon Tate, and several others, she worked to raise public awareness about the United States corrections system and was influential in the amendment of California laws relating to the victims of violent crime.

Born in Houston, Texas, Tate, as the second daughter of Dorris W. Willett and his wife, Fannie R. Leuch. She had a sister, Genevieve. Doris was a housewife and mother of three daughters. In 1969, her eldest daughter, Sharon, was at the beginning of a film career, and married to film director Roman Polanski. Eight months pregnant with their first child, Tate and four others were murdered at the Polanskis' rented Beverly Hills home in a case that was sensationalized throughout the world. The killers were eventually identified as Charles 'Tex' Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel, acting on behalf of the leader of their group, Charles Manson. All four were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death, along with Leslie Van Houten, who had not participated in the murder of the Tate victims, but had participated in the murder of a Los Angeles couple the following night. The death sentences were overturned before they could be applied when the State of California temporarily abolished the death penalty.

For more than a decade after the murders, Tate battled depression and was withdrawn and unable to discuss her daughter's death. In 1982 she was told that Leslie Van Houten had obtained 900 signatures supporting her quest to achieve parole. Tate mounted a public campaign against Van Houten, winning the support of the National Enquirer, which printed coupons in its magazine for people to sign and send to Doris Tate. With more than 350,000 signatures, Tate demonstrated that a considerable number of people opposed Van Houten's parole, which was denied.

Tate then appeared on various television talk shows, discussing her opinion of the corrections system and the impact her daughter's murder had had on her family. She joined the Los Angeles chapter of the "Parents of Murdered Children" organization, and while she drew support from the group, also found that she was rewarded by assuming the role of counsellor. She later became an active member of the Victim Offender Reconciliation and Justice for Homicide Victims groups. She founded COVER, the Coalition on Victim's Equal Rights, and served on the California State Advisory Committee on Correctional Services as a victims' representative.