A judge released a recording of an interview with former Manson “family” member Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Fromme, the woman who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford -- almost 39 years after her failed attempt.
U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller released the 1975 recording following a request by The Sacramento Bee newspaper.
The interview was done at the time to determine her competency to stand trial. The psychiatrist decided Fromme was competent and could represent herself at her trial, if she desired. Fromme was eventually represented by a court-appointed attorney.
When asked whether she understood her charges, Fromme replied, “Attempted assassination of the president of the United States."
Her voice isn't shaky when she tells the psychiatrist she is aware she could face "from a number of years to life in prison" for her actions.
Fromme pointed a loaded gun at Ford in Sacramento's Capitol Park on Sept. 5, 1975.
In the recently released recording, the woman confidently tells her interviewer she feels she has "probably a 70-percent chance on the percentage scale" to be found not guilty.
Those hopes were dashed when she was found guilty and sentenced to life. She was released in 2009.
In the interview, Fromme also discussed the way she was being portrayed in the media at the time, her vegetarian diet, her drug usage and being part of the cult-like "family" centered around Charles Manson.
Sounding calm when asked how she was dealing with her situation, Fromme told the psychiatrist she didn't feel anxious or tense.
"I make the best of every situation I'm in," she said.
