Essay/Term paper: Charles manson

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Biography

 



Charles Manson. He and his cult, "The Family," together killed



seven people, bloodied and butchered. The people who he and others killed,



the Tate and LaBianca families, were wealthy and well-off. What could have



made them do such a thing without pity or remorse? Read on........



 



 



MANSON: The Man Himself



 



In 1954, Manson set up a commune-based cult, drawing in hippies,



drifters. and the unemployed at the Spahn Ranch, near Los Angeles. Manson



had lovely ideas and his followers or "Family" regarded him as a



Christ-like figure. They indulged in free love practices, pseudo religious



ceremonies, and used drugs such as marijuana and LSD.



 



The Black Panthers were a major black movement in the 1960's. After



killing a leader of this movement in self defence, Manson grew scared on



the promise of revenge from the Black Panthers. Scared, Manson ordered his



followers to practice guerrilla tactics and they did so, without question.



 



Manson sad he taught love because in love there is no hatred, but John



Flynn, a man who testified at his trial, testified to some very



incriminating admissions by Manson. Barbara Holt, a "Family" member, fled



the group before a raid. She later showed up as a prosecution witness, a



potential danger to Manson, so faithful members of the "Family" tried to



kill her with a hamburger laced with LSD. Before her testimony, another



"Family" member, Gary Hinman, who had also fled he group, was killed



because he had betrayed the "Family." As you can see, the punishment for



crossing the "Family" was severe.



 



Manson makes claims to thirty-five murders. Although he was convicted



for others, there was not enough evidence to bring him to trial for the



thirty five.



 



 



THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE MAN



 



The driving force behind Manson's killing was hard to prove and hard



to believe. Manson had a plan in his head. When the Beatles first



released "The White Album," it was a hit. Manson listened to it often. He



had a great devotion to the Beatles, who he believed spoke to him across



the oceans in their lyrics and songs. Manson saw the 4 Beatles as the 4



Angels that announced the ending of the world in the bible. (Armageddon)



 



On "The White Album" there are two song titles containing the



word revolution. These are "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9." Manson



thought the Beatles were talking about a black/white revolution. The word



rise can be found in "Revolution 9" and could be depicted as a prediction



of a Black uprising. One song in particular, "Helter Skelter" seemed



unexceptional to the normal ear, but was given a weird interpretation by



Manson. Man saw the Blacks as stupid and felt he had to show "Blackie" the



way. His plan to kill seven wealthy white people and to blame it on the



blacks would start his plan of a black/white revolution which he called



"Helter Skelter." He attempted to frame the black people by writing "Death



to Pigs" in the victim's own blood and carving the word "war" in the



stomach of his victims. Manson denied allegations that this was the motive



behind the murders but many of Manson's followers said that Manson often



spoke of this revolution, "Helter Skelter."



 



Another controversial song on the album was "Sexy Sadie." It was



believed by Manson that the song foretold his murder trial when Susan



Atkins made a crucial mistake on the witness stand. She made the "Family"



appear to be murderers of the seven butchered victims while Manson felt he



was convincing the jury of their innocence. Manson believed he foresaw this



even before the trial.



 



THE FOLLOWERS OF MANSON:THE FAMILY



 



The killers of the Tate and LaBianca families now serve life in



prison. Four people, all part of the "Family" were convicted of these



murders: Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia



Krenwinkle. It is interesting to see that most of the killers are women.



Another woman, Linda Kasabian, who drove the killers to the murder scene,



turned state's evidence, and literally, got away with murder. Charles



Watson was another member of Manson's group and was a Texan citizen, so he



was tried under Texan Law. The others were tried in Los Angeles. He was



also given life imprisonment. The trial, which lasted nine and one half



months, cost Los Angeles one million dollars.



 



Many people have wondered how these so called "normal" people could



commit such morbid crimes and show no signs of regret or remorse. Its is



suggested that Manson used threats, guilt, and partial fear to seduce these



people into doing what he wanted. Manson's followers were devoted to him,



doing whatever he wanted. They so much believed in him that they did not



question what they were doing.



 



THE MANSON HATE LIST



 



Charles Manson is said to have kept a secret list of future targets,



with graphic details of how he is going to "deal" with these people.



Prisoners who have shared jail cells with members of the "Family" testify



that this was a frequent topic of conversation among them. All individuals



on the hate list were white (suggesting that Manson would blame the blacks)



and the list seemed to deal with the rich and famous for whom Manson



invented cruel tortures. Some examples: Frank Sinatra, skinned alive,



Steve McQueen, boiled in oil, Doris Day, raped and impaled, Tom Jones,



tongue cut off, Elizabeth Taylor, breasts cut off, Richard Burton,



castrated, etc.



 



THE MANSON LIFE AND TRIAL



 



A movie, entitled "Manson" was taped prior to the trial in Los



Angeles. It was questioned if the movie gave an accurate portrayal of the



life of Manson, or if it made a mockery out of him. The information



presented in the movie is considered to be a documentation of the life of



the Manson Family. The film was taped prior to the trial and was ordered



to be removed from public viewing because it was thought to be a possible



influence on the jurors.



 



The Manson trial lasted nine and one half months and cost Los Angeles



tax payers one million dollars. Four people stood trial: Manson, Patricia



Krenwinkle, Leslie Van Houten, and Susan Atkins. They were all convicted of



five murders altogether. There were two other people with them on the



night of the murders. Charles Watson was a texan citizen, and was deported



to Texas to be tried under Texan law. Linda Kasabian turned state's



evidence and got away with murder. All particpants in the murders, with



the exception of Kasabian, were found guilty and were sentenced to death.



This sentence was revoked and turned into life imprisionment. There was



great concern for the possibility of the popular image of martyrdom being



assigned to Manson and his "Family."



 



Manson used suggestion and passive hypnotism to make his followers



answer any command of his. People did unquestioning acts of any sort, even



murder at his whim. He found the fear in people and enjoyed playing on it.



Manson's followers frequently said, "He reflects back to you what you want



to see." Manson himself said: "You are using us fpr a scapegoat, trying to



look past Nixon, and past Vietnam. I am only what your world made me."



Another quote of Manson's is: "I hate the world I live in." By the age of



thirty, he had fifty convictions against him.



 



Manson believed in free love and experimentation with drugs. Followers



of Manson came from all over the globe. They believed they had to go to



the desert and bring along all the children they could convince to join



the,. Children were not excluded from anything and this "freedom" appealed



to may yound people. They could participate in free secual activities,



experiment with drugs, or use guns and cars. Manson's ranch became a home



for runaways, people in trouble with they law, and hippires. Manson did



not like hippies, and he said they were just trying to be different and



were looking for trouble, hence the name he gave to them: "slippies." Girls



in Manson's "family" made a ceremonial vest that tells the life of Manson



in thread. Bruce Davis, Manson's second in command, overdosed on LSD and



was mentally and physcially disabled. On August 11, 1972, police raided



the ranch and arrested the killers for auto theft with the intention to



later convict them of the murders once they had firm evidence.



 



The motive was the strangest and most unbelievable thing that the



police had to deal with. Manson saw the Beatles as prophets that described



a race war between the whites and blacks. Manson planned to start this war



up by blaming the murders of members of black society. Only it didn't work



out that way. Manson planned to hide in the desert until the war ended.



Manson believed he would later have to take over because the blacks were



inexperience leaders. He called this plan Helter Skelter.



 



The seven deaths the "Family" were convicted of were oriented around



the rich and famous. Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half moths pregnant,



was hanged and her baby was cut out of her. She was the wife of movie



director Roman Polanski. Abigail Folger was the heiress to the vast Folger



estate and was killed along with her lover Voityck Fryowski, a famous



writer. Jay Sebring was present at this gathering because he was a former



boyfriend of Tate's.