Charles Manson Research Paper

Charles Manson had a way of picking up on people’s weaknesses and fears, and used it against them. He preyed on vulnerability and, as Linda James said, he offered them wealth and perfect relationships (Fennel, 1993). And, although his claims were extraordinary, he was able to attract a good amount of followers.

At the age of twenty-six Charles Manson was sent to the US penitentiary. By 1959 Charles had been committed of rape, drug use, pimping, stealing, and fraud. Manson was emotionally insecure and was lacking attention.

When people hear the name Charles Manson, people automatically think of the string of horrible murders this man was involved in during the summer of 1969. Charles Manson is infamous for creating “the Manson Family” and sought to create a war between races with his followers. The book Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, the main prosecutor in the Manson trial, chronicled the murders carried out by Manson and his followers, the trial following the murders, as well as the psychological diseases that may affect Manson as a person. Manson is responsible for several murders, including that of the pregnant Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. While Manson never took part in the physical murders, he was

Charles Manson became known worldwide after helping commit numerous gruesome murders near Hollywood, California. Although, Manson’s legal troubles did not start from that point, he had been in and out of institutions and prisons since the age of twelve, for many different reasons. “For, let out of prison in 1967, the year of ‘the summer of love,’ he became the most hated and vilified figure in America, a symbol of everything that had gone wrong in the ‘60s” (Smith). Even though his release from prison was short lived, he managed to do a lot of damage during his time of freedom. Manson received a life sentence in May of 1970 for the nine murders he helped execute (Baughman). Charles Manson is a well recognized name across the United States.

These are some of the most infamous names in the history of murder, but they hid in plain sight, and Manson did not even commit murder. He was so manipulative he could convince others to do his bidding for him. How is that even possible? Surely one would be able to recognize someone who is such a dangerous threat or would they? One of the reasons these killers can be so successful is their ability to blend into their surroundings and at times even be considered a stand up member of the communities they live in, but what is going on inside their brains?

He was born on November 12, 1934 and he built, what was in his eyes, the “perfect” family. Manson’s “perfect” family cult was made up of a hundred followers and they all were addicted to hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD and magic mushrooms. Later, the Manson Family began murdering people in the San Francisco area and they were suspected of carrying out over 35 murders total. One member of the Manson Family Cult, Susan Atkins, went to Sharon Tate’s home, who was eight months pregnant, and killed her. Atkins talked about how Tate begged for her life and the life of her unborn child. During the trials Atkins was asked to comment on the murder of Sharon Tate when she responded with, “We did it. It felt so good the first time I stabbed her. When she screamed at me, it did something to me, sent a rush through me, and I stabbed her again. I just kept stabbing her until she stopped screaming. It was like a sexual release, especially when you see the blood. It’s better than a climax,”( Blundell, p. 291-292). Later Atkins was charged and sentenced with helping Manson carry out and plan these violent acts. After the Manson trials, Charles was found guilty of multiple murder charges. He later wanted to Charles Manson spoke out and said, “I am not a bad person, I am a good person”

Kathleen Maddox had Charles at the young age of 16. Throughout Manson’s childhood witnessed his mother be arrested and began being skipped around homes. Maddox was arrested in 1939 for a robbery charge. After this Manson went to live with his aunt in West Virginia. When Maddox got out of jail on parole in 1942 she tracked Manson down and lived in muggy, run-down hotel rooms.

Manson later described her physical embrace of him on the day she retrieved him as his one and only happy childhood memory. In 1947, his mother attempted to have her son placed into foster care but failed because no such home was available at the time. The court placed Manson in the Gibault School for Boys in indiana. After 10 months, he fled from the school, to his mother, who rejected

In 1967 the Manson Family began in Venice, California. Charles Manson took the role of being a leader to his cult members by making connections between religion and rock n’ roll music in order to brainwash them with his beliefs. During the summer of 1969, it is documented that there was a total of twenty-four dead bodies throughout three different murder scenes. Most believe there was a total of thirty-five killings, but some were not included in the total because there was not enough evidence. Due to the crimes committed, some wonder if Charles was severely mentally ill and did not have any control over his wrong doings.

As I’ve said previously, the life of Charles Manson revolved around interpersonal violence. From an early age Manson was the victim of child neglect – his mother (Kathleen Maddox) would leave him with neighbors, “for an hour, then disappear for days or weeks,”

Manson started his cult not only on his religious beliefs, but on his belief that society had given him a rough past and Manson wanted payback for the resentment he had gotten in his childhood. Therefore, he created a cult to kill.

Charles Manson ended up on the streets and this led to his life of crime. By 1952, Charles had spent 17 years, which was half his life, imprisoned. He had 8 assault charges already. While in prison, Charles Manson was known as a model inmate and he even got released against his wishes because he felt he could not adjust to the world. (Rosenberg, 2009) He also fathered two children, one by his ex wife and one by another woman.

Charles Maddox was born November 12, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was Kathleen Maddox, she was a prostitute and an alcoholic, and only 16 years old when she had him. She later married William Manson, who adopted Charles giving him the Manson last name. It was said that his mother once traded him for a pitcher of beer to a woman that couldn’t have children. His uncle had to go track down the women to get him back. Charles spent time in a boy’s school then on the streets doing petty crimes to survive. By 1952 Manson had spent more time in prison than he had out of prison. In Charles Manson probation reports it described him as, “suffering from a marked degree of rejection, instability, psychic trauma, and constantly striving for status and securing some kind of love. Other descriptions included dangerous, unpredictable, and safe only under supervision.”(Biography Channel 2013.) In August of 1969 Manson gathered his group of most loyal family members to do the massacres. The first murder took place August 9, 1969 on Ceilo Drive in Beverly Hills at the home of Roman Polanski’s, and his wife Sharon Tate. The victims of this crime were Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowshi his partner Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring. There was also an 18 year old boy a friend of the gardeners who was walking down the driveway when he saw the

Charles Manson early life was complicated with the fact that when Manson was born his mother was a 16-year-old, unmarried, Manson’s biological father was speculated to be Colonel Walker Scott though, young lady name Kathleen Maddox and after such said birth Manson was already called Charles Milles Maddox. At the age of 8 Manson was sent to a school called the National Training School for Boys by his mother who he ran back to after run away from the school, but his mother wanted nothing to do with him. Soon after Manson started living on the streets and lived by doing petty crimes that would lead him to juvenile. By 1951, Manson was considered “dangerous” and a “model prisoner “in prison from all of the crimes he has committed that he spent

Charles Manson is notoriously connected to the brutal border of Sharon Tate and other Hollywood residents. Born Charles Milles Maddox to sixteen year old Kathleen Maddox, Charles was born into mayhem. Kathleen was an alcoholic and a prostitute; she was not very accepting of her son and showed him no love. Kathleen married William Mason and quickly that marriage dissolved. Fighting for his mother’s attention Charles left his home and lived on the streets. Manson began to do petty crime to get by. Charles Manson spent about half of his life in prison; he was noted for being a model prisoner. In 1955 Charles got married to a seventeen year old and moved to California. She became pregnant and soon after Manson began his life of crime,