Charles Manson Research Paper

The Manson Family: Hell On Earth

“Sharon was going to leave me, no one leaves me.”

~ Charles Manson God didn’t create the world in the image that all men are equal, all of us are judged on the stature of good and evil, positive & negative, yin & yang. Charles Manson didn’t abide by these age old proverbs, instead he chose a path of violence, anarchy, and bloodshed. He was nothing more than a mortal man to some, an apostle to others, and a deranged serial killer to those that read the papers. The patriarch of the family, demon or a godsend, the world shall be the judge. Actor Al Lewis who had Manson babysit his children on a couple of occasions, described him as "A nice guy when I knew him (Kate 43)." Manson even was quoted as saying “I can't

Unable to comply, the State of California released Charles Manson. He headed north to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. Within months of his arrival, "the Family" had begun to form around him. The activities of the Family included sexual orgies, hallucinogenic drug trips, and frequent sermons by Manson on the meaning of Beatles' music and the coming of Helter Skelter. Manson dominated Family life, even to the extent of telling members who they could have sex with. No one questioned his authority. Many Family members seemed even to see Manson as having "Christ-like" characteristics, a perception Manson encouraged by often asking, "Don't you know who I

Manson sought to represent himself, but was denied by Judge William Keene. After granting in propria persona rights to Manson, Judge Keene later forced Manson to work with a lawyer when he got tired of Manson's theatrics and delay tactics, including a request that the prosecuting attorneys be imprisoned like he was to level the legal playing field (New York Times). Some of the more notable antics performed by Manson and his followers during the trial: crumpling up and throwing a copy of the Constitution into a garbage can, turning his back on the judge, cursing and shouting at the judge, screaming at Kasabian to intimidate her, carving an X into the middle of his forehead and claiming he was "Xed out of this world."Family members arrived in court with their foreheads Xed the next day, Manson and his family members shaving their heads Manson lunging toward Judge Older with a pencil while screaming threats. Manson speaking directly to spectators in the court while his followers chanting, singing and mimicking his words (New York