- Manson, Charles
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born Nov. 12, 1934, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.U.S. cult leader and mass murderer.From age 9 he spent a great deal of his life in the care of the state, first in juvenile reformatories and later in prison. By 1968, he had become the leader of the "Family," a communal religious cult in Los Angeles dedicated to studying and implementing his eccentric religious teachings. In 1969 he sent Family members to a house rented by the actress Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski; there they murdered Tate and five friends, and elsewhere they killed three others. The trials of Manson and four of his followers in 1971 attracted national attention. Their death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment when California abolished the death penalty in 1972. Manson's crimes were the subject of the best-selling book Helter Skelter (1974), by the prosecutor in the case, Vincent Bugliosi.
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▪ American criminal and cult leaderborn Nov. 12, 1934, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.American criminal and cult leader whose followers carried out several notorious murders in the late 1960s. Their crimes inspired the best-selling book Helter Skelter (1974).Manson was born to a 16-year-old girl and a man he would never know. After his mother was imprisoned for armed robbery, he lived with an aunt and uncle in West Virginia. Beginning at age nine, he spent much of his life in juvenile reformatories or in prison for crimes that included petty larceny, armed robbery, burglary, and auto theft.Following his release from prison in 1967, Manson moved to San Francisco, where he attracted a small but devoted group of followers from among the city's bohemian youth culture. By 1968 he had become the leader of the “Family,” a communal religious cult dedicated to studying and implementing his eccentric religious teachings, which were drawn from science fiction as well as the occult and fringe psychology. He preached the coming of an apocalyptic race war that would devastate the United States and leave the Family in a position of dominant power.Manson's hold over his followers was graphically illustrated in 1968–69, when the Family carried out several murders on Manson's orders. The most famous victim was actress Sharon Tate, wife of motion-picture director Roman Polanski (Polanski, Roman), who was killed in her Los Angeles home along with three guests. The ensuing trial of Manson and his followers in 1970 attracted national attention. In 1971 Manson was sentenced to death, but, following the abolition of capital punishment in California in 1972, his sentence was commuted to life in prison.John Philip Jenkins* * *
Universalium. 2010.
