Charles Manson
Charles Manson was born on November 12, in 1932. He is a cult leader whose followers carried out several murders in the 60's. Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Kathleen Maddox, a 16 year old girl who was an alcoholic. Kathleen marrien William Manson but the marriage ended quickly, and Charles was placed in a boys school. Despite running back to his mother, she didn't want to do anything with him. Charles then resorted to living on the streets and living a life of crime.
In 1995, after getting out of jail, he married a 17 year old girl and moved with her to California. She became pregnant, but Charles began a life a crime again, only this time stealing cars. He was back behind bars soon, and 1956 his estranged wife had left with their child, never to be seen again. He was described on reports as suffering from a "degree of rejection, instability, and psychic trauma" and "striving for status and securing some kind of love." From 1958, he was in and out of jail for various of offenses. He was sent to McNeil Island prison in Washington State for ten years. He had also learned to read music and play guitar. He was released on March 21, 1967.
Although never found guilty of any murders, he is known for murdering actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child, along with Hollywood residents. His followers have been counted to comitting about 35 murders. The victims were Sharon Tate, writer Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Jay Sebring. Even though he didn't murder them, Charles had instructed his followers to kill everyone inside. The first victim was 18 year old Steven Parent. He was shot as he walked down the driveway and noticed the intruders. Linda Kasabian, a follower of Charles, was horrified by the shooting of the boy. When the other three followers broke into the house, they herded the occupants into the living room and tied them up. Jay was shot and kicked as he tried to defend Sharon. During the confrontation both Frykowski and Folger managed to escape from the house but were chased and stabbed to death. The most sick and cruel killing was of Sharon Tate and her unborn child, who was stabbed mercilessly by Susan Atkins. After the murders were complete, Charles told them they had been very careless about the mess they had made.
Charles' madness knew no boundary as he thought he was the 'Messiah' and that he and his followers were the ones to start the war. His ego, identity, and belief was of Armageddon, was what lead him to a trail of blood and crime. One of his followers, Van Houten, was only nineteen and was lead to believe Charles was like a 'god' to them all. Charles took advantage of her vulnerability and hatred of her mother to commit the crimes. Charles Manson was convicted and sentenced for life in 1971. Manson is serving time in Corocoran State Prison in California. Even behind bars, he still has managed to attract followers. A woman named Afton Burton, claimed that she and Charles are in a relationship. In an interview she said, "I'll tell you straight up, Charlie and I are going to get married. Charlie is my husband. Charlie told me to tell you this." In November, she and Charles had gotten a marriage license. Now Afton runs several websites trying to get Charles released from prison.
I think that what Charles did wasn't very good and I agree that he needed to be stopped. He had an ego and was very crazy. He did drugs and he instructed people to kill for him, because he wanted to play god. Many of his followers really made my stomach churn because of how they really decided to take up such a heavy burden. Susan Atkins really made me wonder what was wrong with her. She was not merciful and not a very good person. She killed a woman, a pregnant woman, who pleaded for her child's life and was ripped away from that. I can't believe that Charles could take advantage of people and turn them into cold-blooded murderers. Following someone is bad, because they either have good intentions, or very evil ones. Taking a look back at our history, following someone is very bad because of the effects it could cause. Hatred, confusion, madness, even. Following someone isn't good because that person could hurt you, or brainwash you to believe in something that you in reality can't escape from.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Mitchypop