If there was ever an argument for the death penalty, only Charles Ng tops Manson for it. I was on a backpacking trip through the Sierras with my oldest sister and cousin the weekend of the murders at Sharon Tate's house. Of course, he was sentenced to death, and saved by a California Supreme Court that voided all existing death sentences.
That Carolyn and Michael didn't leave their whiny 12 year old relative in the forest showed enormous self-control. In retrospect, this was one of the best experiences of my life and one that I wish that I had repeated a few years later when a 20 pound pack would not have been such a burden. As an adult it would have been wonderful. Today, I do not have the stamina or adequate joints for it.
The barbarism of Manson and his successful brainwashing of what Manson later accurately characterized as the "throwaways" of middle class society, was well examined in prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's Helter-Skelter.
Of more importance:
ReplyDeleteHow are the cat and dog doing?
The cat keeps addressing the dog as Charley, but they are almost getting along.
ReplyDeleteSeems like it was a hundred years ago, but back in the early '70s I knew a guy (who knew a guy, etc.) that offered what he said was Charlie Manson's guitar for sale.
ReplyDeleteIt looked like it could have been his: it had political slogans painted on & a swastika on the back. I didn't have the $250 that was being asked for it (that seemed like a fortune to me at the time,) but I've often wondered whether it really had been Manson's- if so, it could be worth a lot of money today.
Maybe I missed out. On the other hand, why would anyone want something to remember that monster by?
It's good that he is finally where he belongs: having a hot time in Hell, I expect!