Title: Charles Manson Was Sentenced to Death. Why Wasn’t He Executed? - HISTORY
Headings: Charles Manson Was Sentenced to Death. Why Wasn’t He Executed?
Charles Manson Was Sentenced to Death. Why Wasn’t He Executed?
The cult leader and mass murderer got parole hearings until the very end.
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Content: They angrily shouted at the judge when they were in the courtroom and were ejected, along with Charles Manson, before the jury sentenced them to death. AP Photo
The public had been horrified by the murder of the pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others at her Beverly Hills home on August 9, 1969. Manson hadn’t even known Tate lived there; he’d intended his followers to find the house’s former resident, a music producer who’d failed to get Manson a recording deal. The next day, his followers murdered a married couple, the LaBiancas, in their home. Manson believed that these murders would trigger an inevitable race war that he called “Helter Skelter,” after The Beatles’ song. The murder scenes were particularly gruesome. The cult left their victims with multiple stab wounds, and Susan Atkins, one of the murderers, had written “pig” on the front door with Tate’s blood. These terrifying details captivated the public, making the very real possibility that Manson and his cult could get parole even more alarming. “In the ‘70s, it was quite normal for someone convicted of murder to get out after 10, 15 years,” Aviram says.