How Charles Manson’s Trial Shook America: A Look Back at the 1971 Verdict

On January 25, 1971, a Los Angeles jury convicted Charles Manson and three of his followers of first-degree murder for the gruesome killings of seven people in 1969. The verdict marked the end of one of the most sensational and bizarre trials in American history, which exposed the twisted mind of a cult leader who wanted to start a race war.

The Manson Family

Charles Manson was a career criminal who spent most of his life in prisons and reformatories. He was released in 1967 and moved to San Francisco, where he attracted a group of young, mostly female, followers who called themselves the “Family”. They lived a nomadic and communal life, engaging in sexual orgies, hallucinogenic drugs, and listening to Manson’s sermons on the meaning of Beatles’ songs and the coming of “Helter Skelter”, a term he borrowed from a Beatles’ song to describe an apocalyptic race war.

Manson believed that he and his Family would survive Helter Skelter by hiding in a secret cave in the Death Valley, and that they would emerge as the rulers of the world after the blacks, whom he called “blackie”, would fail to govern themselves. To trigger Helter Skelter, Manson planned to commit a series of murders that would be blamed on the blacks and incite a violent backlash from the whites.

The Tate-LaBianca Murders

On August 9, 1969, Manson ordered four of his followers, Charles “Tex” Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian, to go to the home of actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant and married to film director Roman Polanski, and kill everyone there. They brutally stabbed and shot Tate and four other people: celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, writer Wojciech Frykowski, and teenager Steven Parent, who was visiting the caretaker of the property. They also wrote “Pig” on the door with Tate’s blood.

The next night, Manson joined Watson, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, another Family member, and drove to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, a wealthy couple who owned a supermarket chain. Manson tied up the couple and left, instructing the others to kill them. They stabbed the LaBiancas dozens of times and wrote “Helter Skelter”, “Rise”, and “Death to Pigs” on the walls and refrigerator with their blood.

The Investigation and Arrests

The police initially had no suspects or motives for the murders, which shocked and terrified the public. They did not connect the Tate and LaBianca cases until a month later, when they found the murder weapons near the Spahn Ranch, where the Family lived. They raided the ranch and arrested several Family members for auto theft and arson, but not for the murders.

The breakthrough came when Atkins, who was in jail for another murder, confessed to her cellmates that she was involved in the Tate killings. She also implicated Manson and the others, and revealed the details of the Family’s lifestyle and beliefs. The police then arrested Manson, Watson, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten, and charged them with the Tate-LaBianca murders. Kasabian, who did not participate in the killings, became the prosecution’s star witness in exchange for immunity.

The Trial

The trial began in July 1970 and lasted for seven months. It was a circus of courtroom antics, media frenzy, and public fascination. Manson and the three women shaved their heads, carved Xs on their foreheads, and disrupted the proceedings with outbursts, laughter, and singing. They also tried to intimidate the judge, the jury, and the witnesses with their stares and gestures. Outside the courthouse, other Family members held vigils, chanted slogans, and threatened violence.

The prosecution, led by assistant district attorney Vincent Bugliosi, presented a wealth of evidence, including fingerprints, blood samples, weapons, clothing, and testimony, to prove that Manson and his followers were guilty of the murders. Bugliosi also argued that Manson had masterminded the crimes and ordered his followers to carry them out, even though he was not present at the scenes. He explained Manson’s motive of starting Helter Skelter, and how he used his charisma and manipulation to brainwash his followers into obeying him.

The defense, on the other hand, tried to portray Manson as a scapegoat and a victim of a political persecution. They claimed that he was not involved in the murders, and that the prosecution was trying to convict him because of his unconventional lifestyle and beliefs. They also challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses, especially Kasabian, and suggested that the murders were committed by drug dealers or other unknown assailants.

The Verdict and the Aftermath

On January 25, 1971, after nine days of deliberation, the jury found Manson and the three women guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They were sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment after the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in 1972. Watson, who was tried separately, was also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Manson and his followers have been denied parole repeatedly, and have remained in prison ever since. Manson died of natural causes in 2017, at the age of 83. Atkins died of brain cancer in 2009, at the age of 61. Krenwinkel, Van Houten, and Watson are still alive and incarcerated.

The Manson trial was a landmark case that exposed the dark side of the 1960s counterculture and the dangers of cults and charismatic leaders. It also captivated and horrified the nation, and became a symbol of the end of an era of peace and love.