Charles+Manson+Questions+CK

1. Is Charles Manson a serial killer? 2. Are family house members serial killers? 3. Do they all deserve the death penalty?

1.Since serial killers are characterized by killing 2 or more people, Charles Manson himself is not serial killer. Aside from the killing aspect, he exhibited the typical traits of most serial killers: a dark past, a need for acceptance, abnormal social behavior. Though, because of his strong influence on the family, he is responsible for the murders. Technically, though, he did not personally perform the murders, so he cannot //technically// be a serial killer. Manson persuaded the members of the family to perform the violent acts, which indirectly puts him in the position of being responsible for the murders.

2. Yes, the family house members are serial killers because they killed two or more people, so they can technically be characterized as serial killers. Though it could be debated that Manson had some sort of "control" over the family, human lives were at stake. The fact that a human life was ended because of another person's efforts to extinguish that life cannot be ignored or taken lightly. The reality of the matter is: the family is responsible for the murders of multiple victims without a solid reason. The entire entity of the family itself listened to Manson's instructions and acted on the prompt of killing, thus becoming serial killers.

3. Though the true legality of the matter can be debated, I personally feel that each one of the members of the family and Manson himself are responsible for the murders, so they deserve the death penalty. The blatant disregard for human life should be punished, no matter what the involvement. With the murders, it was a chain reaction, with Manson being the person to overturn the first dice in the chain. If anyone had interrupted this chain, possibly a step toward preventing another murder could have been taken. But, they did not, so each person deserves the death penalty. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. They wrongfully took or contributed to the taking of another human's life, and thus their life should be ended, unless they were physically forced to kill another person, which the members of the house were not.