Is+Charles+Manson+a+Serial+Killer?+EM

__**Notes from Movie**__

- Mother was sixteen and unmarried. She was in jail for strong-armed robbery. She was a prostitute. She was in jail. He wanted to be with her - Uncle told him they were still rebels and not to do anything with the Yankees, like school. So Charles set the school on fire. - Mother would not take Charles back. He thinks everything she said was a lie and doesn’t trust anyone. - He started stealing things after being in Juvenile - At thirteen he committed his first armed robberies - Claimed he was raped and beaten at boys’ school. - “Raised in prison.” - He asked not to be released. Prison was his only real home. - “Anti-social personality” - “He was easy to talk to” - He knew how to get followers. People would believe whatever he said. Charles would attract girls by sleeping with them and guys by introducing girls to sleep with. - They were a “family” - Manson tried to wipe away the people’s old identities and views and he gave them his own views and philosophy so he was the leader - Almost “drug programming,” and he was always in control. He maybe didn’t do the LSD, only gave it to them - No right or wrong and life and death are the same thing. Two of Manson’s messages. He isolated the “family” - Manson told them what to do, but he didn’t go - They killed to prove loyalty to Manson - Everyone “had to get their hands dirty”

__**Questions**__
 * 1. Is Charles Manson a serial killer?**

Yes, Charles Manson is a serial killer. Though he did not actually commit the murders himself, he was responsible for them. He created the family and became the leader, training the members to follow him no matter what. When he finally had complete control of them, he told them exactly what to do and who to kill. He did not go to the murder scene and did not kill anyone himself, but he was the reason that they murders were committed. He was not just a conspirator in the murders, he is the person who created them and just got his followers to go through with it. He is responsible for these murders; therefore he is a serial killer. Also, he has the dark background that many serial killers have, and he had no motive for killing these people. The “signature” that he created was telling the family members to “get their hands dirty,” so the two crime scenes had blood everywhere and had things like “pig” written on the walls with the blood. Though he didn’t do the action of killing somebody, he was the person responsible, which means he is responsible for the murders himself, so he can be defined as a serial killer.


 * 2. Are family house members serial killers?**

Though they were brainwashed by Manson and didn’t necessarily want to kill the people, the family house members are still considered serial killers. Their only motive for killing the people was that Charles Manson told them to. They might not all be terrible people, but they killed multiple people, with the trademark of brutal deaths and words written in blood, and their background was that they had been brainwashed by Manson. Their deeds were an act of Manson, but since they actually took part in the killing, the house members fit the description of a serial killer.


 * 3. Do they all deserve the death penalty?**

No. The family members were in Charles Manson’s control. They do deserve to go to prison, but they shouldn’t be killed because they were followers of a charming man, or so they thought he was. They family members don’t deserve the death penalty.