Charles Manson will forever go down in infamy. For those who know who Charles Manson is, know the story and legacy behind him. In the 1960’s Manson began a cult of sorts, calling it “The Family”, taking in young,weak-minded, and impressionable people and brainwashing them to see him almost as a god. His followers took anything he said as whole truth and did whatever he asked them to do. Unfortunately in 1969, his “Family” carried out his orders for the murder of seven people; one being eight month pregnant actress Sharon Tate. This made the already heinous crime even more horrendous, not only did the murder make headlines for its shocking nature but also for the level of brutality that Manson’s followers used in the crime; Tate alone being …show more content…
stabbed 16 times. After the murders took place while police were looking over the house, they found the word “pig” written in blood on the front door and the words “Helter Skelter” written on the refrigerator. This is undoubtedly one of the most notorious crimes in American history. Using a sociological perspective to examine Manson and “The Family”, deviance is obviously a term that going to come up in the discussion. A very important concept in deviance is “differential association” which basically theorizes that interaction with other individuals is how we learn attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminals behavior. This applies very well to the Williams 2 Manson Family, not to say that “family” members would not have taken part in deviant behavior but had they not become so enthralled with Manson and his teachings it is doubtful they would have committed such brutal and vicious crimes. In the many articles written about this event, none talked about how the “family” members came up with the ideas for the murders that took place. Manson was the mastermind behind it all, it is well documented that he had a history of manipulating people and being able to get what he wanted out of people no matter the cost. If you combine Manson’s ability to manipulate people with the copious amounts of drugs that were consumed by the “family” members at this point in time, you get a pretty clear picture of why they followed so religiously. Getting back to differential association, it is fair to say that Manson gave motives for his followers to commit this crime with his schizophrenic belief of “helter skelter” and also taught them how to act with such brutality. Before joining Manson’s family, none of the members had any kind of documented violent history, only further supporting the differential association theory. Another theory that could easily be used in discussing the Manson Family murders is Hirschi’s control theory.
This theory asks a different kind of question rather than asking “why does this person act deviantly?”. Control theory asks “why do most of us behave correctly most of the time?” Some controlling factors are internal like a person’s conscience, while others are external like family,friends,laws, etc. Control theory connects non-deviant behavior to social bonds and socialization. Childhood has an important role in how likely a person is take part in deviant behavior. So how does this apply to Charles Manson and the Family? If we look …show more content…
into Williams 3 Manson’s childhood, it is apparent why Manson began a life of deviant behavior. Born to a teenage mother and never knowing his father(Sidner,2015), it was not a good start for him. Throughout his childhood while his mother was in and out of prison he moved around between other family members and foster homes. As he grew older he began his deviant behavior with petty crimes; car theft,shoplifting, and the like.(Rothman,2014)Basically what makes a person stay “good” so to speak includes their beliefs system,values,morals, and relationships. People who have these values,morals,etc tend to have a level of self-control that restricts them from deviant behavior for the most part. Social bonds also play a large role, Hirschi once said that a person breaks the law due to the breakdown of their social bonds. Hirschi also gave four elements that make social bonds; attachment to other individuals,commitment to following rules and laws, social involvement,a basic value system or belief.(Shubert) When applying these elements to Manson, you begin to understand what makes him behave deviantly. Attachment to other individuals; as mentioned before Manson is a diagnosed schizophrenic, which in many cases severely impair a person’s ability to connect or attach with or to others. When looking at his commitment to rules and laws, he has been in and out of jail since his early teens, so it is pretty safe to say he doesn’t conform to societal rules. Manson’s social involvement has also been impaired by his mental illness, even before he and his “family” moved to a ranch on the outskirts of civilization. And finally when examining Manson’s life, it shows that it is unclear about Manson’s religious beliefs. It is known however that he saw himself as some form of deity, having his followers call him both “God” and “Satan” which is far from a socially normal set of beliefs. Applying the control theory is a very good way of explaining Manson and the family’s deviancy. Williams 4 A third and final sociological theory used in discussion of the Manson Family is the “labeling” theory, which Becker explained as deviant behavior is only labeled as deviant due to societal views.
Something we may view as deviant in the U.S may be seen as normal in Europe, it all just depends on societal view on the matter. However it is pretty universal against societal norms to commit murder, there are places that allow “justifiable homicide” which is defined as “the killing of one person by another that committed without malice or criminal intent.”(criminal-law-lawyer-source.com) but even if a person is seen in the eyes of the legal system as innocent and non-deviant, they can still be seen in the eyes of the public as different from normal seeing as most people have not taken another life. While Manson may have never actually committed any murder, he orchestrated all of them making him just as guilty as the rest of the family. Many writings on Manson refer to him as a killer or murderer because even though he did not commit the murders, they more than likely would not have happened without his leadership and
direction. These theories do a good job of explaining Manson and the family’s deviant behavior, most if not all of the theories discussed in this essay line up with the family’s deviant behavior. Differential association explaining the importance that Manson had in the role of teaching the family members to commit this horrendous crime. Control theory explaining why Manson’s beliefs and values impacted his behavior and later the behavior of his followers. Finally labeling theory explaining that though deviance is a relevant term that varies from society to society Williams 5 murder is seen as socially deviant except when it prevents greater harm to innocent people. These theories explains Manson’s as well as the family’s behavior extremely well, there may be more theories to help analyze why this crime took place there are very few if any that completely explain the why’s and how’s of this behavior.
Control theory states that all people are potential deviants and that social bonds determine the outcome. If the family has strong social bond, such as the Simpson’s, though they have problems they are able to overcome them remain a loving family. The strong bonded family keeps their bonds strong by a healthy mix of parenting, discipline, and time spent together. On the contrary the family that has weak social bonds, the submissive parent and son, often have deviant children who defy them. These weak social bonds accumulate through lack of parenting and not a lot of social interaction with each
“Charles Manson the leader of the manson family is an American cult leader whose followers carried out several notorious murders in the late 1960s and inspired the book Helter Skelter.” His nature of his crimes were brutal slayings of actress Sharon Tate and other Hollywood residents. Charles was born on november 12, 1934 to kathleen Maddox, a 16 year old who had an alcohol addiction and was a prostitute. He had a very difficult life because of the things his mom did, she sent him to a boys school but he would run back to his mom who didn't want anything to do with him. This resulted in him living on the streets and committing petty crimes to get by. He would end up spending half of his 32 years at the time behind bars and would be considered a very dangerous prisoner. These thing would start to shape the thoughts and actions of charles and could be considered precursors to his later on occupation of being a
Charles Manson Charles Manson was a criminal and major cult leader. In the late 1960’s, he formed the cult which he later named The Manson Family. Manson's “family” committed nine murders at four different locations. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first degree murder for the deaths of seven of the nine murders, two years before conviction. Manson was later convicted of first degree murder of the concluding two deaths later that year.
According to one academic peer reviewed journal I have found, we can conclude that Charles Manson can be identified with the general strain theory. To lead into why Charles can me concluded with the general strain theory, I will be giving some simple understanding of what this particular theory means. As the Volds Theoretical Criminology states about the GST, Robert Agnew proposed and documented this theory and it covers a large range of different behaviors in the criminal world. This particular theory is unlike most others and it mostly has to do with individuals’ different social classes of all types, and what economic position people would classify themself in. To elaborate on this broad economic position more, this has to do with lower middle class, middle class, and upper middle class. All in all from Charles Manson’s background to what he evolved in as a psychotic killer, this theory shows the potential stress he faced every single day growing up and the anger that came about in his heart. So it makes the most factual sense that all of that anger, stress, abandonment, abuse, etc. increased the likelihood of him engaging in those hideous and vicious murders of criminal
Four of them broke into the home and murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate, as well as the four other people in the home. Then just the following night they set out to another destination at the Los Feliz house, another nauseating murder scene. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca have been stabbed. "DEATH TO PIGS" is scrawled in blood; on the refrigerator is the misspelled title of a Beatles song: "HEALTER SKELTER." Later, Musician Gary Hinman was found stabbed to death in his home. The phrase "POLITICAL PIGGY" is scrawled in blood on his wall. This man was feared by many and had control over peoples minds. Security systems doubled is sales; and people started taking extra care to lock their doors and turn their lights off. You could ask probably anyone who lived then and they would say they whished that that never had happened. That the name Charles Manson had never existed. Not many people would look for the good this man
As a child he was sent to many reform schools. He has spent the last four decades behind bars. He will never get out prison. He will eventually die in prison. This is the life of Charles Manson. Charles Manson is a sick and cruel criminal.
Charles Manson and the Manson family committed gruesome crimes that shocked Los Angeles in 1969. The actress Sharon Tate and four others were ritualistically slaughtered in her Hollywoods Hills home. The murderers had left cryptic messages on the walls in the victims blood, and law enforcement were stumped by the multiple stab wounds found on the victims. The next day a married couple, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, who were successful shop owners, were found in their Las Feliz home murdered in the same way as Sharon Tate and her friends.
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal comportment. Analysis also shows that...
The Punic Wars left an impact on Western Civilization because it was a turning point for Rome. Rome used to be a tiny city-state that had no potential to become an imperial power, by the time the Punic Wars are won, Romans would have dominance over the Mediterranean power. Rome’s survival was challenged over and over again, but Rome thrived on their victories. But one by one, city-states joined Rome. This was allowing them to gain more power. Carthage was fearful of Rome and it escalated into a conflict, which led to the Punic Wars. (Frankforter & Spellman, 141) The Punic Wars are made up of three different wars. The Carthaginians lost all three wars. The cost of the first war was that the Carthaginians lost Sicily and they had to pay reparations. The cost of the
Charles Mason, the leader of "The Manson Family" cult, is an ideal example of social deviancy. In Manson’s earlier years of life he engaged in many deviant acts/crimes; but, he’s infamous for being the leader of the cult responsible for the murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit these murders, which were carried out by members of “the family”. Tate, her unborn child, and four others were murdered on August 9, 1969 by four members of cult. The next night, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were killed in their home. Charles Manson was found guilty January 25, 1971 and was sentenced to death March 29, 1971. Before his sentence could be carried out, the death penalty was abolished in California, so he is now serving a life sentence. Charles Manson has been called the “most dangerous man” and the “devil”. Charles Manson was an icon in the late 1960’s and is still a very well-known person today.
Charles Manson’s illicit upbringing contributed to the manipulative criminal he grew up to be. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1934 to an unmarried 16-year-old mother, and to a father he never met. When he was only 5-years-old, his mother was sentenced to prison for armed robbery. After moving from household to household in foster care, then later being expelled from boarding school, Manson commit his first crime in 1948 when he was caught and convicted for robbing a grocery store. He spent the rest of his adolescence and early adulthood in and out of jail for car theft, forging checks, and running a prostitution ring. In between sentences he married and divorced two women, and had two children. In prison, where he did most of his growing up, he learned to play the guitar, and became obsessed with the Beatles. Manson was released in the spring of 1967, despite asking to stay (Bugliosi 14-38). Manson never felt like he belonged to normal society, as he spent so much of his time in prison. “I never realized that the people outside [of prison] are much different from the people inside. People inside if you lie, you get punched… There’s a certain amount of truth in prison. And being raised in prison, I was pretty much raised in light of that truth” (Journey). ...
Charles Manson Charles Manson. He and his cult, "The Family," together killed. seven people, bloodied and butchered. The people who he and others killed. the Tate and LaBianca families, were wealthy and well-off.
Manson is currently still held in prison after he was convicted of orchestrating the murders of several families. Manson holds more traits of a psychopath than a sociopath in the fact that his personality gives off an unbelievable charm, that attracts people and makes them feel comfortable. Yet behind his elegance and appeal, Manson is a merciless, apathetic killer. During the 70s, Manson charmed his way into leading a cult of sex, drugs, and violence. In fact, Charles Manson directed his cult members to murder families for him, thus authorizing no withholding evidence that proves Manson ever killed a man himself. Manson was never tried of murder until his personal hitman, Charles Watson, was investigated for Manson’s murders; Watson gave Manson up to the authorities. Although he has since been tried and found guilty of homicide, to this day Manson denies any involvement in the these murders. Today, Charles Manson resides quietly in Corcoran State Prison. He does not cause trouble or make scenes, but he does still visit with some of his old cult members and new fans. Currently, Manson is 80 years old. He has “bad hearing, bad lungs, and chipped-and-fractured, prison-dispensed bad dentures” (Hedegaard). He would not pose a dangerous threat if he was released today, especially if he was monitore. However, had
Macabre is interesting. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s “disturbing because of association with death”. It’s interesting because some people don’t feel it and others have a constant fear of it. Serial killers obviously cause macabre in some people, but others find it truly fascinating. Do you know the story of Charles Manson? The full story, his childhood, his past?
Social Control Theory presumes that people will naturally commit crime if there were left to their own devices (i.e. no laws in society) and people do not commit crimes because of certain controlling forces, such as social bonds that hold individuals back partaking on their anti social behavior (Bell, 2011). Examples of controlling forces are family, school, peers, and the law. Young people who are t... ... middle of paper ... ... nd delinquent are more likely to partake in committing criminal behavior (Shaefer and Haaland, 2011, p.155-156).