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Advice & More July 2017

Lessons Charles Manson Taught Me

By Geno Lawrenzi, Jr.

He often showed his bitterness at the court system for keeping him imprisoned half of his life.  But he also had words of warning to society for abandoning its children and turning to money, cocktails, and easy living rather than taking care of its children.

When I accepted a position as a general assignment reporter with the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in 1967, I had no idea my job would lead me to cover the murder trial of the century – the Charles Manson Family members of actress Sharon Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and their friends.

After the mutilated bodies were discovered in Roman Polanski's mansion home on Benedict Canyon Road, my city editor Tom Caton threw me full force into covering the six-month-long Manson trial.  Caton also assigned investigative reporter Bill Farr to the story and Farr would later serve time in jail for contempt of court when he refused to reveal certain sources to Superior Court Judge Charles Older.

I was thrilled to be the second reporter to cover the trial.  My daily courtroom sessions would bring me into contact with television anchors like Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Snyder, along with Mickey Dolentz of The Monkees who was covering the story for Rolling Stone magazine.

Although the trial took place more than 50 years ago, I can still see in my mind's eye – the shackled defendants like Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houton and Patricia Krenwinkel, sitting barefoot in the courtroom. A shackled Charles Manson seated in the witness chair next to the judge, looking wild-eyed and fearsome; and the other observers in the courtroom who, like me, were wondering what caused these people to commit such an atrocious crime.

Manson had hired one of the most obstructionist attorneys in Los Angeles to head his defense team. He was Irving Kanarek, a man with a bulldog face who had been a civil engineer before he sought his law degree.  Kanarek was such a pit bull that he once dragged a purse-snatching case on for six months, finally causing his own client to try to strangle him.

After listening to weeks of testimony, it became obvious to me that more than Manson and the defendants were on trial: Charles Manson was trying society for causing the conditions that would lead young people like the defendants to abandon their middle and upper-middle class families to join him – a man who had spent half of his life in prison – in his desert home.

While it was never proven that Manson by his own hand had killed anybody, circumstantial and other evidence was introduced to convince the jury that Manson was the mastermind behind murders that led to the deaths of nine people.

The trial took many twists and turns.  Charlie's courtroom demeanor intrigued me. He often showed his bitterness at the court system for keeping him imprisoned half of his life.  But he also had words of warning to society for abandoning its children and turning to money, cocktails, and easy living rather than taking care of its children.

In a remarkable piece of testimony while the jury was out, Manson said he didn't recruit Atkins, Krenwinkle or Van Houton – but said they came to him for the love that had been denied them at home.

He said when families should have been at home taking care of their offspring that they were at country club dances and cocktail parties, avoiding their responsibilities as parents and living the good life.  That was why the children came to him, he said. He gave them shelter, meals, drugs and unconditional love.

Charles Manson lost his appeal to the jury, of course, and was convicted along with the other defendants. He will die in prison.  But his words need to be listened to. Because if a man like Manson can teach us things about ourselves, somebody should be listening.

 

Geno Lawrenzi, Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author, ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. His email address for your comments and story ideas is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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