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After his conviction, Manson was transferred to San
Quentin State Prison to begin the automatic appeals
process for receiving the death penalty. In February
1972, the California State Supreme Court abolished
the death penalty in the state, thereby reducing
Manson’s sentence to life imprisonment (Bugliosi with
Gentry 1974:488). He served out his life sentence in
state prisons across California, including San Quentin,
Folsom, California Medical Center, Vacaville, Pelican
Bay, and Corcoran. His time was marked by occasional
parole hearings, where he was always denied release
into society (Marynick 2010:373). In 2017, Manson
died of cardiac arrest in a hospital near California State
Prison in Corcoran.
Charles Manson: A Psychobiography
Hare, Forth, and Strachan postulate that there is
a temporal stability associated with psychopathic
personality traits and behaviors (1992:292).
Furthermore, they claim that “[t]he antisocial behavior
of psychopaths begins at an early age and persists
throughout much of the life span” (1992:297). From
his childhood onward, Charles Manson consistently
displayed characteristics and behavior associated with
psychopathy. There is overwhelming evidence that he
meets the criteria for psychopathy, as outlined by the
PCL-R.
Hare posits that “glibness or superficial charm” is a
characteristic strongly associated with psychopathy. He
states that “psychopaths have what it takes to defraud
and bilk others: They are fast-talking, charming, self-
assured, at ease in social situations, cool under pressure,
unfazed by the possibility of being found out, and totally
ruthless” (1993:121). When interviewing witnesses for
the Tate-LaBianca murder trial, Prosecutor Vincent
Bugliosi was surprised at the wide variety of people
Manson had as acquaintances. A friend of Manson,
Gregg Jakobson, told Bugliosi that “Charlie was a
chameleon,” and Manson “often professed that ‘he had
a thousand faces and that he used them all—he told
me he had a mask for everyone’” (Bugliosi with Gentry
1974:223). Manson’s ability to don different guises
demonstrates his lack of sincerity and ability to assess
and charm a vast array of people.
Nielsen proposes that Manson’s charismatic authority
over the Family was central to the operation of the
group, and his charisma resulted from a multitude of
factors: Manson’s alleged powers to perform “miracles,“
his sexual prowess, his musical talents, his dancing
abilities, his criminal past, and his alleged personal
insight into members’ psyches (1984:320–321).
Manson possessed the credentials that were equated
with status in the counterculture of the late 1960s,
and therefore, he was able to translate his abilities and
experiences into power over the group.
Another indicator of psychopathy is a grandiose sense
of self-worth. According to Hare, “[p]sychopaths have a
narcissistic and grossly inflated view of their self-worth
and importance, a truly astounding egocentricity and
sense of entitlement, and see themselves as the center
of the universe, as superior beings who are justified
in living according to their own rules” (1993:38).
Manson’s narcissism was boundless. He went as far as to
use “Jesus Christ” as an alias in legal matters (Bugliosi
with Gentry 1974:190, 216) and overestimated his
talents and power in the entertainment industry. When
discussing Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s assessment of
his talent, Manson said, “Dennis himself thought that
I was some kind of wizard when it came to playing
and writing music” (Manson and Emmons 1986:148).
Manson also spoke of a time when he was associated
with “bigwigs” at Universal Studios, proudly claiming
that “[f]or a period of time, I had the run of Universal”
(Manson and Emmons 1986:132). He also expressed
dismay that his associations with celebrities were not
mentioned during his trial (Manson and Emmons
1986:132).
Manson’s inflated self-opinion also surfaced during the
Tate-LaBianca trial. Hare states that “[t]he grandiosity
and pomposity of some psychopaths often emerges in
dramatic fashion in the courtroom. For example, it is
not unusual for them to criticize or fire their lawyers
and to take over their own defence, usually with
disastrous results” (1993:38). Before the trial started,
Manson assumed control of the defense representation
and strategies for himself and the other three Family
members on trial. During pre-trial hearings, “Manson
had set up his own communications network.
Whenever he heard that an attorney for one of the
girls [co-defendants] had initiated a move on behalf
of his client which could conceivably run counter
to Manson’s own defense, within days that attorney
would be removed from the case ...Manson’s goal: to

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0008 99
run the entire defense himself” (Bugliosi with Gentry
1974:200–201). Manson, furthermore, had his court-
appointed attorney removed and acted as his own
attorney for most of the pre-trial period (Bugliosi with
Gentry 1974:200–202). Two weeks before the start of
the trial, he hired Irving Kanarek to represent him
(Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:295), perhaps because
Kanarek was legendary for his obstructionist tactics in
the Los Angeles courts (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:278).
Throughout the trial, Manson repeatedly disrupted
the proceedings with his attempts to manipulate the
case and create a spectacle. On the first day of the trial,
Manson appeared in court with a bloody X carved into
his forehead, causing several courtroom observers to
audibly gasp when he entered the room. Within days,
his co-defendants and other Family members holding
a vigil outside the courthouse also carved X’s into their
foreheads (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:311). When
President Richard Nixon commented on the case,
declaring Manson guilty during the trial, Manson held
up a newspaper with the headline “MANSON GUILTY,
NIXON DECLARES” in front of the jury. Because
of Manson’s actions, the judge ordered the jury to be
questioned, delaying the trial, and the incident held
the potential for an overturned verdict on appeal if
Manson were to be found guilty (Bugliosi with Gentry
1974:324–327).
Pathological lying is another indicator of psychopathy.
Hare posits that “[l]ying, deceiving, and manipulation
are natural talents for psychopaths” (1993:46). They
do not fear being caught and, when challenged, simply
adapt their stories to further their agenda (Hare
1993:46). Manson’s relationship with Beach Boy Dennis
Wilson was the basis for several of his more outrageous
lies, which were formulated to lead others to believe
that he was a legitimate musician. Wilson first met the
Family in 1968, when he provided transportation for
two hitchhiking Family members. Over the next several
months, Family members, including Manson, stayed
at his Sunset Boulevard home, appropriating and
damaging his possessions at a cost of approximately
USD100,000. During this time, Wilson, attracted to
the Family’s lifestyle, recorded one of Manson’s songs
with the Beach Boys and introduced him to others
in the recording industry. Despite Wilson’s efforts,
Manson was unable to secure a recording contract. In
August 1968, Wilson moved out of his home and had
his manager evict the Family members. He had little
contact with Manson until August 1969, when Manson
asked him for money and threatened his son’s life when
Wilson refused (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:250–251
Sanders 1971:61–62, 97–99, 242).
Manson used his relationship with Wilson as the
foundation for lies about his standing in the recording
industry. In May 1969, when his contact with Wilson
was minimal, Manson told his parole office that he
needed permission to travel out of state because he was
touring with the Beach Boys. When his parole office
requested a verification of employment, Manson said
that it was impossible because the band had already left
on tour. At that time, he also mentioned that “he had
a song on the hit parade and that he had just recorded
an album which was going to be released in about a
month” (Sanders 1971:191).
Manson also used the Beach Boys’ gold records stolen
from Wilson’s home to create the impression that he was
connected to the band. In late 1968, Manson presented
a gold record to Arlene Barker, the grandmother of a
Family member and owner of the Barker Ranch, where
the Family was eventually arrested. The gold record
was given as a gift for allowing the Family to stay on her
property. He also “told her that he was the composer
or arranger for the group” (Bugliosi with Gentry
1974:128–129 Manson and Emmons 1986:154).
While his relationship with Dennis Wilson and the
Beach Boys was short-lived, Manson made outrageous
claims about his connection to the group and his own
prominence in the music industry.
Conning and manipulating are behaviors highly
indicative of psychopathy. According to Hare, “[t]he
callous use of the lonely is a trademark of psychopaths”
(1993:147) and they “have no hesitation in making use
of people’s need to find a purpose in their lives, or in
preying on the confused, the frail, and the helpless”
(1993:148). Hare also states that psychopaths “can be
very astute at determining what those weaknesses are
and at using them for their own benefit” (1993:49). Prior
to the Tate-LaBianca murders, Manson manipulated
young adults (most of whom were women)12 into
12 Moffitt describes the female Family members as follows: “[T]hey
were among the walking wounded of American family life in the late 1960s.
They had no clear idea of themselves, the world or their place in it. They
did have needs: for love and affection, for a role, for a secure environment.
For some reason, too, they had a large measure of unfocused hostility that
Charles Manson had the expertise to recognize” (1974).