Charles Manson, Leader of Murderous Cult, Dies

 

Charles Manson, one of the most infamous¹ killers² in U.S. history, died Sunday at the age of 83. He had spent the last 45 years in prison.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation³ said Manson died of natural causes at a hospital in Kern County.

Manson led a small cult⁴ group and persuaded his followers⁵ to carry out murders of powerful people in the Los Angeles area in 1969. Manson and six of his followers were sent to prison in 1971. Three additional followers were later jailed for crimes linked to Manson.

Manson's most well-known victim was the American actor Sharon Tate. She was 26 years old and eight and a half months pregnant when the Manson group stabbed her to death at her home. Her husband, film director Roman Polanski, was not home at the time.

Also killed at their house that night were three of Tate's friends as well as a friend of the caretaker of the house. The attack included stabbing, shooting, and hanging. The murderers also wrote the word "pig" in blood on the front door.

The following night, six members of the Manson gang broke into the home of a wealthy supermarket official. They killed the official, Leno LaBianca, and his wife, Rosemary. The murders there were equally vicious and included messages written in the victims’ blood.

Investigators⁶ did not connect the two sets of murders until weeks later.

Manson was born to a single mother in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1934. He never knew the identity of his father. His mother was severely⁷ neglectful.

Manson spent most of his life in detention⁸. He started in his teenage years with sentences for armed robbery and other crimes.

As an adult, Manson was usually unemployed⁹ and only partly literate¹⁰. In the mid-1960s he became the leader of a small cult known as the Manson Family, whom he led to commit the murders of August 1969.

Manson claimed to be influenced by the Beatles' song "Helter Skelter." He said he believed the song was about a race war. He said he ordered the murders to cause that race war to start. The Manson family believed blacks would defeat whites in such a war but fail to lead themselves after. The family believed that the victors would ask Charles Manson to lead them.

Law enforcement officials used fingerprints¹¹ to identify the Manson group members as the attackers. Manson and his followers went to trial the following year. When he was not permitted to serve as his own lawyer Manson carved an “X” on his face in protest. His followers did the same soon after.

Manson later changed the "X" on his face to a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi¹² Party of Germany.

Manson and his followers were found guilty and sentenced to death in 1971. However, the state of California banned punishment of death the following year.

Most of the Manson family members have remained behind bars through many parole hearings. Manson himself had been denied parole 12 times.

Manson's death leaves five members of the Manson Family still in prison: Robert Beausoleil, Bruce Davis, Charles "Tex" Watson, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel. All are serving life sentences and are in their 60s and 70s. A sixth member, Susan Atkins, died in prison of brain cancer in 2009.

At least three other Manson group members have been paroled after serving time for crimes linked to Manson.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was paroled in 2009 after serving 33 years for a murder attempt against American President Gerald Ford¹³.

Sandra Good was paroled in 1985 after serving nine years for sending threatening letters to more than 150 corporate¹⁴ executives. And Steve Grogan, convicted for helping¹⁵ Manson and Davis kill a ranch¹⁶ hand in 1969, also was paroled in 1985. He drew a map that helped investigators find the body of the victim, eight years after the murder.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁷. And I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

cult - n. a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous?

gang - n. a group of criminals?

neglectful - adj. not giving enough care or attention to someone or something

literate - adj. able to read and write?

symbol - n. a letter, group of letters, character, or picture that is used instead of a word or group of words?

ranch hand - n. a temporary worker on a farm

1 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

2 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

3 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

4 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

11 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

13 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

14 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

17 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。