The story of Charles Manson and the Manson Family is very well known and a popular case that many have looked at before. Charles Manson is one of the most methodical American criminals and cult leaders that the United States has seen in the 20th century. Many people say that Manson left behind a legacy of evil, or that he was the literal embodiment of evil. The Manson family’s murders and cult are usually summarized to the basics; however, there is more that lies underneath what most people know or remember. To start and go through this knowledge and understand later points, one has to start at the childhood of the killers. Charles Milles Maddox was a boy who was born to a 16-year-old mother who happened to be an alcoholic and “lady of the night” on November 12, 1934. Charles’ mother, Kathleen Maddox, would marry a man by the name of William Manson, which is where he got the last name Manson, although his mother’s marriage wouldn’t last long. At the age of only 12, Charles would be placed in an all-boys' school. Wanting to return to his mother, Charles picked up petty crime and was living on the streets, where he would wind up spending time in prison for the first time in 1951. The crimes Manson was guilty of included pimping (receiving money from or for a “lady of the night”) and passing stolen checks as …show more content…
This man got under America’s skin for nearly fifty years for what he did and the lack of true remorse for anything he did. Among serial killers, he was the capo of serial killers. This can be taken two ways, such as the captain among serial killers in a mafia sense or the capo of a guitar, where he changed how serial killers would kill and behave. As sad as it is, the influence of Manson can still be seen and used even after his incarceration or even his death. One can only hope that there won’t be another Helter Skelter, or someone as deranged and bad as