Notoriety In The Charles Manson Trials

Notoriety in the Charles Manson Trials In many cases and trials of the world, notoriety, or being famous from a bad quality or deed, affects many outcomes and verdicts. As more media and newsmen become familiar with famous cases, their articles are what capture the public’s attention, and what the public’s opinions of the trial are based on. This popularity of a trial can even help determine the future of the person that is accused of the crime. The Charles Manson trial was one of the most popular and well-known murder cases in the world and with the help of media and huge news stories, the trial hit the country by storm, each report affecting the public’s thoughts and views on the case. Charles Manson was maniacal from his early years. Charles

“Manson had targeted a house, not knowing that Sharon Tate was living there since she was renting a house that had belonged to the producer that he tried to get a record deal with. However, he turned Manson down so he was up at the top of the list of people he wanted to kill. When he committed this murder, he did not actually get his hands dirty” (Actress Sharon Tate Found Murdered). Charles would send his followers to do the killing for him, since he was the leader. The next morning, the maid found the living room covered in blood, as Charles tried to make the scene look frightening. He wanted these murders to give the impressions that black people were the perpetrators and frighten the nation. “However, the first suspect of this murder was the caretaker at the residence, but he had passed a lie detector test and was no longer considered a suspect. People started mentioning Charles Manson’s name when there was talk of him in a Los Angeles jail” (Charles Manson). Charles and his four main followers that consisted of Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian, were all eventually accused and put on

As police investigators showed up, they were not even the first ones there, reporters had beat them to it, trying to get as much information as they could. This trial even ended up being the longest one to that date, starting on July 24 and ending almost 10 months later. “As time went on, and the trial began, the amount of reporters and newsmen grew larger and larger. Even during the jury selection, news reporters were all lined up outside, and even filling the hallways, just so they could hear the trial. They knew that if they got the best information and could put together this story, it would be a great read, since this case was very popular and the whole country soon seemed to find out about it. Offices in the court received hundreds and hundreds of calls a day, since each reporter was so desperate for clues and information” (Crimes and Trials of the Century [2 Volumes]).
Two huge newspapers that covered the trial were the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, proving that interest in the murder went from one end of the country to the other. Even President Nixon commented about this horror, which shows that it shook the whole country. Each article and story had their own way of describing what had happened. Newsweek magazine even claimed the Charles was involved with voodoo or magic since it looked like he wore a bloody towel as a