Charles Manson - Research Paper Example

The presence of malice aforethought as implied by the conduct of the accused constitutes murder; thus, without malice the homicide becomes manslaughter. Apart from malice being a statutory requirement for murder, the unlawful killing must be of a human being; even though, what constitutes a person is controversial issue in law in US since the fourth amendment of the constitution does not recognise foetus as a person yet some states recognise foetus as human being (Carper, McKinsey and West 2008).

Charles Manson was notoriously linked to the slaying Sharon Tate an actress and other Hollywood residents even though he was not convicted of carrying out the murders himself; moreover, he was associated with the famous ‘Tate-La Bianca’ killings that immortalised him as the embodiment of the evil. Manson together with his loyal disciples are believed to have carried out at least 35 killings that mainly were never tried because of the lack of proof or because the architects were sentenced for life for the Tate/La Bianca killings.

At his birth, he was named as Charles Milles Maddox by his mother, who was at the time, was an alcoholic and a prostitute. The mother later got married to William Manson; nevertheless, the marriage was short-lived and Charles ended up in a boy school. Charles came back to his mother, but she was not interested in him and soon Charles commenced a street life surviving on petty crime (“Charles Manson”, n.d.). Probation reports revealed that he was suffered from high degree of rejection, psychic trauma and instability thus the struggle for a status; moreover, the reports indicated that he was dangerous, unpredictable and only safe under supervision.

Since 1958, Manson was arrested and released for various offenses such as passing of stolen checks and ‘pimping’ which sent him to McNeil Island prison for ten years. While Manson was incarcerated, he discovered his creative talent, gained knowledge in reading music and playing guitar, and finally freed in March of 1967. The next year, Manson organized a murderous operation that made him a considerable figure in criminal history. Therefore, Manson indicates a personality trait of passion associated with cult groups, which emerged in 1960’s.

He pathologically believed that he was the forerunner of doom regarding the future of the planet similar to the way cult and evangelistic figures claim prophetic knowledge of the end of the world. Drugs, artworks, and music that prevailed at the time influenced Manson; moreover, Manson had strong belief and interest in the concept of the Armageddon in the bible (“Charles Manson”, n.d.). The first victims of Manson’s criminal activities were guests at a Beverly Hills home that included Sharon Tate an actress of who was seven months pregnant, where Manson gathered most of his devoted followers to accomplish the task.

Moreover, the next day, Manson initiated another killing spree at the home of a wealthy couple Leno La Bianca and his wife, for this task, Manson chose his most obedient comrades. Even though, Manson was never directly involved in the killings, he manipulated his disciples and taught them to kill (“Charles Manson”, n.d.). Developmental life-course considers crime as a product of developmental process that begins prior to birth and progresses throughout an individual’s life. The developmental-life course theory considers the interaction of individual factors like personality and social factors like