Charles Manson's behavior was as compelling as a train wreck. Even locked away in prison for
nearly 50 years as the mastermind of nine brutal killings, people just couldn't look
away from the energetic man with piercing eyes. Here's what his life in prison was really like.
Charles Manson remained an enigma to the American public after the courts deemed him
responsible for sending members of his so-called "family," a group of young runaways and drifters
who considered him their leader, into the homes of prominent people whom they violently killed.
The brutality of the crimes and the fact that Manson had manipulated his young followers
into committing such horrific acts stunned the nation. Manson was convicted of first-degree
murder for his role in the Tate and LaBianca killings. Even though he was not physically
present when they were killed, the courts deemed him guilty of ordering their deaths.
Manson was sentenced to death in 1971, but shortly after, the California Supreme Court
deemed all death sentences prior to 1972 invalid, and his execution was commuted to life in prison.
By the time Charles Manson was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison at the age of 37,
he was no stranger to incarceration. According to Rolling Stone, when he was released from prison in
Washington five years prior, after a seven-year stint for trafficking women for prostitution and
forging checks, he'd already been in and out of reform schools and jails since his teen years.
Manson seemed to lack the ability to conform to any kind of societal laws,
and the same could be said for prison rules. According to the Los Angeles Times, Manson never
fully accepted blame for his actions. By 2017, the year he died, he'd been caught violating prison
rules more than 100 times over the course of his time incarcerated. Those violations included
things like threatening staff, spitting in guard's faces, throwing hot coffee at one staffer,
assault, starting fights, and possessing cell phones and weapons, including a hacksaw he hid
in his cell. He even tried to cause a flood and set his mattress on fire. A representative for
the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told the Los Angeles Times,
"Suffice it to say that he cannot be described as a model prisoner."
"There's no need to feel guilty. I haven't done anything I'm ashamed of."
As one can imagine, Charles Manson seemed to like to push people's buttons, and to get inside their
heads. In 1984, one inmate retaliated when Manson threatened him. According to the Associated Press,
Manson was giving convicted killer Jan Holstrom the business over his Hare Krishna beliefs,
so Holstrom doused Manson with paint thinner, which he had access to because the men
were in the hobby shop of the prison. Holstrom then threw a match on Manson,
causing third-degree burns on more than 18% of his body, mostly his scalp, face, neck, and hands.
No charges were filed against Holstrom. Prison authorities deemed the attack on
Manson an act of self-defense since Manson had a record of assaulting other inmates.
At the time, the deputy district attorney of Solano County, James Highsmith, said,
"[It would] be a waste of time and effort to pursue the case any further,
[and] unlikely that we could get a conviction."
Despite Charles Manson's knack for mayhem, some people remained fascinated by him. During his
nearly 50 years behind bars, Manson continually received lots of mail and visitor requests.
Occasionally, he even developed relationships with some of the curious.
One such man was Ken Dickerson of Missouri, who maintained a pen pal relationship with Manson from
2005 to 2012, per the Belleville News-Democrat. In fact, Manson managed to convince Dickerson that he
was more of an opportunist than a cult leader. Dickerson told the Belleville News-Democrat,
"Manipulation is kind of a weird way of thinking about something [...] I wasn't threatened by him.
I think the cult thing is funny because I don't think there was a cult. I think there was just
a bunch of runaway teens that needed a place to lay their heads. Charlie had good stories to tell;
he took care of them and in return, they took care of him. You take care of one another."
Another relationship for Manson blossomed from letters when a man named Michael Channels started
writing to him. Eventually, the correspondence developed into in-person visits and a friendship
after the men realized they had a lot in common, per The Signal. Manson ultimately
sent Channels his will, leaving whatever he had to him, including his body. However,
Manson's grandson, Jason Freeman, contested the will and won in 2018, according to NBC News.
Another person who developed a relationship with Charles Manson via letters was just 16-years-old
when she reached out to the convicted killer after discovering his philosophies online.
Afton "Star" Burton ended up moving from her parents' Illinois home to California to be able
to visit Manson regularly at Corcoran State Prison after about three years of correspondence. By the
time she was 25 in 2013, she was still devoted to Manson and planned on marrying him, telling CNN,
"I'm completely with him, and he's completely with me.
It's what I was born for, you know. I don't know what else to say."
"Charlie always tells the truth, no matter what."
Papers were filed for a marriage license, but the union never came to fruition. According to Rolling
Stone, the marriage license expired around the same time rumors and reports were swirling that
Burton's real motivation for marrying Manson was so she would legally have access to his corpse
when he died and could display it in a glass case where people could pay to come see it.
Per People, Manson told Rolling Stone he never had any intention of marrying Burton, saying,
"Oh that. That's a bunch of garbage. You know that, man. That's trash.
We're just playing that for public consumption."
Charles Manson had 12 parole hearings during his 46 years of incarceration for
his role in the deaths of nine people. Each time, he was denied. Sometimes,
he didn't even show up to his parole hearings, but family members of his victims did.
His final parole hearing was in 2012. Manson was not present,
but a member of the panel read aloud some of what Manson had told a prison psychologist. He said,
"I'm special. I'm not like the average inmate. I have spent
my life in prison. I have put five people in the grave. I am a very dangerous man."
In the end, Manson died an inmate of the California State Prison system at the age
of 83 in November of 2017. According to TMZ, who obtained his death certificate, Manson's cause of
death was cardiac arrest, but colon cancer and respiratory failure were the underlying causes.
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