Why Did Charles Manson Order Killings?
Experts Provide New Insight
Charles Manson, a notorious criminal in 20th century America, was transferred to Pelican Bay State Prison in California in 1997.
Manson had been sentenced to life imprisonment for orchestrating the murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others at Tate's Los Angeles home in 1969.
He also ordered the killing of a couple at another residence the following day.
Manson was believed to have held a grudge against music producer Terry Melcher, who had previously lived at Tate's home.
Manson's transfer to Pelican Bay was due to his violation of prison rules at another facility where high-profile criminals such as Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan were held.
At Pelican Bay, psychologist Tod Roy was assigned the task of conducting a psychological evaluation of Manson.
Over the course of a week, Roy administered various psychological tests and a Rorschach inkblot test to Manson.
During the evaluation, Roy observed Manson's curiosity, gregariousness, awareness of his notoriety, and generally civil behavior.
However, there were moments when Roy was reminded of Manson's status as a cult leader.
Manson displayed a swastika tattoo on his forehead during one interview session, and he described Roy's car accurately after observing it from a prison window.
Based on the evaluation, Roy diagnosed Manson with an antisocial personality and psychopathy.
Although prison officials requested the evaluation materials, Roy refused to hand them over, fearing they would not be used for scientific purposes.
Instead, he made an agreement not to publish anything until Manson's death.
After Manson's death in 2017, Roy reconsidered the agreement and sought help to write an article for publication.
He reached out to psychologist Reid Meloy, known for his work on extremism and risk assessment.
Meloy enlisted the assistance of other psychologists, including Alan Friedman from Northwestern University and David Nichols from Oregon, to analyze Manson's Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) results.
Psychologist Joni Mihura from the University of Toledo re-examined Manson's reactions to the inkblot test using her own assessment system.
The team of psychologists recently published a paper in the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.
Their findings suggest that Manson's symptoms were consistent with bipolar disorder rather than schizophrenia, as previously speculated.
According to Friedman, Manson exhibited traits associated with mania, such as aggression, narcissism, and psychopathy.
Mihura's analysis of Manson's inkblot responses revealed signs of organized thinking, ruling out schizophrenia and indicating a possible diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Additionally, Manson displayed lower-level personality organization, which affected his ability to empathize and form intimate relationships.
The psychologists believe that Manson's traumatic childhood likely triggered his mental illness.
He experienced repeated abandonment by his teenage mother, who was a s** worker and alcoholic.
At the age of 5, Manson's mother was imprisoned for robbery, and he ended up in foster care.
His troubled upbringing included incidents of theft, arson, and encounters with the criminal justice system.
The psychologists argue that more interventions should have been done to redirect individuals with similar backgrounds away from violent paths.
Although Manson did not physically participate in the 1969 killings, he orchestrated his “family” members, mostly women, to carry out the murders.
It is believed that their drug use, including LSD, may have lowered their inhibitions regarding killing.
Manson's motive behind the killings was his “Helter Skelter” fantasy, which aimed to bring about the collapse of white society and establish himself as a ruler in a new society.
Meloy points out that some present-day extremist groups share Manson's ideology of using violence to accelerate societal collapse.
The study also found that targeted attackers like Manson often harbor personal grievances, which are typically composed of major loss, humiliation, anger, and blame.
In Manson's case, he was upset with music producer Terry Melcher for refusing to record his songs.
Manson and his followers had associated with Melcher and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson prior to the murders.
Although Melcher had moved out of the Benedict Canyon home where the killings took place, Manson wanted to frighten him.
For over 50 years, researchers have been searching for answers to explain such a horrific event.
The study concludes that Manson's personal grievance, combined with his grandiose fantasy of world domination, were the driving forces behind the murders.
