The Charles Manson Murders
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BOOK REVIEWS The Charles Manson with the murder which occurred in mid-Au- of all the issues surrounding these murders, gust 1969. Manson had said that Shea was written in a style that is easy to understand, Murders: In a responsible for a police raid on the ranch and is informative of legal issues and the relevant that he, i.e. Shea, wanted to have ‘the Family’ law, yet also tells a narrative, a story, a story of Summer Swelter evicted from the ranch. extreme ideas and extreme violence. By Simon Davis Finally, Davis gives us a chapter entitled ‘Re- Only a few weeks before I wrote this book flections’ which is just that. He deals with the review, I saw on the news that Leslie Van question whether justice was done, the motive Houten had been granted parole. The State for the murders, ‘The cult of Charlie’, Cultish Governor could still overrule the decision. She behaviour, whether the time period ie 1960’s is now 68 years of age, has many wrinkles but had some significance, the concepts of ‘Au- beautiful totally grey hair (she was 19 years thorisation and Obedience’ and ‘Group Con- old at the time she brutally stabbed Leno and formity’ with a reference to the experiments of Rosemary La Bianca). Stanley Miligram in 1961, and the concept of This book is incredible to read - even if you dehumanisation. have read it all before. What Davis has done in this book is not only deal with themes and issues that have always Book reviewed by Caroline Dobraszczyk surrounded these murders such as ‘Helter Skelter’, the role of drugs, the role of a cult, the extraordinary ‘evil’ personality of Manson and his ‘hold’ over ‘family members’ and the The Pillars It must be very difficult to write about perhaps personalites of the followers, i.e. the family of Digital Security: the most famous criminal trial in the history of members, particularly those who were charged the world. Everyone has read something, seen with such gruesome murders. This book also How to ethically a television program or movie about it and it provides us with details of the charges, what captivated everyone at the time the trial/trials happened during the grand jury hearing, the use technology in were in progress. Much too has been written trials and the appeals, the cross examination about it, so what more can be said, one might of key witnesses and whether it succeeded or legal practice failed, the advocacy (which was good, bad ask? By Philippe Doyle Gray Simon Davis has done something unique and great), the extraordinary largely unethical in that he has written a book that deals with behaviour of some of the lawyers for the young many different aspects of this most famous female co-accused (lawyers who basically case. What we have first is a took instructions from Manson summary of ‘The Family’, who Lawyers who even though they were acting Charles Manson was, what he for one of the young females, thought, what he believed in, his basically took to implicate the young girls as misogyny, love of violence, the much as possible in the murders way he lived and his leadership. instructions from and thereby reduce Manson’s We then learn of the shooting role), as well as providing a legal of a drug dealer in mid 1969 (a Manson even though commentary and legal explana- few months before the murder tion as to, for example, what the of Sharon Tate), showing the they were acting for prosecution needed to prove, the violent way Manson lived at this differences between the charges, time and his false protestations of one of the young how evidence was used and the ‘doing it’ for ‘the family’. law at the time. He does all this We then learn of the murder females, to implicate by referring in detail to court of Gary Hinman, a friend of transcripts, the police interviews, ‘the family’, a kind, gentle man the young girls as police statements, parole hearings In 2014 Phillipe Doyle Gray wrote a lengthy who it seems was killed for his and American criminal law cases article for the Summer edition of Bar News money. Manson and ‘family much as possible as well as quotes from numerous called ‘The pillars of digital security’ in members’ Susan Atkins and sources including books written which Mr Gray explored the pitfalls of Bobby Beausoleil were charged in the murders by Atkins, Watson, the Prosecu- legal practice in the digital age, and offered with the murder. We then have tor Vincent Bugliosi, an inter- helpful suggestions on how to minimise the the remainder of the book deal- and thereby reduce view with Manson by reporters risk of inadvertent disclosure of confiden- ing mostly with the murders of from Rolling Stone magazine on tial information obtained or generated in Sharon Tate and four others who Manson’s role. 25 June 1970, other articles in the course of providing legal services. An just happened to be staying with magazines as well as videos/films online review said of that article that it: her that night i.e. 9 August 1969, and Leno and by the ABC, CNN, Discovery Channel and Rosemary La Bianca, who were found dead an interview of Leslie Van Houten by Barbara provides a vocabulary for lawyers who on 10 August 1969. Manson and 5 ‘family Walters for the ABC in January 1977. know little about technology, and it members’, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia We also have some photos in this book. We aims to provide a universal approach Krenwinkle, Linda Kasabian and Leslie Van all will recognise most of them, especially that to issues of ethics and malpractice, Houten were charged with the murders. There infamous photo of the three young co accused, regardless of the operating system, is then a chapter dealing with the murder of Atkins, Krenwinkel and Van Houten, arriving device, or particular technology. His Donald Shea, a ranch hand at the ranch that at Court for the first Tate/La Bianca trial, in formulation links (1) key terms of the family were living at at the time. Manson their prison dresses, short hair, smiling widely. … rules of professional conduct, (2) and two other family members were charged What we have in this book is a detailed account the way in which computing devices 68 [2017] (Summer) Bar News The Journal of the NSW Bar Association.