# Should Charles Manson be released? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920 "2012-04-05T16:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/82 "2012-04-06T15:18:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Even if we were to grant, for the sake of argument, that he’s completely reformed and would now be a model citizen, it would still be no mercy to release him. He’s got no job, no savings, no retirement plan, and probably no close family, and at 77, he’s not likely to get any of that any time soon. What would he _do_ with the rest of his life, at his age, if he were released? Honestly, I think Manson has enough people interested in him (for whatever morbid reasons) that he could probably manage a rather comfortable if not luxurious living off of donations and freebies, not to mention the attention and fame. That is one of the major reasons I am very much against the possibility of parole for him. Let him die in prison and let his accomadations be as spartan as possible until he dies. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/83 "2012-04-06T15:27:18Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Honestly, I think Manson has enough people interested in him (for whatever morbid reasons) that he could probably manage a rather comfortable if not luxurious living off of donations and freebies, not to mention the attention and fame. He could hang out with [Damien Echols.](http://www.freewestmemphis3.org/) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/84 "2012-04-06T16:14:17Z")
Letting Manson out on parole would be just about the best reason for applying the death penalty that I can think of. Anybody that is against that penalry had better hope they keep him in for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/85 "2012-04-06T16:22:13Z")
I don’t understand what you’re saying there. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/86 "2012-04-06T16:32:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t understand what you’re saying there. Probably that the result of paroling Manson could make many people wish he’d been executed. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/87 "2012-04-06T16:37:49Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by that. Nobody is “entitled” to parole. It is an absolutely discretionary function of the parole board. > > And even then, it’s not an objective decision. Each board member could look at the same facts and decide differently on his eligibility. There’s really no way to objectively say that Manson or any other inmate is “entitled” to parole. Tsk Tsk. I would have thought that it is obvious for a law student;). If a person in an identical situation to Manson would get parole, then he should also. If in his jurisdiction normal practice is that lifers with his record get parole after a certain period then he should also be so entitled. As for discretion, as you would well know, that even the widest discretion has to be objectively applied.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/88 "2012-04-06T17:32:27Z")
Here’s a question: Manson doesn’t even attend his parole hearings anymore, and when he did he showed contempt for them. He had no interest in it and did not do any of the “self improvement” or whatever things you do to show you’re interested in parole. I know he never _will_ get parole, but _could_ he when he has no interest in it and the decision is not automatic but at the discretion of the parole board (i.e. it’s not year 20 of a 20 year sentence where they _have_ to let him go whether he wants to or not)? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/89 "2012-04-06T17:46:04Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > If a person in an identical situation to Manson would get parole, then he should also. There is nobody in an identical situation to Manson. Arguably, no convict is in an\* identical \*situation to any other convict. Your argument has no merit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/90 "2012-04-06T18:14:44Z")
No. First degree murderers should spend all of their lives behind bars. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/91 "2012-04-06T19:42:46Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Released at 30,000 feet without a parachute, maybe. Nah, too lenient because he’d be unconscious from lack of oxygen and cold or too cruel because he’d have too long to be screaming in terror. Release him from 500 feet instead, avoids both issues. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/92 "2012-04-06T20:10:10Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > He could hang out with [Damien Echols.](http://www.freewestmemphis3.org/) 🙂 Big problem with that comparision. Most of the evidence in Damien Echols case point toward his innocence or at the very least, what should have been a non-guility verdict, or more rationally, a case dismissed. There is very little doubt in any rational person’s mind, that Charles Manson is guilty of everything he was convicted of. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/93 "2012-04-06T20:10:40Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Nah, too lenient because he’d be unconscious from lack of oxygen and cold or too cruel because he’d have too long to be screaming in terror. > > Release him from 500 feet instead, avoids both issues. I’d be willing to cut a deal with Roman Polanski if they let him come back and deal with Manson. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/94 "2012-04-06T20:44:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I’d be willing to cut a deal with Roman Polanski if they let him come back and deal with Manson. Rather than let a man who drugs and ass-rapes young girls go free, I’d prefer he have a cell next to Charles and they can spend their sunset years chattin about where they went wrong. Polanski is a scumbag. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/95 "2012-04-06T21:05:27Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > A sociopath in a constant state of future shock. What could possibly go wrong? Since he’s already picked up on cellphones, he’d probably adapt to other modern technology just as well. He’d love tasers. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/96 "2012-04-07T18:38:24Z")
Manson is, first and foremost, a world class bullshitting con artist. Even if he could convince every single judge, corrections officer, and parole board this side of the Atlantic that he should be released, I say he should die in jail. For crimes of his magnitude, the only alternative to death should be life without parole. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/97 "2012-04-08T01:26:32Z")
Personally, since he’s spent most of his life in prison, I don’t think it would be any kindness to him to let him go. He wouldn’t fit in anywhere in a free society now. We’re actually doing him a favor by feeding and sheltering him until he dies. Not that he deserves any kindness. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/98 "2012-04-08T01:48:45Z")
No damned way. I remember that horror like it was yesterday, and the image of that guy staring at the camera with that insane look on his face is burned into my brain. The last moments of those victims’ lives was horrific, terrifying and brutally painful, and was directed and celebrated by this psychotic. He hasn’t changed one iota, and never will. Psychiatrists have very little success with psychopaths, so the notion of putting him in a hospital is a pointless waste of tax dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/99 "2012-04-08T01:54:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Even if we were to grant, for the sake of argument, that he’s completely reformed and would now be a model citizen, it would still be no mercy to release him. He’s got no job, no savings, no retirement plan, and probably no close family, and at 77, he’s not likely to get any of that any time soon. What would he _do_ with the rest of his life, at his age, if he were released? Chances are his supporters would fete him for the rest of his days and the younger wannabe Family members (they do exist, God help us) would do his bidding just like they did back in the 1960s. With Manson you can NEVER discount that possibility. Whatever magnetism he had back then might be gone, but inevitably some alienated, disenchanted, long-time Manson followers would flock to him, just like the Neo-Nazis still worship Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/100 "2012-04-08T02:13:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > No damned way. I remember that horror like it was yesterday, and the image of that guy staring at the camera with that insane look on his face is burned into my brain. The last moments of those victims’ lives was horrific, terrifying and brutally painful, and was directed and celebrated by this psychotic. He hasn’t changed one iota, and never will. Psychiatrists have very little success with psychopaths, so the notion of putting him in a hospital is a pointless waste of tax dollars. Sharon Tate is reported to have begged for the life of her unborn child. ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920/101 "2012-04-08T13:25:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > He could hang out with [Damien Echols.](http://www.freewestmemphis3.org/) 🙂 Damien Echols is almost certainly innocent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-charles-manson-be-released/617920.md?page=6)