Charles Manson's Family members still vouch for the cult leader's innocence and say those convicted of murders were 'scapegoats'
Even though the murders committed by the Manson women are extremely graphic and very well documented — two of them still believe in Charles Manson and their faith remains steadfast on their leader and their cause.
August 9 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Tate murders, when followers of the late cult leader — Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Steve Grogan, Leslie Van Houten, and Linda Kasabian — massacred five people, including actress Sharon Tate, in a home north of Beverly Hills. Just a couple of days later, another member of Manson's Family, Leslie Van Houten along with Patricia Krenwinkle and Tex Watson, were convinced to commit two more murders — the grizzly killing of Leno and Rosemary Labianca.
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sandra "Blue" Good served their time in prison for their participation in the cult that involved nine murders and even though Manson died on November 19, 2017, at the California State Prison — their faith in him remains unshaken. The duo say that some of the women convicted in the murders were actually some of the "warmest" people they had ever met.
Fromme is infamously known for the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford in 1975, where she got a life sentence. But soon, she attacked an inmate in jail with a hammer and escaped from jail in an attempt to meet Manson. She was re-jailed and refused to go on parole. She wanted to stay with the Family in prison. She had said on numerous occasions that she wanted to stay with "the girls and Charlie". She also claimed that she just wanted to talk to Ford and had taken the gun to grab his attention. She was released on parole on August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years.
Soon after Fromme's imprisonment, Good also went to jail for sending death threats to corporates and served 15 years. The women were sent to the same federal prison. She too refused to get out and said that she didn't "snivel and cry in front of the parole board", instead she refused to go. She wanted to stay inside till "her people had got a fair trail". However, she was "kicked out" in 1985. "Prison is not a nice place," she says in a documentary, "but I felt solidarity with the other people."
Good is still adamant that meeting Manson saved her life and had benefitted her emotionally, mentally and physically and that she's thankful. She believes that what they did wasn't close to the "immorality" that exists in Hollywood. In the documentary, however, she admits that they had indeed "touched the line" and that it "needed to be touched". The women, who met Manson during their youth, still continue to defend the Family.
They are a few among the many women who lived with Manson on the infamous Spahn Ranch, where he had settled down with his followers after living a nomadic life for many years.
The women were made to do chores on the ranch, from cooking and cleaning to taking care of the animals in exchange for their stay with George Spahn, the owner of the ranch. Although they were the ones who labored on the land, Manson made them believe that it was actually his efforts that had given them a roof over their heads. He would conduct communal LSD trips together at the Ranch with the women, where he would make them reenact the crucification of Jesus Christ. He is also said to have told women during these LSD laced trips that there was no such thing as guilt.
Fromme and Good, who are still true believers of Manson say that Charlie didn't actually commit the crime and that it is on them to have done so.
"Squeaky" had met Manson as a teen after her father had kicked her out of their house. She says in the documentary that it appeared as though Manson immediately knew what had happened and that he had consoled her. As for "Blue", she had felt an instant connection to him, she said. She was a sick 24-year-old at the time having had two tracheotomies and had felt that her mother despised her for it. Manson, on seeing her, had touched her throat and told her that her mom had been jealous of her.
Good says that the Manson Family members who were involved in the Tate and Labianca murders are "scapegoats" who are being used to "sell crime". She believes that they are not being released because it is "political". Fromme is still not sorry about what happened and says, "It's hard to be sorry when you're going by your heart."
In the last 50 years since the murders, the members of the Manson family have been denied parole over 100 times. Diane "Snake" Lake and Catherine “Gypsy” Share also tell their stories in the full two-hour special 'Manson: The Women' on Saturday, August 10, at 7 pm ET/PT on Oxygen.