Introduction
This analysis will cover the case of the Manson Family and explore its members’ behavior through the application of a criminological theory. Several theories can and have been applied to the group, including labeling, social learning, and general strain theory. However, this paper will focus on the latter due to its applicability to all four prominent members of the group. The study will present the facts of the case, discuss the offenders’ backgrounds, and explain how their different experiences of strain led them to join the group.
Theory Description
General Strain Theory (GST) explains delinquency and criminal behavior through the influence of particular life experiences, such as the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the removal of positive stimuli, and the introduction of negative stimuli. Developed by Robert Agnew, it is an expansion of Robert King Merton’s Strain Theory that focuses on a broader range of strains. The Theory explains delinquency as a way to cope with strain and helps understand why only some individuals choose this type of coping mechanism.
Facts of the Case
Though the Manson Family members had been involved in multiple crimes, the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 9–10, 1969, are the most well-known. Several days before the event, Manson, a cult leader, summoned several of his followers, including Charles Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian, and ordered them to raid a record producer’s home in Los Angeles, CA, and murder its occupants (“Charles Manson Family timeline,” 2019).
On August 9, 1969, the four perpetrators arrived at the property, which was at the time inhabited by film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. Leaving Kasabian on the lookout, the other Family members entered the house. They murdered everyone inside, including pregnant Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger (“Charles Manson Family timeline,” 2019). The following night, Mason and the four members, joined by two other followers, arrived at the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles.
Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca were killed soon after Manson and his followers entered the building through the back door. Manson himself did not take part in the actual killings, instead instructing the accompanying followers to act in a similarly gruesome manner as the day before (Serratore, 2019). Watson persuaded Houten and Krenwinkel to stab the deceased body of Mrs. LaBianca; the victims’ bodies were left disfigured, and messages written in blood were left around the house (“Charles Manson Family timeline,” 2019). According to various accounts, Manson’s main goal was to frame African Americans and to instigate a wide-scale race war (“Helter Skelter”) that would have ended in the African Americans’ victory over other races (Charles Manson, n.d.). After that, Manson planned to seize the ultimate power of the victors.
Applying the General Strain Theory
Charles Manson
Manson experienced various forms of strain from early childhood. Before his first imprisonment at the age of 16, Manson’s mother put his life in jeopardy several times due to her alcoholism and criminal behavior. At the age of 12, he was placed in the Gibault Home for Boys after being abandoned by his mother (Charles Manson, n.d.).
After spending several years in Gibaul and in the Indianapolis School for Boys, where he experienced constant physical and psychological abuse, Manson married an Irish waitress who later left him with their child (Linder, n.d.). These and other experiences of loss, abandonment, weakness, and inability to reach financial or social goals instigated a strong feeling of strain that Manson later compensated for by creating a cult and obsessing over Helter Skelter.
Charles Watson
Watson lived a generally successful life until college, showing no apparent signs of strain. However, his repressed sexuality and the desire for freedom eventually took over, leading to his fleeing to California (Charles Watson, n.d.). There, he met Charles Manson, who became a symbol of the long-awaited freedom and what he referred to as unconditional, pure love (Charles Watson, n.d.). The strain of constant paternal supervision and high expectations without accounting for Watson’s own desires during early life became the main reason for him to join Manson’s cult and follow his orders.
Susan Atkins
Atkins repeatedly experienced abandonment by family members throughout her life. Born to alcoholic parents, she experienced frequent relocations and her mother’s death, eventually moving to Los Banos with her brothers, but was eventually left with the younger one to fend for themselves. After losing her apartment in a police raid, she met Charles Manson and joined his growing cult as the desired substitute for a family, believing him to be Jesus (Susan Atkins, n.d.). This fascination and affection for Manson’s figure eventually led Atkins to follow his bidding, including the murders.
Patricia Krenwinkel
Patricia’s experience of rejection by society became the primary reason that motivated her to join the Manson Family. Living through years of bullying at school and low self-esteem because of her physical appearance, she met Charles Manson in Manhattan Beach and joined him due to romantic feelings (Patricia Krenwinkel, n.d.). The strain of repeatedly receiving negative stimuli from her acquaintances, which she coped with through her affection toward Manson, eventually led Patricia to follow the leader’s bidding.
Summary
Charles Manson is a typical example of a cult leader who used his naturally strong social skills to attract vulnerable and strained individuals. He coped with a strain of abandonment and emptiness by creating an ersatz family and choosing Helter Skelter as the potential solution to his life failures. The discussed group members experienced different kinds of strain throughout their childhood and adolescent lives that they coped with through joining the Manson Family and by viewing him as the idealized patron figure.
References
Agnew, R., Brezina, T. (2019). General strain theory. In M. Krohn, N. Hendrix, G. Penly Hall, & A. Lizotte (Eds.), Handbook on crime and deviance. Handbooks of sociology and social research. Springer.
Charles Manson Family timeline. (2019). Los Angeles Times.
Charles Manson. (n.d.). Charles Manson.
Charles Watson. (n.d.). Charles Manson.
Linder, D. O. (n.d.). The Charles Manson trial: A chronology. Famous Trials.
Patricia Rkenwinkel. (n.d.). Charles Manson.
Serratore, A. (2019). What you need to know about the Manson Family Murders. Smithsonian Magazine.
Susan Atkins. (n.d.). Charles Manson.
Understanding criminology theories. (n.d.). Criminology.