Helter Skelter

What role did the media play in the initial part of the investigation? How did it influence the trial as it commenced?

What were some of the problems with the “Helter Skelter” motive Bugliosi pieced together? Why was Bugliosi initially eager to drop it?

What were some of the problems with the evidence collection on the part of the LAPD?

Do you think that Manson and the defendants had an effective defense team?

When do you think the charge of criminal conspiracy is appropriate, and when might it overreach?

What do you think Manson had to gain through his bizarre antics in court? Who benefited from them, and who suffered from them?

Manson and others among his followers went in and out of an often indifferent reform and penal system. Do you think that early detection and better restorative psychological treatment might have kept the murders from happening in the first place?

How is the violence and bloodshed committed by Manson different than other acts of violence for which the 1960s are known? How was it perceived as different?