Talk:January 25

January 25 is exactly a month since christmas
Facts — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.215.227.243 (talk) 06:52, 2 January 2022 (UTC)
 * You may have also heard that the earth is a sphere. Toddst1 (talk) 07:04, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

January 25th 1971: Manson Trial Convictions
The description for the Manson convictions on this date currently reads as -–

1971 - Charles Manson and four "Family" members (three of them female) are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca Murders.

This is not quite correct. In actuality, only Charles Manson and the three female co-defendants - Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten - were standing trial at that time. It is very likely that the fourth family member the description alludes to is Charles "Tex" Watson. Although charged at the same time (December 1969) with Manson and the women for the Tate-LaBianca Murders, Watson fought extradition back to California from Texas (where he had fled to after the murders) for several months. This resulted in making it necessary to hold a separate murder trial for him.

Watson's trial began in July of 1971, and ended three months later, with the jury convicting him for the Tate-LaBianca murders and later sentencing him to death. However, the death sentences for Watson, Manson and the three women were reduced to life in February 1972, when the California State Supreme Court abolished the then-current death penalty laws of that state.

One only needs to go over to Watson's Wikipedia Bio for the source references which should confirm the essentials of what has been presented in this section.

One further note -- A fourth female family member, Linda Kasabian, was originally charged with Manson and the others for the Tate-LaBianca murders. She became a star witness for the prosecution and was awarded immunity from any and all charges.

Fgf2007 (talk) 13:09, 2 May 2024 (UTC)