Inside the Manson Jury

INSIDE THE MANSON JURY: From Deliberation to Death Sentence

Jury Foreman Herman Tubick with his wife Helen wrote a book in 1973 culled from his notebooks and journals about his experience as a sequestered juror during the infamous Manson Trial. It was put into a drawer and discovered by his daughter in 2017.Lawyer/ Journalist and Manson expert Deborah Herman has combined this historic artifact with excerpts from the original trial transcript to reveal the larger picture of the crime and trial that captures our collective consciousness to this day. Just in time for the release of Quentin Tarantino's depiction of Manson in his new movie "Once upon a time in Hollywood," this book provides facts that can put to rest the Manson legend once and for all.

INSIDE THE MANSON JURY: FROM DELIBERATION TO DEATH SENTENCE (Micro Publishing Media, Inc, on sale September 1, 2019, ISBN 978194406886 ($17.95) is a look inside the experience of the Manson Trial as it was in 1970 and 1971. This riveting book will interest even those not familiar with the case because it lays it out in a logical order what evidence led to the verdicts and how Manson tried to control the outcome in any way he could.

The book includes editor's notes by co-author Deborah Herman, also known for her collaboration with Dianne "Snake" Lake in the writing of her poignant and compelling memoir of survival, MEMBER OF THE FAMILY (Morrow, 10/24/2017) which is a disturbing and powerful testament of her time with one of the 20th Century's most notorious criminal figures: Charles Manson. Lake was the final major witness in the nine and one-half month trial. She was only aware of her own testimony. Lake says of INSIDE THE MANSON JURY: "Manson was a master manipulator. I am grateful to the jury for bringing him to justice." If anyone still has any doubt why Charles Manson was convicted of the crimes as a conspirator and whether or not he controlled his followers, this book should dispel those doubts. Manson was his own worst enemy and continued to unravel as his efforts were thwarted. He didn't even bother to hide his not so veiled threats against key witness, Linda Kasabian, as he imitated a knife slicing her throat. Herman and Helen Tubick couldn't possibly have anticipated the continued interest in Manson and the case when they put their book aside for posterity. Tubick's book was written without an agenda unlike many of the Manson books to follow. He was simply preserving information he instinctively knew could serve a greater purpose when the time was right.

In INSIDE THE MANSON JURY, we see in detail the larger picture of the trial, and how the Man, the young co-defendants and acolytes believed was the second coming, really only cared about himself. He was willing to sacrifice them all for his own distorted sense of grandiosity. The book is a must have for any Manson aficionado. It can also benefit any trial lawyers who ultimately find themselves on either side of a sociopath. The book reveals new information such as at least one juror during deliberations questioning whether or not Leslie Van Houten should be found guilty of the crimes. It also shows information that, although it might have been available in pieces, when seen in context with Manson, his behavior, the testimony and the behind the scenes antics, paints with a much broader brush stroke than ever before. For example, many people are unaware that during the trial, but on a Sunday, a time bomb was set off near the District Attorneys office.

INSIDE THE MANSON JURY is the only book that does not glorify Manson but rather shows through facts that readers fascinated by the subject should remember the victims and the destruction left in Manson's wake. In this case the message is clear, these crimes were senseless and horrific. Although Manson tried to manipulate the Court as he had controlled his followers, the legal system worked. Manson's threats were hardly idle, yet there were witnesses brave enough to stand against him to see that justice prevailed. They, too, should be remembered as well as the jurors who sacrificed nine and one-half months of sequestration to do the job they were given.