Inside the Manson Jury: From Deliberation to Death Sentence

by Jury Foreman, Herman Tubick, Deborah Herman

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, ironically, was his own worst enemy as can clearly be seen in the pages of this book.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2019

Reviews

[Debi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually written in 1973 but put in a drawer for decades. Mr. Tubick died decades ago but it was passed to family and released just recently. The fact that none of the jurors didn't end up in a nut farm after serving on this jury for nearly a year shows the type of people they were because in the end they had to decide if these monsters should die for their crimes. It was very interesting from his view points especially regarding how much was kept from the jury throughout the trial.
An editor/co-authors were included to add addendums and such which helped. However, I would have thought they would have done a much better job at actually editing the book. Lots of stupid mistakes and some BIG mistakes throughout....there are 2 different ages listed for Mr. Tubick's daughters at the beginning when discussing both of them being nuns. Also, 2 very different ages listed for Steven Weiss the young boy who found the murder gun...and misspelling of Roman Polanski at the very end.
All of the attorneys involved are now dead but Stephen Kay and Irving Kanarek who was Manson's attorney who often acted crazier than his client....I believe that he's 99 years old now.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grateful for the insight from Mr Tubick, and it sheds light on another aspect of the Manson murders. This group of amazing people were sequestered for 9.5 months in a hotel on one of the most brutal and bizarre murder trials ever. The book describes the mundane daily routine, and the building frustration they felt as time dragged on for the trial. It reads like a rough around the edges book (it’s a little choppy at times and editing is a little rough, with spelling errors and things) written by the average working American man. I thank them for such a job well done.

[Todd Sittaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed. I was expecting to hear about the Manson trial from the perspective of the jury and, to some extent, I did but I really wanted an introspective as to what the jury members thought when they witnessed the shenanigans that went on in that courtroom. What did they make of Manson carving and “X” in his forehead? What about the outbursts from Manson and the girls, Manson lunging at Judge Older, Manson holding up a newspaper with a headline that Nixon proclaims Manson guilty and how did it affect their ultimate decision? The author spent too much time demonstrating his lack of bias and what a good person he is that he never got down to how he felt. It was ladened with “nice” talk. By that I mean, if there was an issue with a juror, for example, the author would describe the juror in such euphemistic and politically correct terms that you couldn’t even tell what the problem was. You need to call a spade a spade. He needed to just come out and say it. I would ask the author: “What do you think?” and even though a juror is not allowed to discuss the case with the other jurors until deliberation, there must have been an exchange of knowing glances at each other while that crazy-ass stuff was going on in the courtroom. It is THAT that I wanted to hear about. I wanted a flavor of what it was like in that courtroom and how it affected their decision making. He did document some of these incidents but he expounded in such a matter-of-fact way, as though this is just the normal course of action in a trial. I’ve seen many trials and NO IT’S NOT NORMAL. Just one incident like that is worthy of prime time news coverage and a river of newspaper ink. He needed to just take a point of view and, right or wrong, back it up with his reasoning so the reader can then evaluate the situation for his/her self.

The book wasn’t a total loss as it did introduce some tidbits that I had not already known and also covered what it was like to be sequestered for so long on such a high profile trial. In that respect the author covered some of the human aspects, which was fine, though there was a chapter that just should have been eliminated. It was just letters from friends and family that had nothing to do with the trial.

I’m glad to have read the book but, all considered, the Kindle price should have been south of $5.00.

[Patrick Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different angle to the Manson trial and the trials and tribulations of the Jurors who were sequestered for over 9 months. I enjoyed this book. some of it was repetitive and a lot of misspellings but over all an enjoyable read.

[Will Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite but very interesting. The focus wasn’t as much on the trial itself but more about the jurors in the trial

[Sam Douglass · Rating 2 out of 5]

very slow