Ben Lockyn

The counterculture of the late sixties and early seventies by the draft dodgers and those who opposed the Vietnam War started a movement of protesters against what they termed a materialistic society. The civil disobedience led to marches and demonstrations against the draft, the government, and the conservative culture of the time. The nonviolent demonstrations became unlawful disturbances with police brutality and mass arrests by law enforcement officials. The movement took on a name, where hippies and their use of drugs, societys dropout mentality, and the belief that our government was committing murder of its citizens by fighting in an undeclared war created an atmosphere of social unrest. It was in this environment that Charlie Manson, a self-proclaimed guru with a desire to dominate and control runaway teenagers from dysfunctional homes, gathered his family. He then used them to commit his atrocities and devious plan for a future apocalypse. The results were horrendous and left many lost souls and murdered victims in its wake. The Manson women, as they were referred to, were some of Mansons family members. The incarceration of the Manson women at the California Institution for Women in Fontera, where I later became a Correctional officer, brought me face-to-face with the notorious women. Being the only officer between them and their execution gave me a sense of anxiety and responsibility. A previous escape attempt had failed. Would they try again?