Monday, October 26, 2015

Nuel Emmons


Have you ever noticed that with this case many things that you thought were the absolute truth turn out to be a corrupted version of the truth.  It really doesn't matter which side you look at, the prosecution, the defense, the good guys or the bad guys every one regardless of bias cannot seem to tell the truth.  This case is still being talked about 45+ years down the road.  The perpetrators have been arrested, tried and sentenced.  The usual course would be that interest in the case would taper off and eventually fade from public scrutiny.  Not so with the so called "Manson Murders".
 The book Manson In His Own Words as told to Nuel Emmons has, on the back fly leaf, a short statement saying that Emmons knew Manson because he spent time in federal prison with him on two occasions.  The first time was in 1956 when Emmons had been convicted of car theft and the second in 1960 "under similar circumstances."   Any articles about these arrests of Emmons were completely elusive, there were none to be found.

George Stimson gave me a clue that ultimately opened up a new line of research for me.  George said that Charlie called Emmons "Mel" and he thought that Emmons first name might be Melton.  With that knowledge I was able to find one article about Melton Emmons where he and a friend were shooting rats at the dumps in Humboldt County California.  The friend, Theodore C. Annibel, was shot by a third person who was trying to scare the two men away. (The Times Standard Eureka CA Jan. 31, 1955 page 1)

Although interesting, it still didn't solve the mystery of the arrests that landed Emmons in federal prison.  At that point I hit upon the idea of going back and taking another look at Emmons obituary, sure enough the answer was there.  One of Emmons survivors was a son with the last name of Melton.  From there information on Emmons flowed.

Nuel was born Nuel Arnold Emmons September 17, 1927 in Ada Oklahoma.  His parents were Sidney and Christena (nee Folsom) Emmons.  His mother's father, Elias Folsom, died the same year she was born, her mother remarried and Christena used her step-father's last name of Russell until she married Sidney Emmons.  Christena's birthfather, Elias Folsom, is on the American Indian Rolls as being 1/4 Choctaw.
I was able to find Sidney and Christena Emmons in a Muskogee OK city directory in 1932.  They divorced shortly after 1932.  Sidney remarried and eventually moved to Texas.  His occupation was in the production end of the newspaper business. 
Christena moved out to California with her two children, Nuel Arnold and Theda Bara Emmons.  In 1935 Christena married Billy Marvin Melton in Oakland California.


The 1940 census shows Christena and Billy Melton living in Richmond, Contra Costa County along with Nuel and his sister Thedie B.  Both children were using the last name of Melton.  Nuel went to school in Richmond CA.  It was there that he met his first wife, Virginia Fessenden.  Nuel and Virginia had three children born in 1947, 1949 and 1953.  Nuel was still using his step-father's last name of Melton.
(picture of first wife)
While I was not able to find an article detailing Nuel's first arrest I was able to find a few articles where Nuel Melton was playing basketball for a California Youth Authority (CYA) team.   These articles were all in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and dated in the first three months of 1948 when Nuel would have been 20 years old so I am reasonably certain that it's the same person.  An article in the Nevada State Journal dated January 20, 1956 said that Nuel had served a sentence in the past in California's Preston Reformatory which was CYA facility.
The next time that Nuel popped up in the news was in 1952 when he was playing baseball for a semi-pro team called the Vallejo Builders.  The article says that Nuel had played ball for both the New Mexico and Texas leagues prior to joining the Vallejo Builders.  He was a 3rd baseman and is second from the left in the bottom row of this 1952 picture.


 In 1953 the articles on Nuel's criminal activities started in earnest.  In May of 1953 a warrant for Nuel Melton's arrest was issued.  He was involved in a statewide car theft ring that when all was said and done consisted of a couple of dozen people from Ukiah to Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.  Melton came under scrutiny when a California Highway patrolman came under investigation because he had sold a vehicle with a stolen engine in it.  It seems that the Highway Patrolman bought a wrecked a car which he took to Melton's garage to be fixed for resale.  Unbeknownst to the Highway Patrolman, Melton put a "hot" engine in the car.  The officer had agreed to split the profits of the sale with Melton in exchange for the repair work.
Melton, naturally, disappeared when the warrant was issued but he did send a letter to the Richmond CA police, mailed from Rodeo CA, "absolving the officer of any guilt in the transaction" as related in the Oakland Tribune, May 14, 1953.  This same article describes Melton as being an "ex-San Quentin convict."  I was never able to discover why or exactly when Melton had previously been in San Quentin.
The aforementioned January 20, 1956 Nevada State Journal article states that Melton, of Klamath Falls OR, was returned to Reno NV to face federal prosecution for driving a stolen car across state lines.  This would be a violation of the Dyer Act, the same charges that Manson was in prison for at the time.  A February 4, 1956 article in the same newspaper says that Melton was given a continuance and a trial date was set for February 17.  Out of all the articles I found on Melton this was the only one that even mentioned a trial and I'm not sure that this trial ever took place because there are no articles saying as such.  It's quite possible that a plea deal was made before it came to trial.
Whatever the outcome of the 1956 arrest Melton did not serve much time because  in July of 1959 Melton was arrested at the San Ysidro CA/Mexico border for smuggling nearly three pounds of heroin that he had secreted in a false compartment in his car.  This arrest landed him back in federal prison in 1960 where he again met up with Charlie Manson but the arrest most certainly was not "under similar circumstances" of his 1956 incarceration. 
This arrest was kind of interesting in that his co-conspirator, Longino Castro, received a 30 year sentence, later appealed and reduced to 10 years, but Melton was out of prison by April of 1966 when he married his second wife in Alameda County.  The particulars of the crime are spelled out in a 1963 appeal filed by Castro.
Some of the highlights in the appeal are-
Melton and his wife, Virginia, were the occupants of the car when the arrest was made.  Longino Castro was not in the car but was at the Melton home in Costa Mesa babysitting the three Melton children while Melton and his wife made the heroin purchase in Mexico.  The car however was tied to Castro but it was determined that Melton had signed a false name to the "pink slip" for the car.  This trip to Mexico was not the trio's first time.
 Virginia Melton was not charged, she was allowed to go home to care for the children.  Melton was able to make the $20,000 bail, then promptly skipped bail and fled out of state.  Castro's trial was severed from Melton's due to Melton's absence and he went to trial  in September 1959, was found guilty and received a 30 year sentence as this was a second narcotics conviction for him.
Meanwhile, Melton described as a body and fender man, had taken the assumed identity of William O'Donnel and was working in Salt Lake City UT as a sheet metal worker.  The FBI located him and he was arrested January 1, 1960.  I was unable to find any further articles relating to this arrested leading me to believe that some sort of plea deal was made in lieu of a trial.
The next time that Melton was in the newspaper was when he and his first wife, Virginia, filed for divorce in Contra Costa County CA in 1964.

In April 1966 Nuel married Elizabeth (Bette) Quiett in Alameda County CA.  He married her using the name of Nuel Melton Emmons, combining his step-father's last name with his birth name.  Bette had two sons.



In 1968 Nuel was again arrested for possessing heroin for sale.  He was arrested in the name of Nuel Melton in Berkeley CA even though he was using the last name of Emmons at that time.  According to newspaper accounts he had arranged to sell a little more than two pounds of heroin to a client that turned out to be an agent with the California State Bureau of Narcotics.  The heroin was said to be 80% pure, when cut and sold on the street heroin is about 5% pure, so this was an enormous amount of heroin in Melton's possession.
Melton's arrest was not reported by the press until other arrests of people associated with Melton were taken into custody.  One of those people was Michael Barrigan who was named by a US Senate crime-committee as "one of the biggest international traffickers in narcotics."  Barrigan, a Baja California rancher, had been sought by authorities for more than 20 years.  In all 6 1/2 pounds of "exceptionally pure" heroin was seized, it had an estimated street value of $2.5 million back in 1968.  In today's economy that $2.5 million translates to $17, 093,750.00! 
I located a San Francisco Chronicle article dated April 18, 1968 which says, in part, "Matthew O'Connor, Chief State Narcotics agent in Northern California said two of his agents, Henry Lopez and Julius Beretta, got on Barrigan's trail through the arrest in Berkeley last Friday of one of his customers, Nuel A. Melton, of Pinole.  Presumably Melton "talked,"  because the next day, Saturday, state agents struck in San Diego, arresting another man and seizing another 10 ounces of heroin."
When Barrigan and his confederate, Mike Ramirez, were arrested in Mexico the next Monday after a short gunfight where no one was injured, they were in possession of 70 ounces of heroin.   Barragan and Ramirez were held and charged for their crimes in Mexico.  Sources for these arrests etc. are The Times San Mateo, Oxnard Press Courier and The Oakland Tribune all dated April 17, 1968.   The image is of the San Francisco Chronicle  dated April 18, 1968.
 I have no doubt that Melton/Emmons turned out to be a snitch with this arrest.  He did not serve a single day in prison for the heroin trafficking charges.
In 1968 Emmons, his wife Bette and her two young sons moved to Lake County CA and settled there for the duration of their lives.  Emmons was using that last name exclusively now.  Bette got a job with the county and Nuel opened a body and fender shop in Nice CA.  Emmons mother and step-father, Christena and Billy Melton were already in residence in Lake County as was Emmons sister, Theda, her husband and their children.  Things seemed to be moving along fine, all happy families, until 1975 when Emmons was arrested again!
April 24, 1975 he was arrested in Lake County under the name Nuel Emmons and the charges were for possession of a stolen car and two stolen motorcycles according to a Ukiah Daily Journal article dated April 25, 1975.  The court proceedings, which George Stimson obtained and kindly shared with me, state that Emmons was charged with four counts of receiving stolen property.  The first count was that between July 5, 1973 and October 8, 1974 Emmons did knowingly receive stolen property.  Second count, that between December 8, 1973 and October 8, 1974 he did knowingly receive stolen property.  Third count, that on April 24, 1975 did knowingly receive stolen property and the fourth count, that between June 29, 1972 and October 8, 1974 did feloniously take property of another and the value of such property exceeded the sum of $200.00.
It seems that authorities had been watching Emmons for a while........
November 19, 1975 he plead not guilty and a jury trial was scheduled for December 9th.  On December 10th he withdrew his not guilty plea and plead guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property, sentencing was scheduled for December 22nd.  On January 21, 1976 Emmons was committed to the California State Department of Corrections in Vacaville CA for "diagnostic evaluation and recommendation" for a period of time not to exceed 90 days.  The outcome of this evaluation was that Emmons was to serve 6 months in the Lake County jail with credit given for the time spent in Vacaville.  He was also ordered to pay $1700. restitution to a specific person as well as abide by the usual conditions of probation once released from jail.  He was released from probation July 7, 1978.
There was no mention of any of Emmons prior crimes, under the last name of Melton, in any of the court proceedings that George was able to obtain so I have no idea if they were taken into consideration when sentencing was pronounced.
On Monday March 3, 1980 an article by Nuel Emmons ran in The Ukiah Daily Journal which was an exclusive interview with Charles Manson.  This article planted the seed for the book on Manson he wrote.
The article also seemed to be the start of Emmons newspaper writing career.  April 1980 Emmons began reporting as a special correspondent on various local and national sports stories.  August 7, 1980 he wrote another story on Manson this time reporting that Manson had been released from solitary confinement and was given a job assignment at Vacaville Prison.  April 1981 found Emmons giving a talk to the Mendo-Lake Prayer and Share Christian Writers Fellowship at a mobile home park in Lakeport CA.  He was billed as a "well known sportswriter".
It was announced that on June 12, 1981 Emmons would be a guest on NBC's Tomorrow show speaking about the autobiography of Manson that he had been preparing for the last 15 months.  This show also presented Manson's first televised interview which Emmons had arranged.  The book would not be published until 1986.  He would continue to write sports stories for the UDJ during this time.  September 11, 1983 Emmons got his own column in the UDJ, "Lake County Picquancy" a folksy column about the happenings and people in that county.  I found this column to be a bit cheezy and he featured his own family in many of the columns.
Here's a Mother's Day 1984 column that pretty much names every female he was related to.  The column ran on Sundays for about a year.
In 1986 "Manson in his Own Words" as told to Nuel Emmons, Grove Press, was finally published.  It was published by Grafton Books in 1987 in the UK under the title "Without Conscience".   The book duly received reviews from critics across the US and it was generally well received netting Emmons many interviews.  However the book's most vocal critic was Charles Manson, himself, who declared the book to not be a accurate representation of the truth. 
Ben Gurecki shared with me a letter from "Mel" to Manson that he has in his archives.  Ben has a story about Manson's false teeth involving Emmons that he hopefully will share with us in the comments.  Coincidentally, Ben and Charlie have recently been talking about Emmons and Charlie said Emmons was a "cheat and only lying to himself."  I have to wonder if Manson ever had an inkling that Emmons was quite possibly a snitch.  I don't think so because I doubt that he would have ever agreed to do the book.  Manson has spoken out about his feelings on snitches and they aren't warm and fuzzy feelings.
It is amazing to me that Emmons was ever allowed to interview Manson, let alone the many years it took to gather the information for his book.  Emmons was a convicted felon.  He had federal convictions as well as state convictions.  He was a drug trafficker.  His last felony conviction was in the 70s and he did not get off parole until a scant year before he started his interviews with Manson.  I thought that felons were not allowed, by law, to interact with each other particularly if one of those felons was still in prison.
Nuel Emmons died in Lake County CA on November 19, 2002.   Photo by George Stimson.






37 comments:

orwhut said...

Deb,
Once again you've found interesting information where none appeared to exist. Great work!
Ben,
Please tell us the story about the false teeth. Only a day or two ago I was speculating to myself on how Charlie lost the tooth in front that's been replaced by a poorly fitting false one.

Robert Hendrickson said...

YES DEB: and thank you for demonstrating just how NO other media people were even nterested in doing research on the MAN who claimed to be the ONLY one the elusive Charles Manson would reveal HIS truth to.

NOW, let ME show you ALL just how the convoluted TRUTH game is played on the 98% ers. Last night on the esteemed TV program "60 Minutes" The Vice President of the United States mentioned that Donald Trump's negative comments about "immigrants" was a bad thing, BUT Trump said negative things about "Illegal" immigrants, NOT all immigrants.

So what does that that to do with the Manson case ? Well, JOE Biden is a lawyer just like Bugliosi and where JOE dropped the word "illegal" the Prosecutor DROPPED the word "Muslim" from Black Muslim. AND that, in the LEGAL world, is considered masterful MANIPULATION.

Fortunately, it ONLY works on 98 percent of the people.

Mr. Humphrat said...

Not done reading yet, but want to say I am enjoying your latest original research Deb. I love it. Can you say how much of this work was done online, how much through the mail, and how much did you have to travel to libraries or any other source?
Thanks

Anonymous said...

Mr. Humphrat said...

"...Can you say how much of this work was done online, how much through the mail, and how much did you have to travel to libraries or any other source?"

Mr Humphrat,

Like you, I was wondering the same thing because I too am trying to work my way through the amount of detail posted here before making any comment. DebS is simply the best researcher I have ever come across. As a mature student, I have access to numerous computerised databases, and I would love to know how much Deb gets through online resources, and how much is retrieved through more tortuous means like original newspapers.

orwhut said...

When I read this post, several names of people and places jumped out as I associated them with notorious people, places, and events:
Folsom-A large prison in California
Muskogee-A place where, unlike the Manson family, we don't get our kicks on LSD
Theda Bara-the "IT GIRL" who, I believe I first read about in a book by Bobby Beausolei associate, Kenneth Agner
Vallejo-a place where the Zodiac Killer did some of his nasty work
Ukiah- a place where two other murders were suspected to have been committed by the Manson family
Castro-Took over Cuba
Virginia- Virginia Graham was in jail with Sadie and Virginia Rappe who died resulting in the Fatty Arbuckle trials.
What does all of this mean? Hardly a thing ------ except, that I spend too much time reading true crime and I'll bet I'm not the only one.

DebS said...

Humph and Equinox I do most of my research online. I subscribe to a few websites, like Ancestry and a couple of different newspaper archives. Sometimes you gotta pay to play! I went to the library once, for the SF Chronicle article. George Stimson did some "boots on the ground" research by getting the Lake County court proceedings and going to Emmons gravesite. Ben Gurecki contributed the letter from Mel to Charlie, so it does help to make friends! Thanks for your kind words!

orwhut said...

Grim.
Your experience with the book was much like mine. I'd read Helter Skelter and thought I was through with Manson. Then, I saw Emmonds book in a store and my intrest in the case has grown ever since.

Unknown said...

I can tell you for a fact that in all of my conversations with Charlie that he has NEVER said a positive word about Nuel. He has indicated that Nuel took all his words, twisted them to fit his own agenda, and the book is shit written by Nuel NOT Charlies words. I do know that they got into such a fight over this book that Nuel actually stole a pair of Charlies false teeth out of the shower stall as payback. I wish there was a way for me to post the photo of the teeth as I do have them in my possession. If you could see what Charlie has to say on the reverse of the photos is quite funny. Charlie does NOT care
for nor do I believe he ever cared for Nuel. This is only based on conversations I have had with Charlie about him personally.

Anonymous said...


@Ben Gureki

Hi Ben, if you look at Nuel's criminal past as outlined in this post by Deb, he makes Charlie look like the next contender for the Papacy:):)

OK, Emmons put the narrative in such a way that readers were supposed to more readily understand it than 'Charlie Speak', but it doesn't mean that Charlie ever uttered anything in the book. It's obvious that Emmons was a crook on the make and he had previously had acces to the world's most famous inmate, and he was trying to capitalise on it.

PS So sad about Charlie's false teeth!! Prison food must be bad enough without trying to eat it with your gums. Yes, Charlie has a very sharp sense of humour.

Matt said...

Ben, send me the pic. I'll send you back instructions on how to put a link to the pic in your comment.

orwhut said...

Apparently Charlie didn't appreciate Nuel changing the words in his conversations any more than he did the Beach Boys changing the words in his songs.

Anonymous said...


orwhut said...

Apparently Charlie didn't appreciate Nuel changing the words in his conversations any more than he did the Beach Boys changing the words in his songs.

LMAO. Good point!!

Unknown said...

Deb, Charlie lost the current teeth in his mouth because of a fight while housed in PHU. He had been refusing to continue to let people take advantage of him in PHU, spoke up and got tossed around by someone 58 years younger then him. The lost front comes from the same incident that Charlie obtained two black eyes. I'm sure everyone knows what photo I'm talking about.

Matt said...

Ben sent me the pics:

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5

Patty is Dead said...

That's a nice looking set of choppers!

Anonymous said...


Matt said....

Ben sent me the pics:

Ben thanks for sharing these with us. Can someone clarify, did Charlie eventually get his gnashers back? Like Deb, i was wondering how Emmons got to interview Charlie for the newspaper article when he was a convicted felon? In fact, how on earth did he get taken on as a journalist anywhere when he had no qualifications or experience in that field?

Chris B said...

Can someone clear up for me exactly what Emmons agenda was if other than to make money?

My understanding is that the book receives criticism for not reading like how Manson speaks. But does this also extend to the content?

From memory it is a fairly faithful retelling of accepted family lore, with the revelation of Manson returning to Cielo after the murders.

Two place it in context it comes after the publication of Helter Skelter, Child of Satan; Child of God and Will You Die for Me? All of which had co-authors to varying degrees. So no voice is strictly the author's own. And it could be argued that Atkins and Watson's also served a prison ministry purpose as well as being just books about the truth.

In addition Beausoleil apparently felt that Manson telling his part in the Hinman murder absolved him of being a snitch if he altered his own testimony at future parole hearings. Kind of Manson had snitched on himself so now Beausoliel could recant his second trial testimony.

I find the book a sympathetic and coherent read, in particular when Manson claims everything got out of hand and he was not in a good frame of mind at the time (my paraphrasing). It gives Manson a human quality I thought.

Anonymous said...


christopher butche said...

"..Can someone clear up for me exactly what Emmons agenda was if other than to make money?"

Only a suggestion, christopher, but maybe Emmons thought it would really put him on the map as an author, given he had direct access to Charlie. Emmons really seemed to fancy himself as a writer.

MHN said...

Christopher, "Can someone clear up for me exactly what Emmons agenda was if other than to make money?"

I'm guessing, the same agenda that sees a piece of discarded metal leap towards a passing magnet.

DebS said...

The main purpose for my post was to share the information I uncovered about Emmons that before now was unknown. I purposely did not get into whether or not what he wrote in his book was true, or not, based on his past criminal acts or his lies of omission regarding his background. I think it is disingenuous for Charlie to believe that Emmons would have quoted him verbatim because Emmons was not allowed to take notes during their many interviews, according to what Emmons put in his book. It has been a while since I read the book, actually, but I don't recall reading anything that hadn't already been published as fact or sometimes speculation in other books.


In other words Emmons book was not all that original. The arguments about whether or not Emmons wrote the truth are circular. People will believe what they want and dream up all manner of justifications for that belief. It may be that Emmons, like Ed Sanders when he began writing about Charlie for the Los Angeles Free Press, doubted Charlie's guilt but when all was said and done Emmons went with his own take on Charlie and that's what pissed Charlie off. If that was the case then the book should not have been billed as an autobiography.


Like equinox said, I think that Emmons wanted to be a writer in the worst way. I think he wanted to be the bad boy that made good and make his family proud after the many times he let them down. He succeeded at that to a certain extent. But I am still befuddled as to how he managed to get the permission to do the interviews in the first place given his background which had to have been known by authorities.

Chris B said...

Deb S, apologies if you think I hijacked your comments, it wasnt my intention and I do appreciate your research.

As far as how Emmons got access, in the pre computer days I would imagine much checking up was less than thorough and if undertaken much more time consuming.

I do sometimes wonder exactly how Manson was regarded by the authorities from the late 70s to early 80s. Ten years on from TLB and another ten to go before he became Manson Superstar. Were the authorities that fussed about whom he spoke to? His crime partners were getting married, having children, publishing books, giving tv interviews.

I guess Emmons was there as a private individual and not for the stated purpose of writing a book, so perhaps checking all the names of visitors for all felony inmates was to onorous a task.

DebS said...

Christopher it's probably natural to side step over to whether or not what Emmons wrote was true. I can't fault you for that! Emmons had been in the state prison system under both names, Melton and Emmons, even in those days I can't imagine that he would have slipped through the cracks. Maybe if there had been just one or two visits but he conducted years worth of visits before the book was published.

Anonymous said...

This is one of the more interesting articles I've seen in a really long. Emmons dealing drugs as late as '68!

Charlie was right all along, Emmons WAS a BIG time crook!

That car theft ring mentioned is supposedly the same one on Spahn. More than likely Emmons knew Bill Vance and a lot of other people too.

Robert Hendrickson said...

"GRAMPS" on his tombstone - what a reality check. Author, criminal, bad guy, good guy - who really cares ? ONLY Authors, criminals, bad guys and good guys.

ColScott said...

Emmons optioned the book to several film companies who tried to make it back in the day. I think he very clearly wanted to profit from the case.

Deb this is very well done. Mazel Tove

Unknown said...

Can I post vocal conversations on here Matt or Deb? I'm going to find a call with Charlie talking about Nuel being out for only himself and his pockets.

Chris B said...

In Emmons defence most Manson related media is for profit. Bugliosi's second career as an author was significantly helped by the publication of his book.

What I take from this essay is that the character of Emmons has been exposed as criminal, and now he is described as 'bad guy' and 'big time crook'.

It seems to me with the long standing whittling away of the character of Bugliosi and his version of the truth, Emmons can now be added.

Perhaps we are entering the next phase of TLB research/awareness, one in which every held truth may be under suspicion.

Atkins, Watson and Watkins books, parole hearing testimony as well as trial testimony is rightly regarded with suspicion.

The one time official version by the prosecutor has been repudiated at length in Mr Stimson's recent book, and now with Deb S research Manson's 'in his own words' author is exposed as being a career criminal involved in significant criminal activity.

Manson may steadily be freed from the weight of these publications for the upcoming TLB interested generation.

Anonymous said...

A "big time crook" can also be a good man too. Nearly ever crook in history saw himself as a champion for the "little people".

I still think it's possible Emmons actually did have good intentions. Or it's possible he was just out to make a quick dollar. He wasn't a good writer regardless and supposedly they edited and butchered the final draft. I don't think even he recorded the conversations. Just made little notes, or no notes and then paraphrased.

Schreck says the real reason Manson was furious with Emmons is the fact he has him going to Cielo after the murders and I do believe that is true.

DebS said...

Ben, is the conversation up on YouTube? If so, you can put a link to it a reply so people can copy and paste the link into their browser. I'm not very tech savvy, Matt may have another solution.

orwhut said...

Ben Gurecki said...
I do know that they got into such a fight over this book that Nuel actually stole a pair of Charlies false teeth out of the shower stall as payback.

Ben,
Try as I might, I can't imagine how Emmons got access to a shower stall, that had Charlie's dentures in it. Please enlighten me.

Robert Hendrickson said...

Every "author" puts HIS own spin on the story HE writes about.

Now, more recently, they have discovered an ancient stone tablet from Iraq that not only describes the same Great Flood, but it differs in that where Noah's boat is rectangle in shape, this one is ROUND. So were there TW0 distinct "authors" at work, but one misinterpreted "GOD'S" instruction OR were there TWO separate GODS involved - giving different instructions to TWO separate individuals ?

Therein may lie the answer to the GOD question, the whole world has been fighting over, for centuries.

Chris B said...

Emmons discussing his book before its publication:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPPmTBqzOS4

orwhut said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
orwhut said...

Ben Gurecki said... I do know that they got into such a fight over this book that Nuel actually stole a pair of Charlies false teeth out of the shower stall as payback.

Can anyone help me with this? It's been a long time since I read Emmond's book. I remember him meeting Charley in a visiting room where he offered him candy and Charlie was afraid it was poisoned. I just can't imagine a situation where Emmonds got to the stall where Charlie took a shower and left his false teeth. To make things even more difficult for me, the only reason I can think of for Charlie to remove his teeth, in the shower, is to brush them. Maybe the guards only allow prisoners to have tooth brushes in the shower, so they can't hide them in their clothing and later, turn them into shanks.

grimtraveller said...

By and large though, because it's supposed to be what Manson told Emmons over the years, I've always found it a fairly pro ~ Manson book. Charles Manson certainly comes across as very human, just like the rest of us.

grimtraveller said...

DebS said...

"the book should not have been billed as an autobiography"


I agree with this.
I remember finding Emmons' book in a tiny little bookshop on the taxi rank at Victoria station back in June of 1988. My copy was called "Without conscience." I lent it to a friend who lent it to someone and that was the last I saw of it. It took me 13 years to find it again because it was unavailable here for many years. When I did it was in it's current title which I've long felt was a poor choice, although I enjoyed the book.





OphionTheGrey said...

Deb, great stuff as always!!


:::ophion:::