Mass Murderer Charles Manson's 1987 Interview In San Quentin Prison | TODAY

Sixteen years ago, Charles Manson was sentenced to die in the San Quentin gas chamber for the Tate LaBianca murders. Within a year, Californians eliminated capital punishment, so Manson's sentence was commuted to life in

prison

. Now there is a book. Manson in his own words, as told by two new ones. Lemons Lemons is an ex-convict who met Manson while serving a short

prison

sentence for car theft, and true to the unwritten code of the underworld, Manson cooperated in the book because he owed Emmalin a favor. Today correspondent Heidi Schulman went to talk to Manson. to know after all these years if there is any remorse if he is sorry if he feels guilty well then here on The Today Show staff we debated among ourselves whether to air his answers half of our staff said absolutely no even though Manson didn't is a hundred off this book, let's not advertise it, but the other half said yes, believing that some of you are as curious as some of us.

Well, anyway, this is what Manson said. Charles Manson is serving a life sentence for murder in San Quentin Prison, that is where we spoke with him and Newell Emmons, author of Charles Manson in His Own Words, our conversation lasted an hour and a half during which Manson seemed lucid at times , sometimes incoherent and frequently manipulative by his words like mr. Evans quotes them in this book, it is clear that you were guilty of murder and yet he says in all his conversations with you that he never heard you express remorse, have you never felt remorse for what you have done to me?

That gives me the same right. I can do whatever I want with you at any time. I want to because that's what they've done to me. If they spit in my face and hit me in the mouth, they throw me in solitary confinement for nothing. What do you think is going to happen when I leave here guilty hmm I wouldn't do anything that I would feel guilty about you I don't feel guilty at all there is no need to feel guilty I haven't done anything I'm ashamed that maybe I haven't done enough I could be ashamed of it for not doing enough for not giving enough for not being more perceptive for not being aware enough for not understanding for being stupid maybe I should have killed for 500 people then I would have done it I felt better then when I felt that I really I was offering society something, you know, if I wanted to kill someone, I would take this book and beat you to death with it and I wouldn't feel anything, it would be like walking to the pharmacy you feel guilty you're angry you feel like new lemons it's a ex-convict who met Manson in prison in the 50s claims he wrote Manson's book after seven years of conversation with Manson to prove that he is not a leader or a guru, but just a loser, why should anyone care read this book?

My purpose when I started was to pretty much destroy the myth that I showed that he's not that complex or like the hidden leader, etc., that he's been projected as if he doesn't fit into society. and I'm incompetent I'm definitely incompetent I with that well I say that I say there's nothing wrong with being incompetent because you don't have to do as much if you're confident then you have a lot to do but there's there's there's there's another aspect I've also learned to reflect I just reflect I know that I don't know I know I'm stupid I admit it, I'm sorry, whatever it is, I have never been successful at anything, I even got to the point where I didn't want to succeed at anything.

What would be a success? What does that mean? Know? Money. I've had all the money in the world three times and I had to give it back. It's a stupid little game. Know? Consciousness is my conscience, it is not the same as someone who goes to school and has a mom and a dad. They see that they don't have parents. They have left me in another dimension, so saying you know I have nothing wrong is in vain. I don't judge Holly, thinking too much. That's why it's hard for me to remember breakfast, in fact, if I didn't have two or three girls to help me, I'd be practically lost and wouldn't know what the hell I'm doing.

Write on that. In all your conversations with Charles Manson, he never expressed remorse, so have you seen any

today

? I mean, maybe he totally believes his own line that it's not guilty to have it in your head that I've murdered someone, you have it in. Your brain says I murdered someone. How do you want to call me a

murderer

? I have never killed anyone. I don't need to kill anyone. I believe it. I have it here. Who is this man you've been talking to for seven years? Well to me he is a convict who was a failure, I mean, he is the person who is not capable, I mean, and I still attribute it to the way the book says, it wasn't to start clearing the land or anything, I mean, there was a the drug Verne that started the first and the black man the first tone of violence that came up anyway and then Gary's death he and there again it was related to the drug and it continued to feed from there and therefore It had no spiritual aspect.

There was just a bunch of kids out there, kids who lived and did their own thing and that used to be party time and play time and then through drugs and all that it started to get a little bit nasty, a little meaner and The first thing you know is that there are murders and all my life I have fertilized grocery stores, sold some nickels and dimes, opened them and stamping machines stolen some cars and cashed a couple of checks. I'm a little car thief. I have been with prostitutes and homeless people and drunks and all my life the street is my world.

No, I don't mean to go uptown and be as fancy as I can, but I find it more real in the world that I'm in and then I do the tinsel and the real world is the one I have to deal with every day, you know. Believe me, if I started murdering people, none of you would stay. Hello fans, thank you for visiting our YouTube channel. Subscribe by clicking the button below and click on any of the videos here to see the latest

interview

s, show highlights and digital exclusives