(Newswire.net — December 19, 2014) — For decades, the name Charles Manson has been a synonym for mass murder. He was found guilty of seven murders in 1969, however, avoided the death penalty because the state of California banned it. Now, serving life in prison, the 80-year-old Manson has been granted a marriage license to marry his girlfriend Afton Elaine Burton.
His soon to be bride moved to Corcoran California almost a decade earlier to be nearer to the prison and the man she is in love with. Manson claims he is innocent of the seven killings which included pregnant actress Sharon Tate, wife of the film director Roman Polanski.
While no date has been set, California Department of Corrections has confirmed the issuing of a marriage license. The couple has until early February next year to marry, however, that does not come with any parole date, and they are not entitled to conjugal visits.
Menson’s attempt for parole was refused for the 12th time in 2012, so his next attempt won’t be until 2027, at which time he will be in his early nineties and he and his potential wife will still be unable to consummate their marriage.
The cases when young women fall in love with much older men are not rare, however, 54 years of difference isn’t as common, especially, when the old man is serving a life in prison for mass murder.
According to Psychology Today, “Older men tend to become more emotionally mature, and are more likely to have dealt with their personal demons such as addiction.”
Psychologists say young women are attracted by much older men because their wisdom, financial and emotional stability, independence, and education, however, 80-year-old mass murderers who have spent over forty years in prison may not have too much to offer.
As the head of a cult following family, Manson was convicted for stabbing and shooting to death seven people over two nights in August 1969, in an attempt to start a racial war. He and three female accomplices were sentenced to death for the killings, but that was commuted in 1972 when California temporarily outlawed the death penalty.