TELEVISION: Manson Family Values

Diane Sawyer revisits the notorious mass-murder case as the network prime-time news shows go crazy for crime

Charles Manson was, as usual, a satanic spellbinder, giving enigmatic nonanswers and snarling at interviewer Diane Sawyer: "I'm a gangster, woman!" Two former members of his "family," Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, were, by contrast, rational and remorseful. "I stabbed him with a fork repeatedly and eventually left the fork in him," said Krenwinkel, describing her part in the Tate-La Bianca murders. "I don't believe any of us had any concept of really what we were doing."

Even for the increasingly sensational network magazine shows, the ghoulish display last week was something of a milestone. In addition to the Manson...

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