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In 1969, the world was shocked by a series of murders committed by Charles Manson and his “family” of followers. Although the defendants were sentenced to death in 1971, their sentences were commuted to life with parole in 1972; since 1978, they have been regularly attending parole hearings. Today all of the living defendants remain behind bars.
Relying on nearly fifty years of parole hearing transcripts, as well as interviews and archival materials, Hadar Aviram invites readers into the opaque world of the California parole process—a realm of almost unfettered administrative discretion, prison programming inadequacies, high-pitched emotions, and political pressures. Yesterday’s Monsters offers a fresh longitudinal perspective on extreme punishment.
"Aviram’s book is a significant contribution to the academic literature discussing the social aspects of punishment in late 20th century America, but even more importantly, it is an imperative addition to discretionary parole research, which requires much more attention."
“Yesterday's Monsters provides a rich, detailed and provocative examination of parole through the lens of an infamous case, yet without sensationalism or voyeurism. Aviram has a unique voice which magnifies the readability of the text. . . . Readers interested in criminal justice as well as students in other disciplines like media studies, sociology, and psychology would be captivated by the book. Aviram's book will also appeal to true crime fanatics and may even provide an avenue for building empathy for people in prison.”
"Yesterday’s Monsters is an outstanding contribution to our sociological understanding of extreme punishment and mass incarceration in the US."
Hadar Aviram is Thomas Miller Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. She is the author of Cheap on Crime: Recession-Era Politics and the Transformation of American Punishment and a coeditor of The Legal Process and the Promise of Justice. She is a frequent media commentator and runs the California Correctional Crisis blog.
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 • The California Parole Process
2 • The Manson Family Cases and the Birth of the
“Extreme-Punishment Trifecta”
3 • The Triumph of Helter Skelter: How the Manson Family
Cases Came to Represent the Sui Generis Ultimate Evil
4 • Revisiting the Past: From Facts to Emotion in
Understanding the Crime of Commitment
5 • Reinventing the Present: Crafting and Interpreting
the Inmate’s Prison Experience
6 • Reimagining the Future: The Past Casts Its Shadow on
the Inmate’s Postrelease Plans
7 • In Bardo
Notes
Index