Inside the Manson Jury: From Deliberation to Death Sentence

An insider's account of the Tate–LaBianca murder trial, from the jury foreman who helped decide the fate of Charles Manson and three of his followers.

In August 1969, Charles Manson instructed a group of his followers to descend upon a Los Angeles home, and they initiated a series of brutal murders that would leave eight dead, including Sharon Tate and her unborn child. The killers would be brought to trial that following June . . .

On June 22, 1970, funeral director and Marine veteran Herman Tubick had no reservations about being summoned for jury duty at the Superior Court of Los Angeles. He saw it as a responsibility and a privilege. Of course, he had no idea that he was about to become the jury foreman for the Manson trial . . .

On January 25, 1971, Tubick handed the bailiff a note declaring that Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten were all guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Less than two months later, Tubick and the jury sentenced them all to the death penalty.

After the trial, Herman and his wife, Helen, gathered his notes and memories into a manuscript that remained in a desk drawer until discovered by Herman's nephew Rick Ortenberger in 2017, the year Manson died. Based on their 1973 manuscript, and expanded with trial documents and notes from attorney and journalist Deborah Herman, Inside the Manson Jury offers readers a 360-degree view of the case, showing what jurors lived through and what happened behind the scenes. This is essential reading for true crime fans, historians, law students, and anyone fascinated by one of the most dangerous figures of the era.