The Associated Press announced on Monday that the notorious murderer Charles Manson was issued a marriage license on November 7. According to ABC News , Manson, 80, is to wed 26-year-old Afton Elaine Burton. Although no specific date has been set at this time, the couple will have 90 days to tie the knot or they will have to reapply for the license.
Burton believes Manson is innocent of the seven mass murders for which he is imprisoned. According to Yahoo! News , Manson was convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and four others at her home on August 9, 1969. The next day, Manson killed two others, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
Burton moved to Cororan, California, from her home in the Midwest nine years ago in order to be close to Manson’s prison. Burton has been active in gathering information and advocating his innocence on several websites she has created in order to push for Manson’s release. However, according to the NY Daily News , Manson is not eligible for parole until 2027.
Yahoo! News reports that a year ago, Burton gave an interview with Rolling Stone in which she claimed she was marrying Manson. Yet, when he was questioned about it, he was adamant in his response to the contrary.
“That’s a bunch of garbage. That’s trash[.] We’re playing that for public consumption.”
However, since the marriage license has been issued, Burton was questioned about Manson’s previous statement and her reply was, “None of that’s true.”
“Y’all can know that it’s true. It’s going to happen. I love him. I’m with him. There’s all kinds of things.”
Terry Thornton, a California Department of Corrections spokeswoman, reveals that the prison holds marriage ceremonies the first Sunday of every month. Yahoo! News further reports Thornton confirming that Manson is allowed to have a wedding at the prison with an officiate from outside the prison to officiate.
Burton says she fully expects to get married in one of the inmate visiting rooms, where they are allowed to invite ten guests who are not inmates.
Manson will not be granted any conjugal visits.
Even under the guise of being in love, one may question why a young girl would marry an 80-year-old convicted murderer who will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison, and she can’t even be his wife in any normal way possible.
ABC News reveals that Burton admitted that marrying Manson would give her a leg up in her fight for his release. As his wife, she would be able to obtain information she has not been privy to at this point.
“There’s certain things next of kin can do.”
[Photo Credit: KFor.com]