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Manson Family Member Apparently Wants His Wikipedia Page Edited
Tex Watson, an ex-Manson Family member and current Mule Creek State Prison inmate, seems to have printed out his Wikipedia page, scribbled a bunch of corrections on the papers, and mailed them to the site for editing. According to the Wikipedian, Charles "Tex" Watson may have offered a few changes to his own Wikipedia page. The .PDF of his handwritten edits surfaced on the discussion area of Watson's entry, and was posted by someone on Wikipedia's Volunteer Response Team.
Assuming that the submission actually comes from Watson himself, he was using a version of the article from Feb. 16, 2016, and made the following edits:
- He wants the header to be Charles 'Tex' Watson, as it used to be, instead of just Tex Watson.
- Watson claims to never have had the nickname 'Mad Charlie.'
- He wants an old paragraph that talks about his autobiography—Will You Die For Me? Once Ready to Die for Charles Manson, Now Living a New Life for Christ—inserted back into the post.
- He would prefer it if the page did not list the gender of the four kid he had via conjugal visits.
- He wants a paragraph that talks about a group of residents, Citizens for Truth, who collected signatures opposing his parole removed from the entry, citing a lack of references.
- He thinks different citations should be used. One source he recommends is Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter. Bugliosi was the prosector in Manson's case.
- He says that he attended "Cal State University" (though he doesn't specify which campus), not the University of California.
- Watson claims to have never stolen $70 out of Abigail Folger's purse during the Cielo Drive murders, and points to fellow Manson family member Patricia Krenwinkel as the one who killed Folger. Folger was found stabbed numerous times. Watson penciled in that he merely "assisted" Krenwinkel in Folger's slaying. He also crossed out a line where he is quoted as saying that Sharon Tate's final words were, "Mother…mother…"
In the corner of the first page, the words "Please send me the edited version, thanks," appear.
It's hard to say for certain if Watson indeed sent the edits himself, though as Gawker points out, the ticket for the request is private and can only be seen by Wikipedia, and the envelope the request would have come in has not been shown.
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Watson was present during both the Cielo Drive murders and the LaBianca murders in August of 1969. He was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder and one count conspiracy to commit murder in 1971. He was initially sentenced to death, but his sentence has since been changes to life in prison. He claims to be a born-again Christian, and has been denied parole 14 times.
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