'Devil's Advocate' Appeals to Obama, Says Charles Manson Doesn’t Deserve Satan Title
Updated: An Italian businessman well known to advocate for notorious clients is asking President Obama for a commutation of Charles Manson’s life sentence.
Giovanni Di Stefano, dubbed by the Guardian in 2002 as “the devil’s advocate,” faxed the request to the president, TMZ.com reports. Di Stefano told TMZ that Manson was a cult leader who, at most, ordered his followers to “do something witchy.”
The commutation application (PDF posted by TMZ) cites this statement by Manson to the jury: “I have killed no one and I have ordered no one to be killed. I may have implied on several different occasions to several different people that I may have been Jesus Christ, but I haven’t decided yet what I am or who I am. So be it. Guilty. Not guilty. They are only words. You can do anything you want with me, but you cannot touch me because I am only my love.”
The letter also says the jury must have been influenced by the front-page article in the Los Angeles Times headlined, “Manson Guilty, Nixon Declares.” The document also questions the chief witness against Manson. “It would appear from a thorough review of the evidence that the said witness did indeed participate in the murders actively and evidence to suggest the prosecutor was aware of such but in his quest for a conviction took the decision to overlook the most important fact,” the letter says.
Manson is now 76 years old and he has served 43 years in state prison in California. Di Stefano, who is not admitted in California according to state bar records, told TMZ that “Manson has been made out in America to be the Satan of the criminal justice system. He does not deserve the title.”
Earlier this month, Time and CNN were among those reporting that Di Stefano was seeking a new trial for Manson.
Also see:
The Guardian: “The devil’s advocate”
CNN: “Saddam Hussein’s attorney represents Charles Manson in petition”
Last updated Feb. 24 to add more information about Di Stefano and earlier news reports.
