Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972. He became best known for successfully prosecuting

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

and other defendants accused of the August 1969

Tate–LaBianca murders On the night of August 8, 1969, Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California. Watson claims Charles Manson had instructed him go to the house and "totally des ...

. In 1972, Bugliosi left the District Attorney's (DA) office and started a private practice, which included defense cases for criminal trials. He twice ran for the DA's office, but was not elected. He also began his writing career, exploring notable criminal cases.

Early life and education

Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. was born on August 18, 1934, in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range an ...

, to parents of Italian descent. When he was in high school, his family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. Bugliosi graduated from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

on a tennis scholarship and graduated in 1956. In 1964, he earned his law degree from the

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

, where he was president of his graduating class.

Career

Bugliosi began his law career in the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's office in 1964, where he served as a deputy district attorney for eight years, through 1972. He successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, which included 21 murder convictions.

Manson prosecution

As a

Deputy

, Bugliosi came to national attention for prosecuting the seven murders that took place August 9–10, 1969, in which Sharon Tate,

Jay Sebring Thomas John Kummer (October 10, 1933 – August 9, 1969), known professionally as Jay Sebring, was an American celebrity Haircut, hair stylist, and the founder of the hairstyling corporation Sebring International. Sebring was Tate–LaBianca mur ...

, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were killed. Bugliosi successfully prosecuted

Tex Watson Charles Denton "Tex" Watson (born December 2, 1945) is an American mass murderer who was a central member of the "Manson Family" led by Charles Manson. Watson is often described as the tactical ringleader of the Tate-LaBianca murders on August ...

Susan Atkins Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was an American convicted murderer who was a member of Charles Manson's "Family". Manson's followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California over a period ...

, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten for these murders, and each was convicted. He was credited especially with gaining conviction of Manson, who, although he had tied up the La Biancas, had not been physically present during the actual murders.

Political candidate

In 1972, Bugliosi ran as a Democrat for Los Angeles County District Attorney against longtime incumbent Joseph Busch. Joseph Gellman was his legal counsel for this campaign. Bugliosi narrowly lost the campaign. Bugliosi ran again in 1976, after Busch died of a heart attack in 1975, but lost to interim District Attorney John Van de Kamp, who was incumbent.

Private practice

After leaving the Los Angeles district attorney's office in 1972, Bugliosi turned to private practice. He represented three criminal defendants, achieving acquittals for each of them. Possibly his most famous client was Stephanie Stearns (referred to as "Jennifer Jenkins" in Bugliosi's book '' And the Sea Will Tell''), whom he successfully defended in her trial for the murder of Eleanor "Muff" Graham on

Palmyra Atoll Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Line Islands, Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way be ...

, a South Pacific island.

O. J. Simpson case

Bugliosi wrote '' Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O. J. Simpson Got Away with Murder'' (1996), about the acquittal of O. J. Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Bugliosi argues that Simpson was guilty. He criticizes the work of the district attorney, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and Judge Lance Ito. He criticized the media for characterizing Simpson's lawyers as "the Dream Team", and said that the lawyers were unremarkable and of average ability. He used his profiles to explore what he considers broader problems in American criminal justice, the media, and the political appointment of judges.

Bill Clinton

Bugliosi criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in ''

Clinton v. Jones ''Clinton v. Jones'', 520 U.S. 681 (1997), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case establishing that a sitting President of the United States has no immunity from civil law litigation, in federal court, for acts done before taking offi ...

''. In his book, ''No Island of Sanity'', he argues that the right of a president to be free of a private lawsuit while in office outweighed Paula Jones's interest in having her case brought to trial immediately.

George W. Bush

Bugliosi condemned the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the ''

Bush v. Gore ''Bush v. Gore'', 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W ...

'' case that decided the 2000 presidential election. He wrote a lengthy criticism of the case for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', titled "None Dare Call It Treason", which he later expanded into a book titled '' The Betrayal of America''. Some of his criticisms were depicted in the 2004 documentary '' Orwell Rolls in His Grave.'' He also believed that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

should have been charged with the murders of the thousands of American soldiers who died in the

Invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

, because of his belief that Bush launched the invasion under false pretenses. In his book, '' The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder,'' he laid out his view of evidence and outlined what questions he would ask Bush at a potential murder trial. Bugliosi testified at a

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

meeting on July 25, 2008, at which he urged

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

proceedings for Bush. The book formed the basis of a 2012 documentary film, '' The Prosecution of an American President.''

RFK assassination

Bugliosi is on record for believing that Senator Robert F. Kennedy was the victim of a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

. He said the following during a civil trial of the RFK assassination: "We are talking about a conspiracy to commit murder ... a conspiracy the prodigious dimensions of which would make Watergate look like a one-roach marijuana case. ... The signed statements given me perhaps can be explained away, but in the absence of a logical explanation, these statements, by simple arithmetic, add up to too many bullets and therefore, the ''probability'' of a second gun." As a result of his research, Bugliosi came to refute conspiracy theories.

JFK assassination

In 1986, Bugliosi played the part of prosecutor in an unscripted 21-hour mock television trial of

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

. His legal opponent, representing Oswald, was the well-known criminal defense attorney

Gerry Spence Gerald Leonard Spence (born January 8, 1929) is a semi-retired American trial lawyer and author. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and is the founder of the Trial Lawyers College. Spence has never lost a criminal trial before a jur ...

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

sponsored the mock trial, which followed

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

criminal trial procedure. It also included a former Texas judge and a jury of U.S. citizens from the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

area which reviewed hundreds of exhibits and listened to witnesses who testified about the assassination. The jury found Oswald guilty. Spence remarked, "No other lawyer in America could have done what Vince did in this case." The program required extensive preparation by Bugliosi and inspired him to later write a comprehensive book on the subject of the assassination. His 1,612-page book with a

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

containing an additional 958 pages of endnotes and 170 pages of source notes, '' Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy,'' was published in May 2007. His book examined the JFK assassination in detail and drew on a variety of sources; his findings were in line with those of the

Warren Report The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States P ...

, which concluded that

acted alone in the assassination of the 35th President. He called ''Reclaiming History'' his ''"magnum opus."'' The book won the 2008

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Fact Crime. A portion of the book was re-published in 2008 as '' Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'', which became the basis of the 2013 film '' Parkland''. The title of ''Reclaiming History'' derived from Bugliosi's belief that the history of the Kennedy assassination has been hijacked by

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

, the popularity of which, he asserted, has a pernicious and ongoing effect on American thought:

Writing career

After leaving the district attorney's office, Bugliosi wrote, jointly with Curt Gentry, a book about the Manson trial called '' Helter Skelter'' (1974). The book won an

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

for the best true crime book of the year. It was adapted twice for television movies (one produced in 1976 and one in 2004). As of 2015, it is the best-selling true crime book in publishing history, with more than 7 million copies sold.Rebecca Trounson and Elaine Woo
"Famed Manson family prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi dies at 80,"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', June 9, 2015.David Stout
"Vincent T. Bugliosi, Manson Prosecutor and True-Crime Author, Dies at 80,"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 9, 2015. Bugliosi wrote several other books, mostly dealing with well-known crimes. His works include '' And the Sea Will Tell'' (1991), which he wrote with

Bruce Henderson Bruce Doolin Henderson (April 30, 1915 – July 20, 1992) was an American businessman and management expert. He founded Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts and headed the firm as the president and CEO until 1980. He c ...

about the murder case against Stephanie Stearns. It was a #1 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestselling book. He later wrote '' Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' (2007), in which he challenged numerous conspiracy theories and explored the events surrounding the assassination. He also wrote '' The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder'' (2008), a condemnation of former president

's decision to invade Iraq.

Method of writing

Bugliosi did not own a computer and at one time did all his research through library

microfilm A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...

archives.'' The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder'' (2008) Acknowledgments In his later years, he relied on his virtual secretary, Rosemary Newton, to help with these tasks. He also wrote his books entirely by hand, with Newton later transcribing his long-hand texts.

Personal life

Bugliosi and his wife, Gail, had two children: a daughter, Wendy, and a son, Vince Jr. Although raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Bugliosi said later in life that he was an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

, although he was open to the ideas of

deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

Death

Bugliosi died of cancer at age 80, at a

hospital on June 6, 2015. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2. McFarland & Company (2016)

Works

Books

* '' Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders'' (with Curt Gentry) (1974) (

, 1975, Best Fact Crime book) * ''Till Death Us Do Part: A True Murder Mystery'' (with Ken Hurwitz) (1978) (Edgar Award, 1979, Best Fact Crime book) * ''Shadow of Cain'' (with Ken Hurwitz) (1981) * ''Lullaby and Good Night'' (with William Stadiem) (1987) * ''Cleopatra: Biography'' (1988) * ''Dinner with the Timbo: Getting to Know a Great Man'' (with Timothy Bishop) (1990) * '' And the Sea Will Tell'' (with

) (1991) * ''Drugs in America: The Case for Victory - A Citizen's Call to Action'' (1991) * ''The Phoenix Solution: Getting Serious About Winning America's Drug War'' (1996) * '' Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O. J. Simpson Got Away with Murder'' (1996) * ''No Island of Sanity: Paula Jones v.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

—The Supreme Court on Trial'' (1998) * '' The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President'' (2001) * '' Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' (2007) (Edgar Award, 2008, Best Fact Crime book) * '' The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder'' (2008) * ''Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' (2007) * ''Divinity of Doubt: The God Question'' (2011)

In film and television

Many of Bugliosi's books have been adapted to the screen, and he appeared as a character in several of them. * '' Helter Skelter'' 1976 (portrayed by George DiCenzo) * ''On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald'' (1986 TV film appearing as himself) * ''And the Sea Will Tell'' 1991 TV film (portrayed by Richard Crenna) * ''Till Death Us Do Part'' 1992 TV film (portrayed by Arliss Howard) * '' Helter Skelter'' 2004 (portrayed by Bruno Kirby) He also appeared as himself in the 1973

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film '' Manson''.

Articles

* "No Justice, No Peace", ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'', February, 1993. *
None Dare Call It Treason
, ''The Nation'', February 5, 2001.

References

External links

July 2, 2008 * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929140303/http://www.americanbooktour.com/book_reclaiming_history_part_1.asp Vincent Bugliosi video interview with the American Book Tour on the Kennedy Assassination
Vincent Bugliosi Interview on ''Democracy Now!'' regarding ''The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder''
*
''In Depth'' interview with Bugliosi, November 4, 2007
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugliosi, Vincent 1934 births 2015 deaths American agnostics American legal writers American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction crime writers American people of Italian descent American political writers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) California Democrats Critics of conspiracy theories Deaths from cancer in California District attorneys in California Edgar Award winners Former Roman Catholics History of Los Angeles Manson Family People from Hibbing, Minnesota Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy UCLA School of Law alumni University of Miami alumni Writers from California Writers from Minnesota