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Manson, 80, technically has until Thursday to tie the knot under
a 90-day marriage license he was granted in November with
bride-to-be Afton Elaine Burton, a woman more than five decades
his junior.
But the two have yet to exchange vows and their deadline for
doing so will pass before the next weekend visitation rolls
around this Saturday and Sunday at California State Prison at
Corcoran, where Manson is serving a life sentence.
State corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said prison
officials had no idea why Manson had failed to act on the
marriage license. The couple would have to obtain a new marriage
license to extend their engagement.
Burton, an Illinois native who is now 27, is widely reported to
have moved to central California during the past decade to be
closer to the convicted killer. She indicated on the marriage
license that she had intended to change her name to Afton Elaine
Manson once married.
California state law allows inmates to marry in prison
ceremonies that are usually held in the visiting room of the
institution where they are housed. But Manson would not be
eligible for conjugal visits because he has been denied parole.
The charismatic one-time drifter and cult leader was convicted
of conspiracy to commit the August 1969 murders of seven people,
including actress Sharon Tate, who were slain at his behest by
his "family" of mostly young, female followers over the course
of two nights in Los Angeles.
He was also convicted in connection with two separate Manson
Family murders.
Manson has been denied parole a dozen times since 1978, most
recently in 2012. He has not attended a parole hearing since
1997, and his next hearing is not scheduled until 2027, Thornton
said.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Writing and additional reporting
by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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