It’s been well over 50 years since Charles Manson and the Manson family were at the height of their infamy, and well over 40 years since Manson’s death penalty was commuted to a life sentence. He’s 79 years old now, and he recently held an interview with Rolling Stone.

Cocoran state prison sits between Bakersfield and Fresno, in California’s bone-dry San Joaquin Valley. Manson’s once thick black hair has turned to a wispy grey, his lungs are raspy and his teeth are all but gone. He walks with a cane, lifting it to greet a slender, dark-haired woman he calls Star.

“Star!” he says. “She’s not a woman. She’s a star in the Milky Way!”

Despite being the one of most infamous convicted killers of all time, Manson has fallen in love with 25 year-old Star, a Baptist girl from a town on the Mississippi river.

Manson will never be free again, but Star stays alongside him in spite of this. Apparently, it wasn’t his violent reputation that lured her, but rather, it was his pro-earth environmental stance, known as ATWA, which advocates for air, trees, water and animals.

She’s become Charlie’s most ardent defender, running various ‘Help Charles Manson’ efforts (mansondirect.com, atwaearth.com, a Facebook page, a Tumblr page) . She visits him every Saturday and Sunday, for up to five hours at time.

“Yeah, well, people can think I’m crazy,” she admits. “But they don’t know. This is what’s right for me. This is what I was born for.”

To see the full interview, click here.

[Source : Rolling Stone]