8. The Manson Family
Charles Manson formed The Manson Family in 1968, but his development into a charismatic mover of minds dated back to a troubled childhood. Because of his powers of persuasion, Manson leveraged a small number of members into a very large criminal impact. He wanted his followers to be the catalyst of a race war in the United States and tried to frame the Black Panthers for the murder of actress Sharon Tate and several guests at her home in 1969.
Manson and few of his followers were sentenced to death penalty for this crime, but in 1972 the state of California abolished the death penalty and Manson’s sentence was commuted to life.