The recent death of cult leader/murder master Charles Manson stirs old memories that most choose not to remember. That includes the fact that the individual usually referred to as Manson’s “right hand man” was from Roane County. Although Bruce Davis, age 74, was not involved in the famous Tate-Lobianca murder case, he was accused and is currently serving a life sentence in California for the murders of musician Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea. Davis and his family moved to the Midtown Community in Roane County in the mid-50’s when he was about 10-years-old. His father, Bert Davis, worked at the Kingston Fossil Plant and, according to Davis’ sister Judy Prater, was a very violent and abusive man. According to reports, Davis was subdued into the counter culture in the 1960’s, and wound up in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco where he was said to have been an early recruit of Manson, who was a self-styled guru and musician “wanna-be.” Then in the summer of 1969, Manson supposedly got his idea on starting a race war from listening to The Beatles’ White Album citing the song “Helter Skelter” as his anthem. He then had his minions murder 9 people, including movie star Sharon Tate, in a wild attempt to have the murders blamed on black militants. When the investigation began, Davis allegedly fled California and returned to Roane County for a time. He was later arrested in 1970 in Los Angeles. Originally sentenced to die in 1972, Davis’ sentence was changed to life imprisonment. While in prison, Davis became a born-again Christian and has earned two college degrees. He has been recommended for parole several times in the last few years but has been turned down each time. The latest denial came in June of 2017 by Governor Jerry Brown.