Now THAT'S '70s! Danny Masterson Moved to Charles Manson's Old Prison
Talk about method acting! Steven Hyde is taking the 1970s to a new level by hanging out down the cell block from Charlie Manson’s ghost.
Last week, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Charlaine Olmedo denied That ‘70s Show star and serial rapist Danny Masterson’s request for bail while the formerly high-ranking Scientologist awaits an appeal on his May conviction on two counts of rape, for which he faces 30 years to life in prison. Instead, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation moved the obvious flight risk to Corcoran State Prison in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley earlier this week, where he will await his appeal in the same maximum security facility that held the head of the Manson family for 28 years until his death, as well as Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan and the “Dating Game Killer” Rodney James Alcala for parts of their respective incarcerations.
Yes, many of the most infamous criminals of the 1970s paved the way for Masterson’s imprisonment, which, pending the appeal, could last the rest of his life. Far out!
Admittedly, I was not alive in the 1970s, so I’m not an expert on what is or isn’t period appropriate. But, judging by the behavior of Masterson’s former co-stars since his legal trouble began, rape apologists must have been huge in the post-Woodstock, pre-Reagan era! Jackie, Kelso, Red and Kitty all wrote letters in Masterson’s defense, pleading clemency for Masterson because he was such a good cast member on That ‘70s Show.
However, I do know that, during the 1970s, the Church of Scientology was actively engaged in a numerous schemes to criminally infiltrate the U.S. government which led to eleven prominent members of the religious organization spending time in prison, so a deeply entrenched and influential figure in Scientology such as Masterson getting himself thrown in the slammer sure seems to be about as 1970s as a pair of bell bottoms.
In a separate lawsuit, Masterson’s accusers brought a civil harassment case against both the That ‘70s Show star and the Church of Scientology, alleging that the organization surveilled and repeatedly harassed them after they went to the Los Angeles Police with rape claims against Masterson. They even accused the church of killing their pets in the alleged intimidation campaign.
The accusers have called for RICO charges against Masterson, the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was, of course, passed in 1970 – with this much legal flower power behind them, the plaintiffs might just turn the cell block into Studio 54.
