"Cell" Phone: Charles Manson Busted with a Mobile

GREG WILSON NBC Los Angeles 12/03/2010 17:28

The murderous cult leader was one of thousands of California inmates busted with a cell phone last year, which he used to call unidentified people in California, New Jersey, Florida and British Columbia, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"It's troubling that he had a cellphone since he's a person who got other people to murder on his behalf," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections. She added that it is not known if the one-time cult leader, now 76, used the phone to order up any crimes.

Cell phones are banned form federal prisons, but the rules are murkier in state institutions, especially California, where overcrowding makes it impractical to punish phone possessors with more time.

Guards found 1,400 cell phones in prison in 2007, according to the Times. The number jumped to 6,995 in 2009 and is now at 8,675 this year. Prisoners simply get a reprimand and have the phone confiscated.

Golden State lawmaker Alex Padilla said stiffer penalties are needed, because inmates can use the phones to carry out their criminal activities.

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