ted cruz charles manson
[Photos via Ted Cruz/U.S. Senate Photographic Studio on WikiMedia Commons, Charles Manson/California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via WikiMedia Commons]

Charles Manson is dead, but Ted Cruz is still worried he’d vote in prison

It looks like Ted Cruz isn’t up to date on his true crime podcasts or Charles Manson facts.

During day three of Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing, Cruz decided to use the famed cult leader as an example of prison voting. However, it turns out that Cruz didn’t actually know Manson was dead until later on.

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The internet really loves to give Cruz a hard time especially since many still believe he is actually the Zodiac Killer. Although another man was convicted, the internet thinks Cruz closely resembles the original sketch of the murderer.

Years have gone by since the joke first emerged and Cruz has even acknowledged it in the past. However, the joke is making rounds again after we learned that Cruz didn’t know Charles Manson had died.

Oct. 14 is the third day of Barrett’s confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. During the hearing, Cruz stated that all Democrats are in favor of restoring voting rights to those that have felony charges. In an attempt to dispute the issue, Cruz used Manson as an example of why citizens with felonies shouldn’t have voting rights.

“I’m not sure the operation of the republic would be better if Charles Manson had a greater voice in the electoral system,” Cruz said. “Bernie Sanders argued that felons in jail, literally Charles Manson, serving multiple life sentences for murder, should be able to vote.”

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For many reasons, his statement confused a lot of listeners. However, the fact that he used Manson as an example truly left people scratching their heads. Manson actually died in 2017 at the age of 83.

Manson was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in April 1971. Manson went on to serve nine life terms in California prisons and was denied parole 12 times. Originally, he was sentenced to death, but the death penalty was briefly abolished in California.

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After giving his statement, Cruz took to Twitter to respond to a few critiques. However, it looks like it took him quite a while to realize that the critiques were about Manson being dead.

One journalist even blatantly pointed out that Manson is dead, but Cruz seemed to have missed the point entirely.

Finally, Cruz realized the mistake he had made and confessed he didn’t know Manson was dead. As well, he even acknowledged the running joke he’s the Zodiac Killer.

“I didn’t know that. But, alas, it still doesn’t stop him from being a Democratic voter.”

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Since then, Charles Manson began trending on Twitter as the internet reacted to Cruz not knowing the cult leader was dead. Considering that many believe Cruz is the Zodiac Killer, you’d think he’d be up to date on his serial killer facts.

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Did you know Charles Manson was dead? Let us know in the comments below.