Official: Manson alive amid reports he was hospitalized

BAKERSFIELD — A California prison official says cult leader Charles Manson is alive following reports that he was hospitalized.

TMZ reported Tuesday that Manson was taken to a hospital in Bakersfield, about 60 miles south of the California prison where he has been incarcerated.

Late Tuesday night, three vans from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were parked outside Bakersfield’s Mercy Hospital Downtown, where prisoners have been treated before.

But officials from the agency declined to say whether Manson had been hospitalized.

CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Manson, 82, is still assigned to the prison in Corcoran, but she declined to say whether he’s there, citing safety and security protocols.

Privacy laws prohibit her from discussing an inmate’s medical situation, Thornton said.

The Los Angeles Times also reported the hospitalization.

Manson was convicted of orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others.

Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in an email that the agency had no information on Manson. The office prosecuted Manson and has objected to his release. He was most recently up for parole in 2012.