Charles Manson sentenced to death

On April 19, 1971, Charles Manson was sentenced to death for ordering the murders of Sharon Tate and others. The sentence was then commuted to life after the Supreme Court of California overturned the death penalty in 1972.

Learn more about the trial of Charles Manson from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Supreme Court ruled corporations due equal protection rights

On May 10, 1886, the US Supreme Court ruled in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company that corporations were "persons" within the terms of the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore were due rights of equal protection under state law.

Nelson Mandela became first black president of South Africa

On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa. Before becoming President, Mandela was an anti-Apartheid leader in segregated South Africa. He served twenty-seven years in prison before his release in 1990, after which he was elected president of the country. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Read a biography of Nelson Mandela from the Nobel Foundation.