Incarcerated cult leader Charles Manson was recently hospitalized and may be near death, but officials are citing medical privacy rules and not announcing his condition.

It has been  confirmed that he is alive . The 83-year-old inmate has been behind bars in the California prison system for 46 years, convicted for his role in leading the cult that committed a wave of murders.

The cult of those who followed him was known as the Manson Family. The incidents became so memorable because they occurred at a time when hippies were spreading messages of love and peace , and the counterculture was affected.

In the past, Manson has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder.

He was also hospitalized for an illness back in January, and his condition then was also unknown to the public.