David Curtiss Stephenson

Case record: David Curtiss “Steve” Stephenson

Overview

David Curtiss “Steve” Stephenson (21 August 1891 – 28 June 1966) was an American Grand Dragon (state leader) of the Ku Klux Klan in the U.S. state of Indiana and 22 other northern states. He was considered one of the most successful Klan leaders up until his downfall after his conviction for murder.

Stephenson was born in Houston, Texas, and moved with his family to Maysville, Oklahoma, where he worked as a printer's apprentice and was active in the Socialist Party. In 1920 he moved to Evansville, Indiana, where he became a salesman and joined the Democratic Party and the Ku Klux Klan.

Stephenson backed Hiram Wesley Evans in November 1922 in an attempt to unseat William J. Simmons as Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Upon Evans' ascendancy, Stephenson was made Grand Dragon of Indiana and 22 other northern states. Membership in the states for which he was Grand Dragon grew dramatically. In Indiana alone membership grew to nearly 300,000—about one third of all white males in the state.

Stephenson acquired great wealth, political power, and hubris. He was also described as a Prohibitionist and as a defender of “Protestant womanhood.” His 1925 trial for murder led to the downfall of the “Second Wave” of Klan activity.

The offence

Stephenson was responsible for the abduction, forced intoxication, and rape of Madge Oberholtzer, who ran a state program to combat illiteracy, leading to her death. The material described that Stephenson had bitten Oberholtzer “so many times that one man who saw her described her condition as having been ‘chewed by a cannibal.’”

In one narrative account, Oberholtzer’s poisoning was treated as part of the events involving the assault. The material described that Oberholtzer purchased mercuric chloride tablets, swallowed six of the poison tablets, became extremely sick, and later died. Another narrative described that she died from infection and kidney failure from mercury poisoning.

Investigation and legal proceedings

Indictment

Stephenson was indicted on charges of kidnapping, rape, and second-degree murder.

Trial and verdict

At trial, Stephenson’s lawyer argued that Oberholtzer had committed suicide. The prosecution pointed out that Oberholtzer had vomited so violently that prompt medical attention may have saved her.

A doctor testified that the injuries Oberholtzer received during her rape would be sufficient alone to kill her. The doctor also testified that Stephenson failed to seek immediate medical attention once he discovered Oberholtzer had taken poison, choosing to wait over 24 hours before returning her to her parents.

A quoted description of her injuries stated that her wounds were similar to having been “chewed by a cannibal.”

The jury convicted Stephenson of second-degree murder on 14 November 1925 on its first ballot. Stephenson was sentenced to life in prison on 25 November 1925 (with one version stating sentencing on 16 November 1925).

During closing statements, Stephenson was decried as a “destroyer of virtue and womanhood”.

Sentencing

Stephenson received a sentence of life in prison.

The material also described a refusal by Governor Ed Jackson to grant clemency or to commute Stephenson’s sentence, and that Stephenson later released lists of public officials who were or had been on the Klan payroll.

Appeals and parole

On 7 January 1941, the Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger reported that Democratic Governor Townsend was considering granting an early parole application by Stephenson; the application was rejected.

Stephenson was paroled on 23 March 1950, but violated parole by disappearing on or before 25 September 1950. On 15 December 1950, he was captured in Minneapolis, and was directed in 1951 to serve a further 10 years in prison.

On 22 December 1956, Stephenson was paroled again, on condition that he leave Indiana and never return.

Additional incidents after conviction

1961 arrest

In 1961, Stephenson was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a sixteen-year-old girl. The charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.

Public statements attributed to Stephenson

The material credited Stephenson with the quote: “Everything is fine in politics as long as you don't get caught in bed with a live man, or a dead woman."

The material also stated that he was infamous for having claimed: “I am the law in Indiana.”

Political activities and fallout

In November 1922, Stephenson backed Hiram Wesley Evans in his attempt to unseat William J. Simmons as Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan; upon Evans' ascendancy, Stephenson was made Grand Dragon of Indiana and 22 other northern states.

In September 1923, encouraged by his success, Stephenson severed his ties with the existing national organization of the Ku Klux Klan and formed a rival Ku Klux Klan.

Stephenson changed his affiliation from the Democratic to the Republican Party, and notably supported Republican Ed Jackson when he ran successfully for Governor in 1924.

The material described Stephenson’s speech at a 1923 Fourth of July gathering of the Ku Klux Klan in Elwood, Indiana, and also provided a version of the same speech set to Kokomo, Indiana. The speech content included the following quoted opening: “My worthy subjects, citizens of the Invisible Empire, Klansmen all, greetings. It grieves me to be late. The President of the United States kept me unduly long counseling on matters of state. Only my plea that this is the time and the place of my coronation obtained for me surcease from his prayers for guidance.”

In a vengeful response to his conviction and to the refusal of Governor Jackson to grant clemency or to commute his sentence, on 9 September 1927 Stephenson released lists of public officials who were or had been on the Klan payroll.

The aftermath described included indictments filed against Governor Ed Jackson, Marion County Republican chairman George V. “Cap” Coffin, and attorney Robert I. Marsh, charging them with conspiring to bribe former Governor Warren McCray. The material also described that even Mayor of Indianapolis John Duvall was convicted and sentenced to jail for 30 days and barred from political service for 4 years. Some Republican commissioners of Marion County also resigned from their posts on charges of accepting bribes from the Klan and Stephenson.

The scandal was described as destroying the political structure and the KKK in Indiana, with the material stating that within two years the KKK in Indiana went from 180,000 members to virtual non-existence, and another version stating that Indiana Klan rosters decreased from more than 250,000 members to approximately 4,000 by 20 February 1928.

Death and burial

Stephenson died in Jonesborough, Tennessee. He was buried in Johnson City, Tennessee. The material also stated his death date as 28 June 1966.

Victim: Madge Augustine Oberholtzer

Madge Augustine Oberholtzer (10 November 1896 – 14 April 1925) was an American schoolteacher who worked and lived in Indianapolis.

The material described that she worked and lived in Indianapolis, and it described her efforts teaching illiterate adults to read through an Indiana state program for literacy. It also stated that she taught black children how to read.

She was kidnapped, tortured, raped, and murdered by David C. Stephenson, then head of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. The material described that she achieved national attention by naming D.C. Stephenson as her assailant before she died.

Oberholtzer was born in Clay City, Indiana, and grew up in Fulton County, Indiana. After college, she worked as a teacher in an Indiana state program for literacy. Like many young single women, the material stated that she continued to live with her parents, then in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis.

Events involving Oberholtzer

The material described that one evening in 1924, Oberholtzer attended a dinner at the Governor’s mansion where she met David Curtiss “D.C.” Stephenson. It stated that Stephenson was instantly attracted to her, and that she went on two dates with him. On the second date, the material stated that Stephenson revealed that he was the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Branch of the Ku Klux Klan. The material said she broke off the relationship.

Another narrative specified an event date: on 15 March 1925, Stephenson kidnapped Oberholtzer after meeting her through Governor Ed Jackson, whom he had helped get elected in 1924. The material stated that Stephenson took Oberholtzer into his private train car and forced her to drink, and that he raped her while the train traveled toward Chicago. The material said she was chewed and bitten all over her body.

The material also described that at an Indiana hotel, on the second day, Oberholtzer attempted to shoot herself but the attempt was foiled by Stephenson. Oberholtzer then purchased mercuric chloride tablets and consumed them in another attempt at escape by suicide.

The material described that Stephenson and his companions discovered Oberholtzer vomiting blood and drove her back to Indianapolis. It also stated that before leaving his house, Oberholtzer threatened Stephenson, saying: “The law will get their hands on you!”

It then stated that Stephenson laughed and said: “I am the law.”

The material further stated that when Oberholtzer got home, she sought medical attention but it was too late, and with what strength she had left she accused Stephenson in a deathbed statement on 28 March detailing her treatment. Oberholtzer died on 14 April from an infection and kidney failure from mercury poisoning.

Confession described in the material

The material stated that Oberholtzer told her mother what had happened to her, her mother wrote it down, and Oberholtzer signed her confession.

Medical testimony described

The doctor’s testimony described in the material included that the injuries Oberholtzer received during her rape would be sufficient alone to kill her, and that Stephenson’s delay in seeking medical attention after discovering she had taken poison ensured her death.

Other details

The material described Stephenson’s political trajectory and influence, including that he severed ties with the existing national organization in September 1923 and formed a rival Klan, and that he changed his affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

The material also described that Stephenson’s influence was so strong that he was often a guest of the governor, and that his newspaper, “The Fiery Cross,” had a circulation of 500,000. It described that his oratory expanded the Indiana KKK membership to an estimated 180,000 members and included that he had staff of several bodyguards, a small fleet of cars, a personal train, and even a yacht on Lake Erie.

The material stated that Stephenson was indicted and convicted for the rape and murder of Madge Oberholtzer. It also stated that after his release lists of officials on 9 September 1927, state actions speeded the decline of Klan activity by the end of the 1920s.