Madge Oberholtzer
|
|
Madge.jpg
Madge Oberholtzer (1896 - April 14, 1925) was a schoolteacher who grew up in Fulton County, Indiana, and worked in a state program to combat illiteracy. She was a key figure in the downfall of the 1920s Ku Klux Klan in Indiana.
On March 15, 1925, David Curtiss Stephenson, a powerful political figure, a Prohibitionist, and state leader ("Grand Dragon") of the Ku Klux Klan, kidnapped Madge. Stephenson took her onto his private train car and forced her to drink. He then raped her while the train went towards Chicago. Stephenson also chewed and bit Madge all over her body. One of her nipples was literally bitten off and her genitals were severely mutilated. A doctor who examined her later on said these injuries and the resulting infection could have itself been fatal. He said it looked like Madge had been attacked by a pack of wolves. The next day in an Indiana hotel, Madge attempted to shoot herself, but was foiled in the attempt by Stephenson. Madge then purchased mercuric chloride tablets under the guise of shopping for something else, and consumed them in another attempt at suicide. She was discovered vomiting blood by Stephenson and his companions, and they drove her back to Indianapolis. Before leaving his house she threatened him, saying "The law will get their hands on you!" He laughed and said, "I am the law." Stephenson's Klan connections gave him a good deal of political power in the state.
When Madge got home she sought medical attention, though it was too late. With what strength she had left she accused Stephenson and, dying of mercury poisoning, made a deathbed statement on March 28 detailing her treatment at his hands. Madge died on April 14 from an infection and kidney failure, and Stephenson was indicted on charges of rape and second-degree murder. His lawyer's defense was that Oberholtzer had committed suicide. The prosecution pointed out that Madge had vomited so violently there might not have been enough mercury to prove fatal and that prompt medical attention could have saved her. During closing statements, Stephenson was decried as a "destroyer of virtue and womanhood." He was found guilty of second degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison. He was given clemency in 1950, sent back to prison for violating parole, freed again in 1956 and died in 1966.
The conviction of Stephenson helped to spell the end of the Klan in Indiana.
References
- Newton, Michael, and Judy Ann Newton. The Ku Klux Klan: An Encyclopedia. New York & London: Garland Publishing, 1991.
- (quote from Ku Klux Klan documentary on the History Channel.aired May 31, 2003.) (check for weblink)
- M. William Lutholtz's Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana
- Cross of Fire - 1989 television miniseries
- Stephenson manuscripts (http://www.indianahistory.org/library/manuscripts/collection_guides/m0264.html)
- Prosecution's detailed opening statement at the Trial (http://www.geocities.com/traciy2000/madge_story.html)