D. C. Stephenson

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D. C. Stephenson, born David Curtis Stephenson in 1891, was a powerful Ku Klux Klan leader in Indiana and a convicted criminal. He became Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan in 1923 and led recruitment for several surrounding states. He helped Indiana build one of the country’s largest Klan organizations and used his power to influence politics, forming alliances with state leaders, including Governor Edward L. Jackson.

Stephenson built a large Klan network in the 1920s, with many chapters and rapid membership growth. He controlled funds from initiation fees and Klan uniforms and created strategies to influence elections. He boasted that “I am the law in Indiana.” In 1923 he even broke with the national Klan to form his own powerful faction, then briefly realigned with the original leaders to gain legitimacy.

In 1925, Stephenson was tried for the abduction, rape, and murder of Madge Oberholtzer, a state education official. He was convicted of second-degree murder on November 14, 1925, and sentenced to life in prison. The Oberholtzer case badly damaged the Klan’s image as upholders of law and morality and helped end the second wave of Klan activity in Indiana and much of the country.

After his conviction, Stephenson released lists of public officials who had received Klan money, sparking further investigations. The Indianapolis Times’ reporting on the Klan’s political ties won a Pulitzer Prize in 1928 and accelerated the decline of Klan influence.

Stephenson spent a total of 31 years in prison. He was paroled in 1950 but disappeared, was recaptured, and in 1951 was given another sentence of 10 years. He was released on parole again in 1956, on the condition that he leave Indiana. He moved to Seymour, Indiana, where he married Martha Dickinson. He later moved to Jonesborough, Tennessee, taking a bigamous marriage with Martha Murray Sutton while still married to Dickinson.

In 1961 he faced an arrest in Missouri for attempting to sexually assault a 16-year-old girl, but the charges were dropped. Stephenson died in 1966 in Jonesborough and was buried in Mountain Home National Cemetery in Tennessee. His burial helped lead Congress to restrict burial in veterans’ cemeteries for serious sex offenders and those convicted of capital crimes.

Stephenson’s life and crimes dealt a severe blow to the Klan’s reputation and power, ending its major influence in Indiana and significantly weakening the organization nationally.