Charles Winthrop "Charlie" Stewart (20 April, 1927-?) was an American politician, lawyer and serial killer, who served as the Republican United States Senator for Virginia from 1973 until his censure and expulsion after his arrest for murder the day before; he was later found criminally insane at his 1981 trial and was sent to an institution for the criminally insane, from which he escaped in 1982.
Stewart was born into an 'Old Money' establishment family in 1927, in Hartford, Connecticut to newspaper baron, Phelim Stewart and his wife, Margaret Stewart (nee Wallace.) The third of seven children, Stewart was considered a precocious child, who had an interest in politics and medicine. Stewart was apparently traumatised by the murder of his sister and close friend, Alice, in 1937 - an event which is considered to be the start on his psychiatric problems. In 1945 he attended Harvard Law School, eventually graduating several years later with first class honours. In 1950 he moved Virginia where he began to practice law and achieved a reputation for being forceful and gaining prosecutions in several high profile espionage cases that year. In 1951 he achieved notoriety for his role in the Rosenberg Trial. Stewart's direct examination of Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, produced testimony that was central to the Rosenbergs' conviction and subsequent execution. Greenglass testified that he had given the Rosenbergs classified documents from the Manhattan Project which had been stolen by Klaus Fuchs. Greenglass would later claim that he intentionally lied at the trial in order "to protect himself and his wife, Ruth, and that he was encouraged by the prosecution to do so." always took great pride in the Rosenberg verdict, and claimed to have played an even greater part than his public role; he said in his autobiography that his own influence had led to both Chief Prosecutor Saypol and Judge Irving Kaufman being appointed to the case. He further said that Kaufman imposed the death penalty based on his personal recommendation. If these ex parte discussions between a prosecutor and a judge outside the courtroom took place, they were improper.
The trial brought the young layer to the attention of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover, who recommended him to Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy hired Cohn as his chief counsel, choosing him over Robert Kennedy and Roy Cohn. Stewart assisted McCarthy's work for the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, becoming known for his aggressive questioning of suspected Communists. Stewart preferred not to hold hearings in open forums. This mixed well with McCarthy's preference for holding "executive sessions" and "off-the-record" sessions away from the Capitol in order to minimize public scrutiny and to question witnesses with relative impunity. Stewart was given free rein in pursuit of many investigations, with McCarthy joining in only for the more publicized sessions.
Stewart would play a major role in assisting Senator McCarthy's crusade against Communism. During the Lavender Scare, Stewart and McCarthy attempted to enhance anti-Communist fervour in the country by claiming that Communists overseas had convinced several closeted homosexuals employed by the U.S. federal government to pass on important government secrets in exchange for keeping the identity of their sexuality a secret. Convinced that the employment of homosexuals was now a threat to national security, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower signed an executive order on April 29, 1953, that banned homosexuals from obtaining jobs in the federal government. [1]
Stewart's abrasive and even 'illegal' tactics led to him being blamed, rather than McCarthy by the likes of the Army's attorney, Joseph N. Welch - thought it is widely considered an important element of McCarthy's disgrace. After the Army–McCarthy hearings, Stewart resigned from McCarthy's staff and went into private practice.
Stewart subsequently went into private practice in Virginia and became an important figure in several civil rights cases in front of the Supreme Court. By the mid-1960's he had become one of the leading spokesmen for the John Birch Society, of which he was a member of the executive board; arguing for the "tactical nuclear bombing of Hanoi and Peking" in the Vietnam War. In 1968 he famously brawled with Gore Vidal on ABC's 1968 Convention coverage; when Gore called him a "crypto-Nazi" the visibly agitated Stewart lept from his chair and "socked that pinko queer in the goddamned face;" ABC moderator, Howard K. Smith had to break up the scuffle.
In 1972 Stewart was drafted by the Virginia Democratic Party to challenge moderate Democratic Senator William B. Spong, Jr. for the Senate seat that year. He won the close fought race, and became the first Republican Senator for the state, since 1875. In the Senate Stewart achieved a highly conservative voting record on social and economic issues - except for civil rights, which he was generally in favour of - having been a member of the Virginia NAACP's board for several years. Stewart served on the Watergate Senate Committee in 1974 and achieved national fame with his transatlantic drawl and his scolding of White House Officials for being rude and uncourteous. In 1976 he married librarian Carrie Richardson and later had a daughter Stella, who was born in 1977.
In 1978 he was re-elected by a near landslide margin over his Democratic opponent, in a race where he effectively accused his opponent of being a "queer commie;" a tactic that was rather receptive by the conservative rural voters in the state. In 1979 he launched a campaign for President of the United States, calling for "common sense, conservative principles in the White House." He won the Iowa primary and several southern primaries in the 1980 Republican primaries; but eventually bowed out and endorsed Ronald Reagan.
At the convention that year he gave Reagan's nominating speech; the brutal murder of a young journalist however, cast a shadow on the convention that year - with the likes of Stewart calling for the culprit to be "hung, drawn and quarter - several times over!" The shadow however cast much further when Stewart himself was arrested for the murder in October 1980 - he was censured and expelled from the Senate the next day. This is considered one of the reasons why Jimmy Carter won re-election less than a month later.
A trail of murders had seemingly followed Stewart across the country ever since the murder of a young prostitute in Virginia, in December 1950. The murders usually involved the victims being disembowelled and being partially cannibalised. It was later suggested that he killed many of his young female victims over his belief that they were "impure;" whether it be over pre-martial sexual relations, abortions (which Stewart was noted to get explosively enraged and agitated over when debating or discussing the issue) or any other activities which were common in Sodom and Gomorrah."
At his trial Stewart was found to be criminally insane and responsible for the murders of at least thirty-two people; most conservative estimates place the number at at least forty dead; spanning seven states, and the District of Columbia. Stewart was seen at the trial to be of "high culture" and to be rather "suave and calm while at the stand," mocking the prosecution on many occasions. Despite the 'guilty' verdict, his wife and some allies stuck by him - with many conspiracy theorists stating that he had been set up by a liberal conspiracy theory. By this stage garnering nicknames as "The Ripper of Roanoke," "The Jersey Devil," "Mack the Knife" and "the bastard on the hill;" Stewart was imprisoned in a mental asylum where he was housed until he escaped during a riot in 1982; along with his wife and daughter he is suspected to have escaped to South America to join the Confederados communities in Brazil, where he may be present to this day. It is unknown whether he has killed any more people; and remains a very divisive and controversial figure in American history - reviled by many, admired by some on the radical fringes as a brave patriotic God-fearing (ironic considering Stewart was a self admitted agnostic or "lapsed theist") American who was set up by the powers that be to prevent him from winning in 1984.
[1] - Abridged from Roy Cohn's Wikipedia page.
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So I recently watched Silence of the Lambs and thought about making a macabre equivalent for politics - enjoy... I guess...
