Madalyn Murray O'Hair ( nÃÆ' Â © e Mays ; 13 April 1919 - 29 September 1995), is an American activist, founder of American Atheists , and president of the organization from 1963 to 1986. He created the first edition of American Atheist Magazine . O'Hair is famous for the lawsuit of Murray v. Curlett , which led to the Supreme Court's decision to officially end the official Bible reading at the American public school in 1963. The case came just one year after the Supreme Being. The court banned officially sponsored prayers at schools in Engel v. Vitale .
In 1995, O'Hair, his son Jon, and his grandson Robin disappeared from Austin, Texas. They were later found to have been kidnapped, murdered and mutilated by David Roland Waters, a prisoner convicted prisoner, Gary Karr, and a third man, Danny Fry.
Video Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Initial and personal life
Madalyn Mays was born in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 13, 1919, the daughter of Lena Christina (nÃÆ' Â © e Scholle) and John Irwin Mays. He has an older brother, John Irwin Jr. (known as "Irv"). His siblings had Irish descent on the side of their father and their German ancestors on their mother's side. At the age of four, Madalyn was baptized into her father's Presbyterian church; his mother was an Evangelical Lutheran. In 1936, he graduated from Rossford High School in Rossford, Ohio.
In 1941, he married John Henry Roths. They parted when they both registered for World War II service, he was in the United States Marine Corps, he was in the Women's Army Corps. In April 1945, when posted to a cryptographic position in Italy, he began a relationship with an officer, William J. Murray, Jr., a married Roman Catholic who refused to divorce his wife. Mays divorced Roths, adopted the name Madalyn Murray, and gave birth to a son, William J. Murray III (nicknamed "Bill").
In 1949, Murray completed a bachelor's degree from Ashland University. On November 16, 1954, he gave birth to his second son, Jon Garth Murray, the father of his girlfriend Michael Fiorillo. There were rumors that he was trying to defect to the Soviet Union at their embassy in Paris, but that the Soviets denied him entry. Murray and his sons returned to the Loch Raven neighborhood north of Baltimore, Maryland in 1960 to live with his mother and brother.
Murray left Maryland in 1963 and fled to Honolulu, Hawaii, after allegedly attacking five Baltimore Municipal Police Department officers who tried to fetch a runaway girl, Bill's girlfriend, Susan (who would later become the mother of Robin's grandson). In 1965, he married a navy informant and the US administration of Richard O'Hair. Although they were separated later, he remained married to her until his death in 1978.
Maps Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Activism
Murray filed a lawsuit against Baltimore City Public School System (Murray v. Curlett) in 1960 in which he insisted that unconstitutional for his son William would be asked to participate in Bible reading in Baltimore's public schools. In this litigation, he states that his son's refusal to participate in Bible reading has resulted in the oppression directed against him by his classmates and that the administrator let him.
After consolidation with Abington School District v. Schempp filed a lawsuit reaching the United States Supreme Court in 1963. The court voted 8-1 in favor of Schempp, which effectively prohibited the pronunciation of mandatory Bible verses in public schools in the United States. Prayer in schools other than Bible readings ended in 1962 by the Court's decision at Engel v. Vitale.
O'Hair filed suit with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in connection with the reading of Apollo 8 Genesis. The case was rejected by the US Supreme Court for lack of jurisdiction. The impact of the lawsuit was limited: Although NASA asked Buzz Aldrin not to quote the Bible on Apollo 11 missions, he was allowed to perform the first Communion service in space.
O'Hair appeared on The Phil Donahue Show several times, including the first episode in 1967, following which Phil Donahue said O'Hair was unpleasant and had taunted him from the camera for being a Catholic, though after O ' Death hair, Donahue describes his message about atheism as "very important". She appeared on the show again in March 1970 to argue with Reverend Bob Harrington, "The Chaplain of Bourbon Street".
O'Hair supported Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election because of Carter's opposition to mandatory school prayer, his support for sex education in public schools, and his attitude on ecological matters.
American Atheists
After his arrival in Austin, Texas, O'Hair founded the American Atheists, "a national movement defending non-Muslim civil rights, working for the separation of church and state and discussing the issues of public policy of the First Amendment". He acted as the group's first chief executive officer, public voices and the face of atheism in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. In a 1965 interview with Playboy Magazine, he described religion as a "crutch" and "irrational dependence on supernatural superstitions and nonsense".
In the same Playboy interview, O'Hair provides a long list of incidents of harassment, intimidation, and even death threats against himself and his family for his views. He read some of the letters he received, including one who read (referring to the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus), "May Jesus, whom you vehemently deny, turn you into a Paul." In response, O'Hair told the interviewer, "Is not that wonderful? Christine Jorgensen must go to Sweden for surgery, but they they will fix by faith - without pain and needlessness." He stated that he left Baltimore because of the persecution of the population, including letters containing stained photographs, strangulation of Jon Garth's pet kitten and stone throwing to his home by neighborhood residents, who he believed had caused his father's fatal heart attack.
He filed several lawsuits on issues in which he felt that the United States Constitution was violated by church and state collusion. One opposing the city of Baltimore, demanding that he assess and collect taxes on property owned by the Catholic Church.
O'Hair founded an atheist radio program in which he criticized religion and theism, and the television show he organized, the American Atheist Forum, was conducted on over 140 cable television systems.
O'Hair remained a polarized figure in the 1980s. He served as "chief speechwriter" for Larry Flynt's presidential campaign in 1984, and continues to be a regular talk show guest. His second son, Jon Murray, succeeded him as American Atheist leader; he is disliked by many in the organization, and some chapters break away from the main group. American atheists remain an active organization with growing membership.
His son, William J. Murray, became a Christian in 1980. Speaking of his response to this, he commented, "Someone can call it a postpartum abortion in a mother's part, I think I deny it completely and completely for now and all times... he is beyond human forgiveness. "
In 1988, O'Hair produced some of the Truth-Seeker issues under his masthead as part of an effort to take over the publication; However, the court decided against its ownership.
In the 1990s, the American Atheists consisted of O'Hair, his son Jon Murray, his grandson Robin Murray O'Hair, and a handful of support personnel. (Robin, William Murray's daughter, adopted by Madalyn) William has not seen or spoken to them for years.) The trio live in a large O'Hair house, go to the same office and take vacations together.
Court case
O'Hair filed numerous lawsuits in which he argued that the separation of church and state had been violated.
- Murray v. Curlett (1963) Challenged Bible readings and prayer readings at Maryland public schools.
- Murray v. United States (1964) To force the Federal Communications Commission to prolong the Doctrine of Justice so that Atheists can have the same time as religion on radio and television.
- Murray v. Nixon (1970) Challenging weekly religious services at the White House.
- O'Hair v. Paine (1971) The desired open readings of the Bible by US astronauts (who were Federal employees) during their flight, triggered by a reading of Genesis by a crew of Apollo 8.
- O'Hair v. Cooke (1977) Challenged the opening prayer at a city council meeting in Austin, Texas.
- O'Hair v. Blumenthal (1978) Challenges the inclusion of the phrase " In God We Trust " in the US currency.
- O'Hair v. Hill (1978) Getting rid of the Texas constitution is a requirement that requires trust in God over those who hold public trust offices.
- O'Hair v. Andrus (1979) Challenges the use of National Parks facilities for the Pope to hold Roman Catholic Mass at the Mall in Washington, D.C.
- O'Hair v. Clements (1980) This case attempts to remove the birth scene of Jesus displayed in the rotunda of the Parliament building in Austin, Texas.
- Carter, et al. v Broadlawns Medical Center, et al. (1984-1987) Challenged the full-time work of an ordained priest in a tax-funded regional hospital, Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
Feminism
During an interview with Playboy in 1965, O'Hair described himself as a "militant feminist" and expressed his dissatisfaction with women's inequality in America, who stated during the interview
American men continue to use sexually for one thing: the means to end their own ejaculation. It does not seem to occur to him that he may be a worthwhile goal in himself, or to ensure that he has a proper sexual release. And, for him, sex appeal is directly proportional to the size of a woman's breasts. I'm not saying that all American men are like this, but nine out of ten are fucking friends, dammit-mu-ma'am who do not care about anyone's satisfaction except their own. If you talk about intellectual and social equality for women, we are not much better. We just started breaking the ice. America is still a male-dominated society. Most American men feel sexually threatened unless they are higher than women, more intellectually, better educated, more paid, and higher placed in the business world. They must be an authority, the last word. They say they're looking for a girl like a girl who marries an old dad, but what they want, and usually, is a very young, very, very, very young, very, very, very obedient little girl. Well, I can not see a man or woman in a dependency position, because from this kind of relationship flows a feeling of superiority on one side and low self on the other, and that is a slow form of poison. As I see it, men will not want someone who is inferior to them unless they feel they are inadequate. They are intimidated by an adult woman.
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the women's liberation movement.
Murder
On August 27, 1995, O'Hair, his son Jon, and Robin's granddaughter disappeared. The door to the American Atheist office was locked with an attached typed note (apparently with Jon's signature), stating, "The family of Murray O'Hair has been called out of town in an emergency.We do not know how much longer we will be lost at the time of writing this memo." When O'Hair's house was included, breakfast dishes were sitting on the table; the diabetes drug is on the kitchen table, and the dogs are left without a nanny. In a phone call a few days later, all three claimed that they were in "business" in San Antonio, Texas. A few days later, Jon ordered a $ 600,000 gold coin from San Antonio jewelry, but received only $ 500,000 worth of coins.
Until September 27, American Atheist employees received several phone calls from Robin and Jon, but would not explain why they left or when they would return; while they say nothing is wrong, their voices sound tense and disturbed. After September 28th, no further communication came from one of O'Hairs.
Investigation and arrest
In the end, the investigation focused on David Roland Waters, who has worked as a pattern regulator and then the office manager for Atheist America. Not only did Waters have previous convictions for violent crime, there were also some suspicious burglaries in the organization during his tenure, and he had pleaded guilty earlier that year to steal $ 54,000 from American Atheists. Shortly after his thief about $ 54,000 was found, O'Hair had written a scathing article in the "Members Only" section of the American Atheist newspaper exposing Waters, theft and previous crimes of Waters, including the 1977 incident in which Waters allegedly beat up. and urinate on his mother. O'Hair also reported about the killing of another teenager at the age of 17, which meant that Waters had become a convicted criminal. This, along with the use of firearms in public, was enough to punish Waters jail for eight years before he could kill again.
Waters's girlfriend later testified that he was very angry with O'Hair's article, and that he fantasized about torturing her in a terrible way and cut off his toes. The federal agency for the FBI and the IRS, along with the police, concluded that Waters and his accomplices had kidnapped the three O'Hairs, forcing them to withdraw the lost funds, going on some massive shopping with O'Hairs and credit cards, and then kill and dismember the three men. Waters' feet are Gary Paul Karr and Danny Fry. A few days after O'Hairs was killed, Fry was killed by Waters and Karr. What turned out to be the Fry body found at the bottom of the river with the head and hand missing, and remained unidentified for three and a half years.
A search warrant was executed at David Waters' apartment and his girlfriend. The apartment is across the street from the Headquarters of the Department of Public Security. Search generates various caliber ammunition. Waters, a convicted criminal, was arrested, and the contents of his apartment were examined and confiscated. At the same time, Gary Karr was contacted in Walled Lake, Michigan, and was interviewed. As a harsh criminal who spent the last 30 years in prison for the kidnapping of a judge's daughter, Karr did not want to talk. After reading his rights, Karr was asked to listen to the information being discussed. Karr decides to talk and engages David Waters in the death of O'Hairs. Karr went a step further to sign a statement and drew a map of where their corpse could be found. Karr was arrested for possessing two firearms and taken to jail. He's languishing in Detroit, waiting for trial. The seizure of weapons was dismissed, and Karr was transferred to a US Marshall prisoner in Austin to be tried for the death of the O'Hairs family.
After three weeks of trial, Karr was found guilty of conspiracy to blackmail, traveling between countries to commit acts of violence, money laundering and interstate transport on the cost of property stolen in connection with the case of O'Hair. However, he was released from a kidnapping conspiracy, because O'Hairs's corpse was not found at the time. Karr was sentenced to two life sentences in August 2000 by US District Judge Sam Sparks. Waters was arrested and found guilty of kidnapping, robbery and murder in the case of O'Hair, and sentenced to 80 years in prison; he was also ordered to repay a total of $ 543,665 to United Secularists of America and to the estates of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Murray O'Hair. It is unlikely that this debt is paid, because Waters does not have the ability to earn money while in jail. Waters died of lung cancer at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, on January 27, 2003.
In January 2001, after his conviction and imprisonment, Waters told the federal agency that O'Hair was buried in a Texas farm, and then took them to the body. When law enforcers were dug there, they discovered that O'Hairs' s body had their legs cut off with a saw. Remnants show extensive mutilation and decomposition as the identification must be done through dental records, DNA tests and, in the case of Madalyn O'Hair, prosthetic hip notes from Brackenridge Hospital in Austin (product numbers identified by his body). Danny Fry's head and hands are also found on the site.
The golden coin squeezed from O'Hairs was put into an unsecured storage locker hired by Waters boyfriend, locked with a cheap Guru padlock. Waters had taken a small amount of coins and started partying with his girlfriend for several days with Gary Karr and his ex-wife, but, upon returning to the locker, he found that the remaining gold coins (American eagles, Maple Leafs and Krugerrands) had been stolen. A group of thieves from San Antonio operating in the area had a key for the type of lock his girlfriend bought to secure the locker. In the course of their activities, the thieves had found a locker, used the master key to open it, and found a suitcase full of gold coins. They returned to San Antonio, and with the help of friends turned gold coins into cash. For the efforts of friends, they were taken to Las Vegas for the weekend. The money eventually runs out, but for a coin given as a gift of a pendant to an aunt. The coins were invented by the FBI after Memorial Day 1999 appealed publicly.
There have been some criticisms of the Austin Police Department's apathy about their disappearance. Austin reporter Robert Bryce wrote:
Despite a request from O'Hair's son William J. Murray, briefings from federal agents, and strong guidance developed by members of the press, the Austin Police (APD) sits on the sidelines of O'Hair's investigation... Meanwhile, investigators from the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Dallas County Sheriff's Office worked together on the case that... federal agents were asked to discuss the acts of APD in O'Hair's case. His only response was to roll his eyes in amazement.
Legacy
Madalyn Murray's lawsuit massively led to the abolition of mandatory Bible reading from public schools in the United States, among other enduring and significant effects. Until the lawsuit, it is not uncommon for students to participate in various religious activities while at school, such as reading the Bible and prayer readings, sometimes including the religious instruction itself. Non-religious students are expected to participate in such activities, and are not consistently given the opportunity to opt out, as country-level policies vary. Although students can pray in public schools, even in organized groups, the lawsuit prohibits schools from invoking prayer as mandatory activity.
O'Hair is the subject of the 2006 documentary, Godless in America, documenting his life, atheist activism, disappearance and murder.
The urban legend repeatedly keeps O'Hair's name alive, but his fame still rests on what he has accomplished during his lifetime. In one version of the story, an e-mail claimed "Madeline Murray O'Hare [ sic ] is trying to get television programs like Touched by the Angel and all the Television programs that Mention God taken from the air ". He cites the RM-2493 petition to the Federal Communications Commission, which concerns the prevention of educational radio channels used for religious broadcasting. The petition, denied in 1975, has nothing to do with O'Hair. The variation that recognized his death circulated in 2003, still warns of threats against Touched by Angels a few months after the last episode of the program aired. In 2007, similar e-mails were still reported, 12 years after O'Hair's disappearance and shortly after his death was confirmed.
Variations of 2009 Petition 2493 claimed that O'Hair's organization wanted "Elimination of Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah and other priests from the waves of the air," and James Dobson asked the applicants to send a response and a contribution to "Lisa Norman". Dobson denies any involvement.
The first atheist monument in American government property was inaugurated in 2013 at the Bradford County Courthouse in Florida; it is a 1,500 pound granite bench and pedestal with quotes by O'Hair, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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