Earth Day’s Dark Past
I was watching a stupendous documentary from the series Investigative Reports on the A&E channel on cable the other day and learned a new fact. The show was a rerun of the 1998 film “Peace, Love, and Murder.”
Review Summary
This documentary, part of the Investigative Reports series from A&E, examines the story of hippie-turned-fugitive Ira Einhorn. Narrated by host and producer Bill Kurtis, this episode looks at the life of the radical who played a major role in the antiwar peace and love movement of the 1960s. In 1977, Einhorn was arrested after his girlfriend was found murdered. With the help of some of his powerful associates, Einhorn was able to flee the country and escape incarceration for 20 years. After police caught up with him in France in 1997, Einhorn still managed to allude jail time. Investigative Reports interviews some of the people who have been involved in this case through the years, including law enforcement officials, lawyers, and members of the victim’s family who would like justice to be served. ~ Cecilia Cygnar, All Movie Guide
One thing jumped at me. Ira Einhorn, the killer, is also Ira Einhorn the organizer of the very first Earth Day in Philadelphia in the the 1970s.
CrimeLibrary.com confirms the report.
The Magic City Morning Star even has a piece from two years ago titled, “Ira Einhorn, Earth Day’s Dirty Secret.”
If you read a lot to true crime, as I do, you know all about Ira and the murder of his girlfriend, Holly Maddux.
And if this is not weird enough for you, Einhorn’s attorney was ARLEN SPECTOR. Yup, that Arlen Spector.
Arrested, Einhorn’s attorney was considering a run for the Senate. His name was Arlen Spector, of Pennsylvania. The darling of New Age society, politicians, Ivy League professors, and corporate executives alike, Einhorn had no shortage of friends during his bail hearing. With his great love for the earth, surely Ira would not have murdered anyone. Released on a mere $40,000 bail, of which he had to pay only ten percent, Einhorn fled to Sweden, remaining as a fugitive in Europe until 1997, when he was found living in France under another name.
While a fugitive, Einhorn was convicted in absentia in 1993, and sentenced to life in prison. The government of France, however, refused to extradite Einhorn unless the death penalty was taken off the table and he was promised a new trial. Eventually, this was agreed upon. Ira Einhorn, the founder of Earth Day, was once again convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Today, we celebrate Earth Day, sacrosanct, proclaimed by none other than our Republican President George Bush, and every president since 1975, when President Ford first proclaimed and urged observance of Earth Day on the March equinox.
We’re living in a time where wacky is in, and life doesn’t mean very much.
While it is likely that Einhorn’s violent history is not shared by other Earth Day founders, the observance is nevertheless bizarre.
There you have it.
