after his conviction, governor edward l. jackson refused to grant stephenson clemency or commute his sentence. on september 9, 1927, stephenson released lists of public officials who were or had been on the klan payroll. the "indianapolis times" interviewed stephenson and proceeded with an extended investigation of the klan's political ties. (the "times" won a pulitzer prize for public service for its investigative reporting.) this publicity and the state's crackdown on klan activity sped up the decline of the organization by the end of the 1920s. the kkk suffered a dramatic nationwide loss of reputation and its membership rapidly fell from 5 million in 1925; few klan members were counted in the organization's former midwestern stronghold soon after.