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Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case
""Part true-crime thriller, part social history, and an absolute 'page-turner'"" Chicago Tribune In the fall of 1931, Thalia Massie, the bored, aristocratic wife of a young naval officer stationed in Honolulu, accused six nonwhite islanders of gang rape. The ensuing trial let loose a storm of racial and sexual hysteria, but the case against the suspects was scant and the trial ended in a hung jury. Outraged, Thalia's socialite mother arranged the kidnapping and murder of one of the suspects. In the spectacularly publicized trial that followed, Clarence Darrow came to Hawai?i to defend Thalia's mother, a sorry epitaph to a noble career. It is one of the most sensational criminal cases in American History, Stannard has rendered more than a lurid tale. One hundred and fifty years of oppression came to a head in those sweltering courtrooms. In the face of overwhelming intimidation from a cabal of corrupt military leaders and businessmen, various people involved with the case?the judge, the defense team, the jurors, a newspaper editor, and the accused themselves?refused to be cowed. Their moral courage united the disparate elements of the non-white community and galvanized Hawai?i's rapid transformation from an oppressive white-run oligarchy to the harmonic, multicultural American state it became. Honor Killing is a great true crime story worthy of Dominick Dunne?both a sensational read and an important work of social history
712 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1977
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May 10, 2010I have mixed feelings about this book. As malihini, I appreciated the history and the cultural analysis. As a former victim advocate and current prosecutor, I found some of the book annoying.
Basically, it's the story of how a Caucasian woman accused local men of rape, and how that accusation was probably untrue, but a race-based prosecution ensued. My main problem with the book is how the author could have made his point by exposing the bad police work (suggestive ID, violating witness exclusionary rule, etc.). But he goes beyond that and pushes some rape myths.
Regardless of whether local men raped the woman, the undisputed fact is that she was found by the side of the road in the wee early morning hours with a bloody face. Maybe she did blame the assault on local men out of racism, but the fact is someone beat her.
Anyway, in an attempt to expose the racism of the ensuing rape prosecution, the author has to make the case that the alleged rapists were innocent. So the author does what every defense lawyer does in every sex assault trial -- hates on the woman -- described as a physically disabled, ugly, fat stupid drunk slut with mental problems. The main man alleged to have raped her, on the other hand, is this noble athlete (who previously had a different girl (as in, underage) accuse him of rape (but that accusation was totally false, too, because she was a slut, just like the woman who accused him later was a slut)).
So you can see why the book is annoying. Instead of exposing a racist prosecution by relying on the bad police work, the author throws in a bunch of victim-blaming. A better story would have been, somebody bloodied up this woman, and she couldn't report the real perpetrator because he was probably Caucasian and powerful, so she blamed local men for rape.
Basically, it's the story of how a Caucasian woman accused local men of rape, and how that accusation was probably untrue, but a race-based prosecution ensued. My main problem with the book is how the author could have made his point by exposing the bad police work (suggestive ID, violating witness exclusionary rule, etc.). But he goes beyond that and pushes some rape myths.
Regardless of whether local men raped the woman, the undisputed fact is that she was found by the side of the road in the wee early morning hours with a bloody face. Maybe she did blame the assault on local men out of racism, but the fact is someone beat her.
Anyway, in an attempt to expose the racism of the ensuing rape prosecution, the author has to make the case that the alleged rapists were innocent. So the author does what every defense lawyer does in every sex assault trial -- hates on the woman -- described as a physically disabled, ugly, fat stupid drunk slut with mental problems. The main man alleged to have raped her, on the other hand, is this noble athlete (who previously had a different girl (as in, underage) accuse him of rape (but that accusation was totally false, too, because she was a slut, just like the woman who accused him later was a slut)).
So you can see why the book is annoying. Instead of exposing a racist prosecution by relying on the bad police work, the author throws in a bunch of victim-blaming. A better story would have been, somebody bloodied up this woman, and she couldn't report the real perpetrator because he was probably Caucasian and powerful, so she blamed local men for rape.
September 30, 2009
I really enjoyed reading this book. Even though I knew how it turned out, before I opened the cover for the first time. ‘Honor Killing’ is so very well written and very well researched, that you really get a feel for time and place and people---many appalling people.
Bryan Burrough, coauthor of ‘Barbarians at the Gate’ and author of ‘Public Enemies,’ says it best in his back-cover blurb: “First-rate history that works as true-crime thriller and as a social and political history. Few books make me genuinely angry, but this one did.”
Anger is justified at the incredible miscarriage of justice portrayed in this true story. Injustice, both criminal and social. Stannard paints a wrenching picture of the insidious effects of the waning white / military colonialism that beset the Territory of Hawaii during the first half of the twentieth century, and of its impact on real people and cultures.
And no people, unfortunately, were more real, too real, than that sorrowful, despicable excuse for a young woman: Thalia Massie. I’m not one to ever applaud suicide, but I could truly wish that hers had come some thirty years sooner. What a waste of a person. And I can’t think too much more kindly of her mom.
Recommendation: ‘A riveting, page-turner’ (says the Chicago tribune): For all who enjoy their reading real, up-close and personal.
Also recommended, with reference to this same tragedy: ‘Rape in Paradise,’ by Theon Wright; ‘Honolulu’ a novel by Alan Brennert; and ‘The Massie Affair: American Experience’ a PBS Home Video, available from Netflix.
Bryan Burrough, coauthor of ‘Barbarians at the Gate’ and author of ‘Public Enemies,’ says it best in his back-cover blurb: “First-rate history that works as true-crime thriller and as a social and political history. Few books make me genuinely angry, but this one did.”
Anger is justified at the incredible miscarriage of justice portrayed in this true story. Injustice, both criminal and social. Stannard paints a wrenching picture of the insidious effects of the waning white / military colonialism that beset the Territory of Hawaii during the first half of the twentieth century, and of its impact on real people and cultures.
And no people, unfortunately, were more real, too real, than that sorrowful, despicable excuse for a young woman: Thalia Massie. I’m not one to ever applaud suicide, but I could truly wish that hers had come some thirty years sooner. What a waste of a person. And I can’t think too much more kindly of her mom.
Recommendation: ‘A riveting, page-turner’ (says the Chicago tribune): For all who enjoy their reading real, up-close and personal.
Also recommended, with reference to this same tragedy: ‘Rape in Paradise,’ by Theon Wright; ‘Honolulu’ a novel by Alan Brennert; and ‘The Massie Affair: American Experience’ a PBS Home Video, available from Netflix.
January 8, 2010
As today (1/8/2010) marks the 78th anniversary of the murder of Joseph Kahahawai, I've edited this to bump this amazing book up.
I’ve been vaguely aware of the “Massie Affair” for a couple of years now, but it wasn’t until I’d read Alan Brennert’s novel “Honolulu” that I’d decided it was a piece of history I should know more about. In his novel, Brennert weaves elements of the Massie Affair into the narrative and makes Joseph Kahahawai—one of the men falsely accused of rape in that case—a character in his story. After “meeting” Joseph in that novel, I decided that it was time I delve into the details of this dark piece of Hawaiian history. Brennert referenced David Stannard’s “Honor Killing” and so I picked it up and am I glad I did.
Honor Killing tells the story of five men—Joseph Kahahawai, Horace Ida, Ben Ahakuelo, Henry Chang and David Takai—who are accused and tried of raping Thalia Massie, a white woman and navy wife, even though they could not (as trial evidence later revealed) have committed the crime. When that trial ends in a mistrial, Tommie Massie and his mother-in-law Grace Fortescue and two other navy men kidnap Kahahawai and murder him, a crime for which they are convicted and sentenced to 10 years hard labor. Their convictions, however, were commuted by the governor to one hour served in the comfort of the Governor’s office.
Yes, this is a non-fiction work, but it isn’t some dry, scholastic recitation of events long gone by. It is a fascinating and expertly crafted read that really pulls the reader in to the time and place, and Stannard manages to do something that is not all that easy to do in non-fiction: he takes a story to which one already knows the ending and makes it not only readable, but compelling every step of the way. And he does this with an even hand. He doesn’t embellish the facts or sensationalize the events. He keeps the eye of a researcher and historian firmly in place.
With meticulous care, Stannard not only builds Hawaii of that time, but he also gives life, depth and—most importantly--context to the social and political situations that existed in 1930s Honolulu. Stannard doesn’t just rely on society pages and newspaper accounts or the memoirs of those who prosecuted the falsely accused or those who defended Tommie Massie and Grace Fortescue who killed Kahahawai. He digs deeper, constructing full people, both their faults and foibles for public and private records.
In this expert historical study, each person we are introduced to is built from the events and experiences which brought them to the particular place in their lives. Using their own words, the inconsistencies in their own statements, the recollections of others as well as detailed trial transcripts, Stannard creates full people. He doesn’t give us cardboard villains or angelic heroes. The Honolulu of the age is painted as it was…a Paradise, that is if your were one of the privileged white haole, and a tough, poor “neighborhood” if you were of Native Hawaiian or Asian descent.
In the end, Stannard delivers not only an important piece of Hawaiian history, but of U.S. history, a history that should be taught in all American schools. It’s a study of classism, colonialism, and racism. And Stannard manages all this in a riveting yet scholarly manner. Highly recommended.
I’ve been vaguely aware of the “Massie Affair” for a couple of years now, but it wasn’t until I’d read Alan Brennert’s novel “Honolulu” that I’d decided it was a piece of history I should know more about. In his novel, Brennert weaves elements of the Massie Affair into the narrative and makes Joseph Kahahawai—one of the men falsely accused of rape in that case—a character in his story. After “meeting” Joseph in that novel, I decided that it was time I delve into the details of this dark piece of Hawaiian history. Brennert referenced David Stannard’s “Honor Killing” and so I picked it up and am I glad I did.
Honor Killing tells the story of five men—Joseph Kahahawai, Horace Ida, Ben Ahakuelo, Henry Chang and David Takai—who are accused and tried of raping Thalia Massie, a white woman and navy wife, even though they could not (as trial evidence later revealed) have committed the crime. When that trial ends in a mistrial, Tommie Massie and his mother-in-law Grace Fortescue and two other navy men kidnap Kahahawai and murder him, a crime for which they are convicted and sentenced to 10 years hard labor. Their convictions, however, were commuted by the governor to one hour served in the comfort of the Governor’s office.
Yes, this is a non-fiction work, but it isn’t some dry, scholastic recitation of events long gone by. It is a fascinating and expertly crafted read that really pulls the reader in to the time and place, and Stannard manages to do something that is not all that easy to do in non-fiction: he takes a story to which one already knows the ending and makes it not only readable, but compelling every step of the way. And he does this with an even hand. He doesn’t embellish the facts or sensationalize the events. He keeps the eye of a researcher and historian firmly in place.
With meticulous care, Stannard not only builds Hawaii of that time, but he also gives life, depth and—most importantly--context to the social and political situations that existed in 1930s Honolulu. Stannard doesn’t just rely on society pages and newspaper accounts or the memoirs of those who prosecuted the falsely accused or those who defended Tommie Massie and Grace Fortescue who killed Kahahawai. He digs deeper, constructing full people, both their faults and foibles for public and private records.
In this expert historical study, each person we are introduced to is built from the events and experiences which brought them to the particular place in their lives. Using their own words, the inconsistencies in their own statements, the recollections of others as well as detailed trial transcripts, Stannard creates full people. He doesn’t give us cardboard villains or angelic heroes. The Honolulu of the age is painted as it was…a Paradise, that is if your were one of the privileged white haole, and a tough, poor “neighborhood” if you were of Native Hawaiian or Asian descent.
In the end, Stannard delivers not only an important piece of Hawaiian history, but of U.S. history, a history that should be taught in all American schools. It’s a study of classism, colonialism, and racism. And Stannard manages all this in a riveting yet scholarly manner. Highly recommended.
August 16, 2022
Outstanding! Well researched, historical and thorough account of Hawaii, and its most infamous trial.
October 7, 2007
This is textbook material - more people need to know about this case and the role of colonization and every -ism you can think of in Hawaii. Less focus on Pearl Harbor and hula dance classes, please! If you've spent time in Waikiki, this'll be a definite eye opener as you see familiar street names...
August 13, 2010
Interesting story but VERY slow. Too many details bog down the story line.
November 19, 2010
In 1931, Thalia Massie, the young wife of a Navy lieutenant stationed at Pearl Harbor, accused five local men of dragging her into a car, repeatedly raping her, and dumping her on the side of the road. Although all the men had solid alibis, Thalia's own doctor found no evidence of rape, and even law enforcement officials came to believe that she had fabricated the story, the effort to prosecute the men was spearheaded by Admiral Stirling Yates, commandant of the 14th Naval District, and Walter Dillingham, a wealthy and politically influential businessman. Their main interest was not in obtaining justice for Thalia; rather, they wanted to use the case to convince the federal government to establish a commission form of government in the then-territory of Hawaii, strip non-white residents of Hawaii of their U.S. citizenship, and ensure that power remained with The Big Five, a group of sugarcane processing corporations who dominated in Hawaii politics. In addition to pursuing prosecution, a media campaign extended to the mainland press, claiming the Massie case was merely one of dozens of assaults on "white, American womanhood" perpetrated by local men.
When the rape case against the five men (Horace Ida, David Takai, Henry Chang, Ben Ahakuelo, and Joseph Kahahawai) resulted in a hung jury and mistrial, Thalia's husband Tommie, her mother Grace Fortescue, and two other Navy seamen, kidnapped and murdered Joseph Kahahawai. The evidence against them was, to put it mildly, overwhelming, beginning with the fact that they were in a car with Kahahawai's dead body when they were stopped by police. The defense, led by Clarence Darrow in a sadly ironic end to his career, and the media argued that the murder of Kahahawai was an "honor killing," justified by the racially-mixed jury's unwillingness to convict Kahahawai and the others of rape. In a compromise verdict, the jury in the murder case convicted Fortescue, Massie, and their two co-conspirators of manslaughter with a recommendation for leniency. Initially sentenced to the mandatory ten years in prison, territorial Governor Lawrence Judd, under pressure from President Hoover, commuted their sentences to one hour in the custody of the sheriff, with twenty minutes credit for time served. Many in the white community were outraged that they weren't given full pardons.
Stannard's thesis is that the Massie trials transformed Hawaii and unseated the white oligarchy, but his argument for this is fairly thin. He discusses how the plantation owners would pit their workers against each other by ethnicity, sometimes favoring Japanese over Chinese or Chinese over Filipino in terms of wages and working conditions and then randomly reversing course, in an effort to prevent them from joining forces and unionizing, a result of which was that there was a lot of ethnic prejudice among the different Asian workers. Stannard posits that as a result of the blatant anti-Asian and anti-Hawaiian sentiment displayed by the white minority in power during the time of the two criminal trials that the different groups came to find more common ground amongst themselves. He states, "[a] line was being drawn that signaled an emerging interracial and inter-ethnic unity of consciousness among Hawaii's various people of color whose mutual antagonisms, initially bestowed on them and nurtured by plantation overseers, had for so long kept them apart." But see, no. While plantation owners no doubt exploited and exacerbated the inter-ethnic conflict, they didn't bestow it. Asia has an entire history of conflict separate and apart from the early 20th century sugar cane industry in Hawaii. Stannard also cites as evidence of this new inter-ethnic unity, the development of a "single panethnic Creole that linguistically united" the separate Pidgin dialects. This argument doesn't even make sense. Pidgin develops as a way for people who speak different languages to be able to communicate with each other and it becomes an established creole dialect once its syntactical structure arises. People who speak different languages don't just decide to "linguistically unite," call it a creole, and then use it to talk about Whitey. Stannard did a lot of research, but it wouldn't have killed him to spend an hour talking to a linguist.
Nonetheless, as to research and as a history of the two trials, this is as complete an account as possible. Stannard lists more than 2000 written sources and also interviewed family members of many of the people involved in the two trials (all of the major players themselves being deceased). Stannard's writing style is a little dry, however, and so even though the story itself is fascinating in an awful kind of way, there were times when I found myself a little bored with all of the detail. The book was published on the same day that PBS aired The Massie Affair and the filmmakers and Stannard shared research, but while I would recommend the PBS program to the general viewer, I think the book would probably be a little much unless someone was interested in the history of Hawaii.
When the rape case against the five men (Horace Ida, David Takai, Henry Chang, Ben Ahakuelo, and Joseph Kahahawai) resulted in a hung jury and mistrial, Thalia's husband Tommie, her mother Grace Fortescue, and two other Navy seamen, kidnapped and murdered Joseph Kahahawai. The evidence against them was, to put it mildly, overwhelming, beginning with the fact that they were in a car with Kahahawai's dead body when they were stopped by police. The defense, led by Clarence Darrow in a sadly ironic end to his career, and the media argued that the murder of Kahahawai was an "honor killing," justified by the racially-mixed jury's unwillingness to convict Kahahawai and the others of rape. In a compromise verdict, the jury in the murder case convicted Fortescue, Massie, and their two co-conspirators of manslaughter with a recommendation for leniency. Initially sentenced to the mandatory ten years in prison, territorial Governor Lawrence Judd, under pressure from President Hoover, commuted their sentences to one hour in the custody of the sheriff, with twenty minutes credit for time served. Many in the white community were outraged that they weren't given full pardons.
Stannard's thesis is that the Massie trials transformed Hawaii and unseated the white oligarchy, but his argument for this is fairly thin. He discusses how the plantation owners would pit their workers against each other by ethnicity, sometimes favoring Japanese over Chinese or Chinese over Filipino in terms of wages and working conditions and then randomly reversing course, in an effort to prevent them from joining forces and unionizing, a result of which was that there was a lot of ethnic prejudice among the different Asian workers. Stannard posits that as a result of the blatant anti-Asian and anti-Hawaiian sentiment displayed by the white minority in power during the time of the two criminal trials that the different groups came to find more common ground amongst themselves. He states, "[a] line was being drawn that signaled an emerging interracial and inter-ethnic unity of consciousness among Hawaii's various people of color whose mutual antagonisms, initially bestowed on them and nurtured by plantation overseers, had for so long kept them apart." But see, no. While plantation owners no doubt exploited and exacerbated the inter-ethnic conflict, they didn't bestow it. Asia has an entire history of conflict separate and apart from the early 20th century sugar cane industry in Hawaii. Stannard also cites as evidence of this new inter-ethnic unity, the development of a "single panethnic Creole that linguistically united" the separate Pidgin dialects. This argument doesn't even make sense. Pidgin develops as a way for people who speak different languages to be able to communicate with each other and it becomes an established creole dialect once its syntactical structure arises. People who speak different languages don't just decide to "linguistically unite," call it a creole, and then use it to talk about Whitey. Stannard did a lot of research, but it wouldn't have killed him to spend an hour talking to a linguist.
Nonetheless, as to research and as a history of the two trials, this is as complete an account as possible. Stannard lists more than 2000 written sources and also interviewed family members of many of the people involved in the two trials (all of the major players themselves being deceased). Stannard's writing style is a little dry, however, and so even though the story itself is fascinating in an awful kind of way, there were times when I found myself a little bored with all of the detail. The book was published on the same day that PBS aired The Massie Affair and the filmmakers and Stannard shared research, but while I would recommend the PBS program to the general viewer, I think the book would probably be a little much unless someone was interested in the history of Hawaii.
March 18, 2017
David Stannards book about a case that struck at the heart of Hawaii and left a scar on the community, has perhaps had a resurgence in recent months due to a podcast called 'Offshore'.
Correlating the similarities between a present day case of a haole from the armed services being involved in the killing of a local Hawaiian man, Offshore leans heavily on Stannard's book in order to shed some light on contemporary Hawaii.
But back to the book. There is a lot of care taken to explain annexation, the colonisation of Hawaii and the changes to the landscape when haole men took over. In the 30's, there was still a very strong trade influence, and white men held all the power.
The Massies were a burden on society before they ever made it to Hawaii. When they got there, things only got worse. In an astonishing case of hysteria, Thalia Massie manages to whip up a frenzy across the ocean, when her femininity, and her good standing as a woman is apparently taken away by local Hawaiian men.
One shouldn't be surprised. But there's no attempt to make things right, to at least conceal the very clear racism and vigilantism that occurred in this case. Flying in high profile lawyer Clarence Darrow to help fix the mess they found themselves in, the Massies maintain their societal freedoms, and the real victims are left to live with a shame that they will never be rid of.
It's a long book. There's a lot of law to-ing and fro-ing. It delves into historical facts about Hawaii that are really interesting to read. I think that Stannard has written a comprehensive book about this particular crime in Hawaii and it was thoroughly interesting.
Correlating the similarities between a present day case of a haole from the armed services being involved in the killing of a local Hawaiian man, Offshore leans heavily on Stannard's book in order to shed some light on contemporary Hawaii.
But back to the book. There is a lot of care taken to explain annexation, the colonisation of Hawaii and the changes to the landscape when haole men took over. In the 30's, there was still a very strong trade influence, and white men held all the power.
The Massies were a burden on society before they ever made it to Hawaii. When they got there, things only got worse. In an astonishing case of hysteria, Thalia Massie manages to whip up a frenzy across the ocean, when her femininity, and her good standing as a woman is apparently taken away by local Hawaiian men.
One shouldn't be surprised. But there's no attempt to make things right, to at least conceal the very clear racism and vigilantism that occurred in this case. Flying in high profile lawyer Clarence Darrow to help fix the mess they found themselves in, the Massies maintain their societal freedoms, and the real victims are left to live with a shame that they will never be rid of.
It's a long book. There's a lot of law to-ing and fro-ing. It delves into historical facts about Hawaii that are really interesting to read. I think that Stannard has written a comprehensive book about this particular crime in Hawaii and it was thoroughly interesting.
November 10, 2022
One of the best books on race I have read recently, in part because of the interplay between tourist paradise and a plantation mindset. The same tired racial attitudes and activities appear but in a new light. The attitude of the folks reading from afar, and the ability of Darrow to create and manipulate that attitude is priceless, especially given his carefully curated race hero reputation. The horses here are simply folks following the facts and doing their jobs, and that too is priceless.
July 5, 2018
“Honor Killing” is several books in one: a twisted branch of the Roosevelt family tree; colonial subjugation of Hawaii; Thalia Massie’s claim of rape against 5 native and Asian Hawaiians; fall-out from the rape trial, including the brutal kidnapping and murder of one of the rape defendants by Massie’s husband, mother and a couple of Navy associates, with *their* trial resulting in Clarence Darrow’s last hurrah. Lot to chew on obviously, but historian David R. Stannard is as capable a writer as researcher, and he keeps the narrative humming along. Some of that may be due to the compelling nature of the story, which would be hard for anyone to screw up; for good reason, the Massie saga was one of the biggest stories of the 30s. Still, it must be said that to the Stannard hammer, racism is a nail everywhere in evidence. Racism was endemic to Kentucky, which led the nation in the incidence of lynchings of blacks by whites; Tommie Massie grew up in Kentucky; therefore, Massie was racist. That sort of presumption by Stannard threatens at times to disrupt the narrative. But as I say, a compelling story remains.
Thalia was surely beaten the night in question — she suffered a broken jaw among other injuries — but whether she was sexually assaulted at all, let alone by the 5 defendants she named, is dubious. In Stannard’s telling, she clearly was not. Why she would make up such a tale is a mystery she took to her grave, some 30 alcohol-soaked years later. And separately, why she would name those 5 — whose alibis establish their innocence whatever may have happened to Thalia — is also inscrutable. In any event, the prosecution case was so weak that, despite universal sympathy for Thalia (the defense conceding that she had been raped, but by others unknown) the jury split more or less evenly. I might have been interested to know whether the defense could and should have done more to show that she wasn’t sexually assaulted. Maybe they didn’t ask the right questions of the right people. Stannard doesn’t seem to be occupied by that concern, even as he takes pains to show that medical staff who examined Thalia didn’t think she’d been raped. Maybe Stannard thinks it so obvious that Thalia’s accusation was racist in origin that nothing more need be said on the subject. And if so, maybe he’s right. No way to know. But it seems to me that that begs the question: what happens when a claim of racism runs smack up against the feminist idea that sexual assault victims must be believed? (https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/st...).
The kidnapping and murder of the (innocent) rape defendants remains shocking. It’s a lynching — Stannard’s reference to Emmitt Till is unobjectionable — and all too atavistic. “Honor killing” pretty well sums up the primitive impulse. And here Stannard is unquestionably right to assume that lynchings of non-whites, primarily blacks of course, was common. But what was Clarence Darrow, the venerated promoter of death penalty abolition and social justice, doing advocating in favor of the extrajudicial death penalty, administered by a group of racist thugs? Some questions answer themselves: he needed the money, and he was paid handsomely to urge jurors to invoke what he termed “the unwritten law,” that you can kill someone who has defiled your spouse. And that is what he did. Many of those “jurors” were simply those in the court of public opinion who followed the case avidly, “most of whom,” Darrow exulted after the trial, “are not hampered by absurd rules of law and do not believe statutes are better than human beings.” That the sort of sentiment that makes you think, gee, maybe this guy really did bribe that jury back in Los Angeles in 1911 (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history...). And maybe others we don’t know about and never will.*
*Darrow appeared occasionally in Wisconsin cases, as Dean Strang recounts in his fabulous book, “Worse than the Devil.” Can’t recommend that book strongly enough.
Thalia was surely beaten the night in question — she suffered a broken jaw among other injuries — but whether she was sexually assaulted at all, let alone by the 5 defendants she named, is dubious. In Stannard’s telling, she clearly was not. Why she would make up such a tale is a mystery she took to her grave, some 30 alcohol-soaked years later. And separately, why she would name those 5 — whose alibis establish their innocence whatever may have happened to Thalia — is also inscrutable. In any event, the prosecution case was so weak that, despite universal sympathy for Thalia (the defense conceding that she had been raped, but by others unknown) the jury split more or less evenly. I might have been interested to know whether the defense could and should have done more to show that she wasn’t sexually assaulted. Maybe they didn’t ask the right questions of the right people. Stannard doesn’t seem to be occupied by that concern, even as he takes pains to show that medical staff who examined Thalia didn’t think she’d been raped. Maybe Stannard thinks it so obvious that Thalia’s accusation was racist in origin that nothing more need be said on the subject. And if so, maybe he’s right. No way to know. But it seems to me that that begs the question: what happens when a claim of racism runs smack up against the feminist idea that sexual assault victims must be believed? (https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/st...).
The kidnapping and murder of the (innocent) rape defendants remains shocking. It’s a lynching — Stannard’s reference to Emmitt Till is unobjectionable — and all too atavistic. “Honor killing” pretty well sums up the primitive impulse. And here Stannard is unquestionably right to assume that lynchings of non-whites, primarily blacks of course, was common. But what was Clarence Darrow, the venerated promoter of death penalty abolition and social justice, doing advocating in favor of the extrajudicial death penalty, administered by a group of racist thugs? Some questions answer themselves: he needed the money, and he was paid handsomely to urge jurors to invoke what he termed “the unwritten law,” that you can kill someone who has defiled your spouse. And that is what he did. Many of those “jurors” were simply those in the court of public opinion who followed the case avidly, “most of whom,” Darrow exulted after the trial, “are not hampered by absurd rules of law and do not believe statutes are better than human beings.” That the sort of sentiment that makes you think, gee, maybe this guy really did bribe that jury back in Los Angeles in 1911 (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history...). And maybe others we don’t know about and never will.*
*Darrow appeared occasionally in Wisconsin cases, as Dean Strang recounts in his fabulous book, “Worse than the Devil.” Can’t recommend that book strongly enough.
April 3, 2014
This was pretty fantastic, almost a perfect case study for how to write a micro-history of one event that is incredibly rich in context, while also just riveting in its particulars.
In 1931, navy wife and East Coast society daughter Thalia Massie, stationed with her husband in Honolulu, accuses five non-white men of gang rape. Despite the fact that the evidence indicates they could not possibly have committed the crime--indeed that no crime at all may have been committed--they are all put on trial. Despite extreme pressure to convict by white elites, the trial results in a hung jury. Taking matters into their own hands, Thalia's mother (who had come to Honolulu to be by her side during the trial), husband, and two other navy officers kidnap and murder Joe Kahahawai, one of the men Thalia had accused. They are immediately caught (trying to dispose of the body) and put on trial. Oh, and in his last courtroom appearance, a cash-strapped Clarence Darrow gives up on all of his progressive ideals and agrees to defend the lynchers. The entire "Massie Affair" -- both trials and their aftermath, which I won't reveal here for those who might want to read -- captured the attention of the entire world. (Darrow's closing arguments even went live on the radio across the US.) The whole sordid, rage-inducing affair serves as a pretty phenomenal window into Hawaiian social and political history of the era, and indeed of the years since.
Stannard is a historian who has written a number of academic books before, but here he uses his training to provide the context and then tells a totally fascinating story of crime, lies, race, betrayal, and courtroom drama. Along the way are true acts of courage by people who had lots to lose. I bought this a few years ago and then never actually read it. I'm so glad I finally decided to do so. Just stellar.
In 1931, navy wife and East Coast society daughter Thalia Massie, stationed with her husband in Honolulu, accuses five non-white men of gang rape. Despite the fact that the evidence indicates they could not possibly have committed the crime--indeed that no crime at all may have been committed--they are all put on trial. Despite extreme pressure to convict by white elites, the trial results in a hung jury. Taking matters into their own hands, Thalia's mother (who had come to Honolulu to be by her side during the trial), husband, and two other navy officers kidnap and murder Joe Kahahawai, one of the men Thalia had accused. They are immediately caught (trying to dispose of the body) and put on trial. Oh, and in his last courtroom appearance, a cash-strapped Clarence Darrow gives up on all of his progressive ideals and agrees to defend the lynchers. The entire "Massie Affair" -- both trials and their aftermath, which I won't reveal here for those who might want to read -- captured the attention of the entire world. (Darrow's closing arguments even went live on the radio across the US.) The whole sordid, rage-inducing affair serves as a pretty phenomenal window into Hawaiian social and political history of the era, and indeed of the years since.
Stannard is a historian who has written a number of academic books before, but here he uses his training to provide the context and then tells a totally fascinating story of crime, lies, race, betrayal, and courtroom drama. Along the way are true acts of courage by people who had lots to lose. I bought this a few years ago and then never actually read it. I'm so glad I finally decided to do so. Just stellar.
January 15, 2009
This is a fascinating book about the 1931 Massie affair in which a white Navy wife accused a group of islanders of rape. Navy and business people acted swiftly to try to railroad the alleged rapists, with help from the conservative press, but the prosecution couldn't succeed in getting the jury to convict. Mrs Massie's mother and some sailors who worked for the Massies then kidnapped and killed on of the accused rapists. Clarence Darrow came from the mainland to defend them, arguing that there is a "higher law" that allows a husband to execute his wife's rapist.
I love this kind of history - he describes Hawaii and its politics at the time, and goes into the background of every character in this story. I'd known the history of how Hawaii was taken over by American businesses but hadn't realized the extent to which the Navy controlled things, too.
Stannard argues that this case was the beginning of a liberal trend in Hawaii, as Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, and mixed people came together to support each other and fight discrimination. After the Massie case unions began to organize as mixed-race groups and conservatives were voted out and replaced by liberals.
It's a terrific history and an absorbing mystery.
I love this kind of history - he describes Hawaii and its politics at the time, and goes into the background of every character in this story. I'd known the history of how Hawaii was taken over by American businesses but hadn't realized the extent to which the Navy controlled things, too.
Stannard argues that this case was the beginning of a liberal trend in Hawaii, as Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, and mixed people came together to support each other and fight discrimination. After the Massie case unions began to organize as mixed-race groups and conservatives were voted out and replaced by liberals.
It's a terrific history and an absorbing mystery.
May 31, 2017
Horrifying, like a lot of books that deal with the racism of 90 years ago, but good. In 1931, Thalia Massie, wife of a Navy officer stationed in Hawaii, claimed she'd been raped by five natives. The five guys (a mix of Hawaiian, Chinese and Japanese) the cops picked up were clearly innocent — among other things airtight alibis — but with a white woman accusing them of rape, the prosecution forged ahead. When the trial ended in a hung jury, Thalia's mother and husband tried forcing a confession out of one of the accused, who wound up dead. This "honor killing" became a case celebre as newspapers and politicians on the mainland demanded to know how they could be prosecuted for avenging the supposed attack on Thalia. A very good, detailed look at the two trials and the racist attitudes swirling around them. However Stannard comes close to treating Thalia herself as a McGuffin--no real interest in what did happen to her that night or why she lied.
March 6, 2018
An eye-opening, but sadly unsurprising, account of racism and oppression in Hawaii. It was tough to read — not because of the writing, which was great — but because again and again, the wrongs committed by rich, white people in power resulted in pain, suffering and death of innocent people, especially people of color. And while this trial directly led to positive changes of people of all races working together for a better Hawaii, and while I do believe we have made progress since the 1930s, why is it that today we have not already learned the lessons of the past? Also, Clarence Darrow...he was on the wrong side this time. There goes that hero. Man.
June 20, 2017
Honor Killing tells 2 interesting stories. The first is of the sensational "Massie trial" and its aftermath. The second is of how Hawaiian society evolved from virtually complete domination by whites, the US military, and the "Big Five" corporations to a more egalitarian community. Both tales are gripping and well worth reading. The book's only true flaws are the transitions between these two chronicles, which--especially in the early chapters--are often so jarring that they completely disrupt the narrative flow.
June 22, 2013
I have a weakness for books that lay bare American racism and legal injustices. This book, for me, evokes the most brutal of American racism and US imperialism. It's impossible to be anything but angry and disgusted while reading of these events, but at the same time it's vital for these events not to be lost to the margins of history.
February 5, 2008
Great depiction of how this event and it's contributing circumstances help shape the original "melting pot" of Hawaii.
May 1, 2009
A must read, I loved this book. One sees how it was back then and how things were covered up. Makes one appreciate Hawaii and how people all live in this melting pot of different cultures.
June 16, 2012
Excellent true crime book. A well-written story with lots of interesting details about Hawaii in the 1920s and 1930s.
April 23, 2021
When you read a book by an historian, it's a sure bet you are going to learn a lot about a subject. But will it be too much and too dry? Fortunately, this book by David Stannard is not dry at all; and while he goes off in all sorts of directions, at no time does it seem like he is padding the story with too many details or descriptions. This is a somewhat simple story, actually a lie, that becomes as complex as any story could be.
Thalia and Tommie Massie were a Navy couple with psychological problems and a troubled marriage. She was only 16 when they married and he was 22. In 1931, when she was 20, they were stationed in Hawaii and had attended a party in September of that year. Mrs. Massie left on foot early by herself, ended up with head injuries somehow, and claimed she was beaten and raped by a group of Hawaiian men in a car. With the help of incredibly incompetent police, she ended up identifying five young local guys who had nothing whatsoever to do with her injuries, plus there was no evidence she was raped.
There was evidence galore that the men were not guilty, though, as well as knowledge by many that Thalia Massie had mental, marriage and alcohol problems, but that did not stop the innocent men from being charged. This incident set off like a wildfire on the islands, that spread to the mainland. All the accused had dark skin; as well as Hawaiian, Japanese or Chinese blood; and were being seen by many as Jim Crow liked to see dark-skinned men--rapists of white women, savages, beasts, etc. Rumors were rampant, false accusations were endless, Hawaii was being seen as a totally uncivilized place that should be put under American military rule. The United States Navy was one of the biggest and most despicable propaganda creators and spreaders, too.
Two trials were held--one for the accused men and one for those accused of killing one of those men--Tommie Massie, two sailors and Thalia Massie's mother. The great Clarence Darrow was brought in for the second trial, even though he had been known for fighting for minority clients. He apparently needed the money and always wanted to visit Hawaii. Author David Stannard does a superb job describing all that went on, and describing what life in Hawaii was really like during the time period of the trials.
My only complaint about his telling of the story is he showed no sympathy for genuine rape victims in Hawaii during the time period; which weren't many but still they existed, and two were children. Instead he ended up brushing off those rapes because they offered some proof to the lie that Hawaii had countless rapists running around loose, and real rapes could hurt the chances of the innocent accused men when being tried. I imagine he certainly didn't mean to come across so insensitive, but he did. Other than that, I can't recommend this book enough for those who want to learn about the Massie case, and those who want a vivid picture of the citizens of Hawaii at the time, as well as an outstanding look at the rampant racism in the United States during the 1930s.
P.S. PBS Home Video has a short documentary on the matter entitled American Experience: The Massie Affair. In addition, if you are thinking of a TV movie from the 1980s that reminds you of the Massie case, it's probably Blood And Orchids (1986). The only thing is that movie is so loosely based on the real case that it should not even be associated with the case at all. The only similarity is a Navy wife during the 1930s falsely accuses local guys of the same thing Thalia Massie did. That's it, except for the fact a big honcho lawyer was brought in from the mainland. I personally thought it was a really good TV movie, though.
Thalia and Tommie Massie were a Navy couple with psychological problems and a troubled marriage. She was only 16 when they married and he was 22. In 1931, when she was 20, they were stationed in Hawaii and had attended a party in September of that year. Mrs. Massie left on foot early by herself, ended up with head injuries somehow, and claimed she was beaten and raped by a group of Hawaiian men in a car. With the help of incredibly incompetent police, she ended up identifying five young local guys who had nothing whatsoever to do with her injuries, plus there was no evidence she was raped.
There was evidence galore that the men were not guilty, though, as well as knowledge by many that Thalia Massie had mental, marriage and alcohol problems, but that did not stop the innocent men from being charged. This incident set off like a wildfire on the islands, that spread to the mainland. All the accused had dark skin; as well as Hawaiian, Japanese or Chinese blood; and were being seen by many as Jim Crow liked to see dark-skinned men--rapists of white women, savages, beasts, etc. Rumors were rampant, false accusations were endless, Hawaii was being seen as a totally uncivilized place that should be put under American military rule. The United States Navy was one of the biggest and most despicable propaganda creators and spreaders, too.
Two trials were held--one for the accused men and one for those accused of killing one of those men--Tommie Massie, two sailors and Thalia Massie's mother. The great Clarence Darrow was brought in for the second trial, even though he had been known for fighting for minority clients. He apparently needed the money and always wanted to visit Hawaii. Author David Stannard does a superb job describing all that went on, and describing what life in Hawaii was really like during the time period of the trials.
My only complaint about his telling of the story is he showed no sympathy for genuine rape victims in Hawaii during the time period; which weren't many but still they existed, and two were children. Instead he ended up brushing off those rapes because they offered some proof to the lie that Hawaii had countless rapists running around loose, and real rapes could hurt the chances of the innocent accused men when being tried. I imagine he certainly didn't mean to come across so insensitive, but he did. Other than that, I can't recommend this book enough for those who want to learn about the Massie case, and those who want a vivid picture of the citizens of Hawaii at the time, as well as an outstanding look at the rampant racism in the United States during the 1930s.
P.S. PBS Home Video has a short documentary on the matter entitled American Experience: The Massie Affair. In addition, if you are thinking of a TV movie from the 1980s that reminds you of the Massie case, it's probably Blood And Orchids (1986). The only thing is that movie is so loosely based on the real case that it should not even be associated with the case at all. The only similarity is a Navy wife during the 1930s falsely accuses local guys of the same thing Thalia Massie did. That's it, except for the fact a big honcho lawyer was brought in from the mainland. I personally thought it was a really good TV movie, though.
June 4, 2023
TL;DR: A good, but heavy, read. Honor Killing methodically weaves together Hawaiʻi’s rich history with the pivotal Ala Moana legal case in which a troublesome white woman, Thalia Massie, attempts to center herself by falsely accusing five innocent young native Hawaiian and Asian men of rape.
_______
_______
Having read Honor Killing one Harry Potter book after Bad Blood and The Isis Papers, and less than a month after the death of Carolyn Bryant Donham (Emmett Till) was announced, this book paints a broader stroke of the impact of white colonialism on “brown” races. In fact, as the core events of this book take place, the lynching of Blacks in the mainland is at least a weekly occurrence.
In this recount of a standout legal case, which includes the events that lead up to it and its aftermath, a lie told by Thalia Massie, a haole (white) woman who falsely accuses five “brown” — native Hawaiian, Asian and mixed race — young men of rape, marks a notable shift in the direction of governance, economy and race relations. Though it could easily cross the line into sensationalism, especially given that it’s written by a non-native, Honor Killing narrowly avoids this distinction by taking special care to also tell the broader history of Hawaiʻi and its natives as often as the opportunity arises.
While there were moments where I wanted Stannard to get on with the cases at hand, he intentionally brings Hawaiʻi’s backstory to the foreground, thereby providing a rich context for why this case unfolds the way it does, and why it cannot be viewed as an isolated occurrence, but rather as one that was bound to happen. The amount of context, while too formulaic in structure, sometimes overbearing and occasionally repetitive, is methodical, making increasingly more evident the gravity of the situation. And more, to de-center Thalia Massie as much as possible (nevermind the fact that writing about how her cry left an indelible mark on an island’s history, an idea that would seem to further fuel her and even her mother).
Each case — Ala Moana rape case and subsequent murder case — becomes more volatile and flagrant with the introduction of a new character, bringing their own personal history, whether of royal or common lineage, immigrant or native origin, serviceman or civilian status, racist or inclusive ideology. As much as the island during these times was a melting pot of people and practices, cultures and traditions, it was also a pressure cooker.
Tempting as it was for me to want certain witnesses (esp. the doctor) for the Ala Moana defense team to have told their whole truth, the frustrating reality is that it would not have mattered one way or another: the prosecution and its supporters abandoned all reason for blind “passion” and committed to lies and corruption. No amount of corroborated evidence in favor of the accused would stand a chance against the determination of Ego desperate for recuperation (poster child: Admiral Stirling) and Hatred desperate for a target (poster child: Grace).
The second case — a murder trial to identify and punish those accused of killing an innocent Joseph Kahahawai — read like the movie Chicago: a performance, much as the prosecution worked to steer their part of the charades toward truth, reality and redemption.
If not for my own determination to finish this book, I would have put it down in several places; the trials are wild rollercoasters. It is a tired story of the white woman who screams “rape!”; of the blood-thirsty white men, having been “sitting on ready,” who take up arms en masse to intimidate, sometimes killing, a small few; of supremacist ideology that, even in the face of certain truth, upholds and asserts its manifesto: “White is [always] right.”
As I wrote in my review for Bad Blood, without overshadowing the resistance of the oppressed, it is important to remember the oft too few, sometimes lone, white people in history who boldly counter “the way it is,” like Alabama-born defense attorney William “Bill” Pittman, whose loud and animated courtroom style complimented the quiet yet steadfast approach of formidable Chinese defense attorney William Heen. The accused’s ethnically diverse legal team avoided any focus on race, much as they intimately understood its high seat in the courtroom, and pushed forward with facts and logic only. And John Kelley, prosecutor in the murder case, who was persistent in clearing the boys’ names as much as he could, going so far as to request an independent and thorough investigation from a reputable firm, which ultimately corroborated what even Thalia Massie’s most staunch defenders felt all along: that she had lied, and that there was no evidence to substantiate her outrageous claims.
Inconsistencies in the use of names got confusing in some places. If not for the redundancy of content that could have made the book at least two chapters shorter, then I’d give five stars. A good, but heavy, read. Consider book-ending with something lighter and quicker.
_______
“The Massie case was more than a true-crime drama. It was a pivotal moment in the History of Hawaiʻi, one that exposed a white supremacist social order (both locally and nationwide) and that provided the seedbed for subsequent change throughout the islands.”
— David E. Stannard, Author’s Notes
_______
Having read Honor Killing one Harry Potter book after Bad Blood and The Isis Papers, and less than a month after the death of Carolyn Bryant Donham (Emmett Till) was announced, this book paints a broader stroke of the impact of white colonialism on “brown” races. In fact, as the core events of this book take place, the lynching of Blacks in the mainland is at least a weekly occurrence.
In this recount of a standout legal case, which includes the events that lead up to it and its aftermath, a lie told by Thalia Massie, a haole (white) woman who falsely accuses five “brown” — native Hawaiian, Asian and mixed race — young men of rape, marks a notable shift in the direction of governance, economy and race relations. Though it could easily cross the line into sensationalism, especially given that it’s written by a non-native, Honor Killing narrowly avoids this distinction by taking special care to also tell the broader history of Hawaiʻi and its natives as often as the opportunity arises.
While there were moments where I wanted Stannard to get on with the cases at hand, he intentionally brings Hawaiʻi’s backstory to the foreground, thereby providing a rich context for why this case unfolds the way it does, and why it cannot be viewed as an isolated occurrence, but rather as one that was bound to happen. The amount of context, while too formulaic in structure, sometimes overbearing and occasionally repetitive, is methodical, making increasingly more evident the gravity of the situation. And more, to de-center Thalia Massie as much as possible (nevermind the fact that writing about how her cry left an indelible mark on an island’s history, an idea that would seem to further fuel her and even her mother).
Each case — Ala Moana rape case and subsequent murder case — becomes more volatile and flagrant with the introduction of a new character, bringing their own personal history, whether of royal or common lineage, immigrant or native origin, serviceman or civilian status, racist or inclusive ideology. As much as the island during these times was a melting pot of people and practices, cultures and traditions, it was also a pressure cooker.
Tempting as it was for me to want certain witnesses (esp. the doctor) for the Ala Moana defense team to have told their whole truth, the frustrating reality is that it would not have mattered one way or another: the prosecution and its supporters abandoned all reason for blind “passion” and committed to lies and corruption. No amount of corroborated evidence in favor of the accused would stand a chance against the determination of Ego desperate for recuperation (poster child: Admiral Stirling) and Hatred desperate for a target (poster child: Grace).
The second case — a murder trial to identify and punish those accused of killing an innocent Joseph Kahahawai — read like the movie Chicago: a performance, much as the prosecution worked to steer their part of the charades toward truth, reality and redemption.
If not for my own determination to finish this book, I would have put it down in several places; the trials are wild rollercoasters. It is a tired story of the white woman who screams “rape!”; of the blood-thirsty white men, having been “sitting on ready,” who take up arms en masse to intimidate, sometimes killing, a small few; of supremacist ideology that, even in the face of certain truth, upholds and asserts its manifesto: “White is [always] right.”
As I wrote in my review for Bad Blood, without overshadowing the resistance of the oppressed, it is important to remember the oft too few, sometimes lone, white people in history who boldly counter “the way it is,” like Alabama-born defense attorney William “Bill” Pittman, whose loud and animated courtroom style complimented the quiet yet steadfast approach of formidable Chinese defense attorney William Heen. The accused’s ethnically diverse legal team avoided any focus on race, much as they intimately understood its high seat in the courtroom, and pushed forward with facts and logic only. And John Kelley, prosecutor in the murder case, who was persistent in clearing the boys’ names as much as he could, going so far as to request an independent and thorough investigation from a reputable firm, which ultimately corroborated what even Thalia Massie’s most staunch defenders felt all along: that she had lied, and that there was no evidence to substantiate her outrageous claims.
Inconsistencies in the use of names got confusing in some places. If not for the redundancy of content that could have made the book at least two chapters shorter, then I’d give five stars. A good, but heavy, read. Consider book-ending with something lighter and quicker.
June 12, 2021
The year is 1931. Something happened in Honolulu to a 20-year-old woman named Thalia Massie. To this day, we don't know exactly what happened to her on the night of September 12. Her face was swollen and bloody, and there was some blood at the neck of her party dress but otherwise her pretty green dress was not torn or dirty when she flagged down a car that night and asked the riders if they were white. She asked because she couldn't see very well, especially at night. Thalia was rather comely, but not really beautiful. She had the "pop eyes" that went with an iodine deficiency. (This was before salt was routinely iodized.) She seems to have been "a bit on the heavy side". She drank heavily, from the time she was married at the age of sixteen and may have been drunk when the good Samaritans picked her up and drove her home. . Apparently Thalia had her share of both emotional and physical health problems. She wouldn't normally have been anyone's first choice as a reliable witness in a court case, let alone a kind of glamorous popular figure. Nevertheless, within a short time, Thalia Massie became a kind of tragic heroine in the popular press on the Mainland, USA, and in much of the English language press in Hawaii.
She said she was kidnapped, dragged into a lonely spot off the road, and gang raped by a group of native Hawaiians. When she first reported the crime to the police, she was unable to describe any of her assailants or the car they were in, except to say it was an old car - dark, with a torn roof.
On the same evening, five young non-white men, including two native Hawaiians, were involved in a very public traffic altercation in another part of Honolulu.
Shortly after that night, Thalia was hospitalized and sometime after September 12, her memory improved to an amazing degree. She said the very people involved in the traffic incident were the ones who beat and raped her - and she could even remember most of the numbers of the license plate on their new tan-coloured Ford.
Although Thalia was definitely injured. She had a cut lip and a broken jaw. There was no hard medical or forensic evidence that she had been raped or that any of the five young men had been sexually active that night. Still, the country overwhelmingly believed Thalia.
This is a book well worth reading as it exposes how news can be faked, a group can be demonized, and people can, consequently, be judged guilty in the court of public opinion, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and how the "right" people can literally get away with murder. In fact, I even found some other sources that were still on the side of Thalia to this day. The murder of a 22-year-old named Joseph Kahahawai was "punished" by an hour's detention and a cup of tea. It was an "honor killing".
She said she was kidnapped, dragged into a lonely spot off the road, and gang raped by a group of native Hawaiians. When she first reported the crime to the police, she was unable to describe any of her assailants or the car they were in, except to say it was an old car - dark, with a torn roof.
On the same evening, five young non-white men, including two native Hawaiians, were involved in a very public traffic altercation in another part of Honolulu.
Shortly after that night, Thalia was hospitalized and sometime after September 12, her memory improved to an amazing degree. She said the very people involved in the traffic incident were the ones who beat and raped her - and she could even remember most of the numbers of the license plate on their new tan-coloured Ford.
Although Thalia was definitely injured. She had a cut lip and a broken jaw. There was no hard medical or forensic evidence that she had been raped or that any of the five young men had been sexually active that night. Still, the country overwhelmingly believed Thalia.
This is a book well worth reading as it exposes how news can be faked, a group can be demonized, and people can, consequently, be judged guilty in the court of public opinion, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and how the "right" people can literally get away with murder. In fact, I even found some other sources that were still on the side of Thalia to this day. The murder of a 22-year-old named Joseph Kahahawai was "punished" by an hour's detention and a cup of tea. It was an "honor killing".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2018
David E. Stannard's Honor Killing examines the ugly racially charged Massie murder case in 1930s Hawaii, where a white naval officer shot and killed a native Hawaiian accused of raping his wife (having been acquitted for lack of evidence; the story has a real Passage to India feel where it's impossible to tell what really happened). The book's account of the crime and the various resulting trials are gripping enough, but the real meat comes in Stannard's exploration of the sociopolitical context. He demonstrates how much Hawaii, at that point in its history, was a true colony fueled by racism and exploitation, still evolving into its current incarnation as a tourist trap; how the white press whipped up irrational resentment against perennially underprivileged but mostly docile and hard-working Asian immigrants; how the crime led to a national outcry, a military mobilization and a cartoonishly overblown fear of insurrection and foreign invasion; the sideshow trial where Clarence Darrow, of all people, soiled his reputation by defending Massie on the grounds that murdering alleged rapists is justified. It would be almost amusing if it weren't all so sad and sickening; like Nelson Denis's book on Puerto Rico, it demonstrates in graphic detail how much American acts like an imperial power, even in its seemingly more benign overseas adventures.
June 25, 2019
I haven’t read a book where I so much wanted to see how it all turned out, while thinking it was utterly dry and slow. It was an interesting read, as I live in Hawaii and I could understand a lot of the issues that were brought up. But sloooow.....
I also was brought to moments of very deep anger when my eyes were open to the disgusting degree of white supremacy that existed on the islands and in America in general in the early 20s. Absolutely unfathomable and disgusting. I just cannot comprehend how much was stolen by the whites. How many lies were told to condemn people and abuse people only because their skin was a different color. Makes me sick. I would say more but I don’t want to give anything away. Definitely glad I read it, but also glad I’m finally done.
I also was brought to moments of very deep anger when my eyes were open to the disgusting degree of white supremacy that existed on the islands and in America in general in the early 20s. Absolutely unfathomable and disgusting. I just cannot comprehend how much was stolen by the whites. How many lies were told to condemn people and abuse people only because their skin was a different color. Makes me sick. I would say more but I don’t want to give anything away. Definitely glad I read it, but also glad I’m finally done.
January 7, 2018
First of all, ignore the subtitle... Hawai'i had been (and continues) transforming for decades, which the book documents. The "Massie Affair" brought to light many of racial problems that still exist in Hawai'i, but the last 30 pages, which describe how Hawai'i was changed but the case seem to be added as an afterthought.
This is one of the best researched books I've ever read. The trials are riveting. My biggest complaint is the Stannard can be repetitive and long winded. For example, he presents several headlines and new articles that were printed on the mainland about the case, but he presents pages of them, even though they are all similar in tone.
An excellent read.
This is one of the best researched books I've ever read. The trials are riveting. My biggest complaint is the Stannard can be repetitive and long winded. For example, he presents several headlines and new articles that were printed on the mainland about the case, but he presents pages of them, even though they are all similar in tone.
An excellent read.
November 22, 2019
I first heard about this book from a wonderful podcast called Offshore; stories about the real Hawaii. If you haven't listened to them, you must! https://www.offshorepodcast.org/episo... that's the first episode of season 1. Definitely listen to ALL of the seasons though (https://www.offshorepodcast.org)
A murder in 2013 between a white government employee (christopher Deedy) and a Hawaiian man (Kollin Elderts) at a McDonald's in Waikiki paralleled this story and made many references to this book. I had to read it.
Wow! What a great book! It went through a lot of detail of the trials, the history of the case, the people's lives. This book has a lot of good Hawaiian history in it & boy it made me mad. Thalia Massie & her mother Grace as well as Thomas Massie are some pretty big scum in my opinion. The lies. The white supremacy & entitlement of the white people in leadership/power was eye opening & sad. Oh & don't forget the greedy traitor/hipocrite Clarence Darrow! UGH!! The corruption in the HPD. So sad for the Hawaiians. I am so embarrassed to be a caucasian sometimes with all our awful history of oppression and entitlement.
Lots of good info in this book to quote.
A murder in 2013 between a white government employee (christopher Deedy) and a Hawaiian man (Kollin Elderts) at a McDonald's in Waikiki paralleled this story and made many references to this book. I had to read it.
Wow! What a great book! It went through a lot of detail of the trials, the history of the case, the people's lives. This book has a lot of good Hawaiian history in it & boy it made me mad. Thalia Massie & her mother Grace as well as Thomas Massie are some pretty big scum in my opinion. The lies. The white supremacy & entitlement of the white people in leadership/power was eye opening & sad. Oh & don't forget the greedy traitor/hipocrite Clarence Darrow! UGH!! The corruption in the HPD. So sad for the Hawaiians. I am so embarrassed to be a caucasian sometimes with all our awful history of oppression and entitlement.
Lots of good info in this book to quote.
May 20, 2017
I was turned onto this story through a season of the "Offshore" podcast which discussed a current shooting in the context of this case in Hawaii's history. Stannard's retelling is thoroughly researched and well-told, in spite of the numerous characters and complex relationships. You will be tempted to skim through the sections on Hawaii's natural, political, and social history, but resist the temptation. This material in instrumental in understanding how the Massie case came to be, and why it lingers. What you can skim is the first trial, which is a meticulous retelling of testimony and evidence we have already heard, and have already been told is weak and false. When Clarence Darrow arrives in the last third of the book, it starts itself over as a mini-biography before we get back to his unexpected defense of the Massies. It began to drag then, so close to the end.
December 19, 2020
It took a lot longer to get through this than I initially expected. While it could have simply been a salacious tale of jazz age decadence, the author takes care to dig into the white supremacy that allows this kind of travesty to happen time and again from The Scottsboro Boys, to the Central Park Five and the myriad of all other racial injustices perpetrated by the colonizing class.
March 26, 2017
In the first half of the book, chapters end artfully, leaving the reader eager to pick up the story. However, the subtitle of the book (how the infamous Massie Affair transformed Hawaii) allowed the author to continue past the natural endpoint of this woeful piece of history. Well researched and overly long.
April 4, 2018
Fantastic true-crime story about two sensational trials in 1930s Hawaii. More of a detailed academic style than might appeal to some people, but all the background details on Hawaiian history and race relations of the day were fascinating.
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