Massie Trial

The Massie Affair was a famous murder trial that took place in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1932, which resulted in Grace Hubbard Fortescue (mother of Thalia Fortescue Massie), charged with manslaughter in the death of Joseph Kahahawai, literally "getting away with murder" due to racism and fear of mob violence.

Related Topics:
Murder - Honolulu, Hawaii - 1932 - Grace Hubbard Fortescue - Thalia Fortescue Massie - Racism

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Grace Hubbard Fortescue was granddaughter of Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of Bell Telephone. Her marriage to Major Granville "Rolly" Fortescue, one of the sons of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, did not leave her as financially successful as she would have wished, but she nevertheless kept up appearances and raised her daughter, Thalia, as a member of the American high society. Her daughter Thalia developed in a pampered atmosphere, expecting to be catered to.

Related Topics:
Bell Telephone - Robert Barnwell Roosevelt - High society

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Thalia married Lieutenant Thomas Massie, an up-and-coming U.S. Naval officer who seemed to be able to offer Thalia the world. A lieutenant's pay proved not to be up to her expectations, and the two were soon at odds. Massie was stationed to Pearl Harbor in 1930, where Thalia considered herself "above" the rest of the officer's wives and soon became an outcast. The marriage, apparently not terribly successful to start with, degenerated into heavy drinking and public fights.

Related Topics:
U.S. Naval - Pearl Harbor

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Massie tired of his wife's behaviour and decided to divorce her. Eventually he gave her an ultimatum: behave or he would go through with the divorce. On September 12, 1931 the couple attended a Navy event at the Ala Wai Inn, a Waikiki nightclub. Far from being well-behaved, Thalia had another run-in which ended with her slapping an officer and then storming out.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 1931

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Massie, not having witnessed the event, assumed she was tired and had gone home. He eventually tried to call her to make sure she was alright; after several calls Thalia finally answered, clearly in a state of shock. Massie returned home where Thalia stated that while walking home she had been assaulted and raped by several men. Massie immediately phoned the police, who arrived to take her statement. Initially she could not provide any details at all, stating that it was too dark to identify any of the men, or to see any details of the car they emerged from.

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Several hours later the story changed. Thalia now not only described the assailants as "locals", but managed to give the police a license plate number. Within hours the police arrested Horace Ida. Ida was not entirely surprised at first, as only a few hours later he had been involved in a near collision while driving his sister's car, which soon resulted in an argument with the other driver and one of his friends eventually slapping the woman. Upon his arrival at the police station the charges with the altercation were never brought up, instead he found to his dismay that he was being charged with rape.

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At first glance the story seemed to hold water. Thalia's license plate was off by only one digit (or letter), and her description of the men, Ida and his friends, was fairly accuate. However it later became known that the police taking Thalia's statement had in fact "told her" both pieces of information, apparently after hearing the name and description from the initial complaint filed by the woman driver.

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Given that the police had no information tying Ida to Thalia in any way, it might seem odd that they would pick him out of the blue. This was due entirely to race. At the time the Hawaiian population consisted primarily of extremely rich US businessmen, US Navy personnel, and a huge number of working poor, mostly Japanese. Racism was a fact of life, notably for the Hawaiians who were often called "niggers". Racial tensions were already high due to the Navy's disquiet about white Navy wives dancing with the locals.

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When the story broke the next day, no one was concerned about the truth. Admiral Yates Stirling, commander of the US Navy presence in the islands, suggested that he simply collect up several Navy men, hunt down the group, and "string them up". In stories printed as the case developed, the local newspapers referred to the men as "thugs," "degenerates," and "fiends", while Thalia was described as "a white woman of refinement and culture."

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As the case developed, cracks in the story immediately appeared. In order to have assaulted Thalia --an event so-far unproven-- it would have been extremely difficult to have then been involved in the near accident, across town. Witnesses soon came forward that reported seeing Thalia followed by a white man only minutes before the alleged assult took place. This information was never reported in the trial that was to follow, nor was the fact that the police planted information. The police themselves were split on the case; many of the detectives were locals who saw the case was a sham, and when they were denied access in the courtroom they started to talk directly to the press.

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Grace Fortescue, enraged by the stories and what she saw as an attempt to sully the name of her daughter and the family, arrived and started a public campaign to attack the defendants. The story threatened to ruin Hawaii's burgoning tourism industry, and Yates was worried that if the story reached the mainland he would be made to look as if he did not have control of the situation. The two groups successfully managed to keep the story out of the mainland press while the trial continued. Yet they also pressed the courts for a quick and aggressive prosecution to placate an enraged Navy and local haole (white) community.

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In court the case quickly fell apart. After a three-week trial and lengthy jury deliberation, the jurors declared themselves deadlocked and a mistrial was declared.

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Grace Fortescue was not willing to wait for another trial, and talked Thomas Massie into kidnapping Joseph Kahahawai with the help of two Navy friends. Kahahawai underwent "interrogation", as Fortescue, Massie and friends attempted to beat a confession out of him; eventually, one of the group of four shot Kahahawai. Debating what to do they eventually decided to dump Kahahawai's body off Koko Head, although he would eventually be found it seemed to them unlikely that anyone would care. They wrapped Kahahawai in a sheet and put him in Fortescue's rented car, pulling down the shades to hide the interior. A police motorcyclist, alerted to the kidnapping, saw the blinds and considered it suspicious. He pulled them over and immediately arrested all four for murder.

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This time the story could no longer be kept under wraps. The mainland press soon started printing stories where the roads go through jungles, and in those remote places bands of degenerate natives lie in wait for white women driving by. The fact that the men had not been convicted of the alleged rape only proved to the mainland press that Hawaii itself was a hotbed of anti-white racial hatred, not that they were innocent. That Fortescue herself had actually admitted to the crime was insubstantial.

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Clarence Darrow, perhaps the most famous lawyer of his era, had been ruined by the great depression and decided to take on the defense for the astonishing sum of $400,000. Unlike the Leopold and Loeb case where the press was insenced by a rumored $1 million fee (which was actually $100,000, split three ways), no one felt that his price was outrageous given the circumstances.

Related Topics:
Clarence Darrow - Great depression - Leopold and Loeb

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Throughout the trial, Thalia attempted to present herself as an innocent victim. This fell apart when the prosecutor, John Kelley, played on her feelings of superiority. This eventually led to her becoming enraged, ripping up a piece of evidence, and storming from the stand. Although this would seem to be a prosecution victory, the courtroom erupted in supportive applause from the spectators.

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The jury, under extreme pressure similar to the Rodney King trial, nevertheless returned a verdict of manslaughter. Racial tensions were so high that everyone had expected another hung jury. The mainland press exploded with even more slanderous stories, and the situation in Hawaii grew even more tense. Martial Law was considered, notably by Yates Stirling, who had considered imposing it from the start.

Related Topics:
Rodney King - Manslaughter - Martial Law

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After a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering between Washington and Honolulu, martial law was avoided. Instead, Territorial Governor Lawrence Judd commuted the 10 year sentences of the convicted killers to one hour, to be served in his office. Days later the entire group, including the Massies, the two other Navy men, Fortescue and Darrow boarded a ship and left the island in turmoil.

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