Massie trial
The Massie trial refers to a high-profile legal case in Hawaii during the early 1930s, centered around the alleged assault of Thalia Fortescue by several Hawaiian men. Following a troubling marriage to U.S. naval officer Thomas Massie, Thalia claimed she was raped during a Navy event, but her story began to unravel, leading to questions about her credibility. After a mistrial, a desperate attempt to defend Thalia's reputation resulted in her mother, Grace Hubbard Fortescue, Thomas, and two Navy friends kidnapping and ultimately murdering one of the men Thalia accused. The subsequent trial garnered significant media attention, highlighting deep-seated racial tensions and biases against native Hawaiians, as well as societal views on honor and reputation. Despite clear evidence of guilt, the sentences for the defendants were notably lenient, reflecting the prevailing prejudices of the time. The case has been characterized as an "honor killing" by contemporary media, revealing the extreme racism and justification for violence against native populations. The impact of the trial continues to provoke discussions about race, justice, and societal values in American history.
Massie trial
The Event Celebrated murder trial in Hawaii
Dates April 4-29, 1932
Place Honolulu, Hawaii
The Massie trial highlighted the relationship in the Hawaii Territory between U.S. personnel stationed there, the island’s native residents, and other foreigners. The trial also marks the final appearance of Clarence Darrow in a highly publicized trial.
Shortly after sixteen-year-old Thalia Fortescue married U.S. naval officer Thomas Massie, they settled in Hawaii, where Thomas was stationed. Thomas was an up-and-coming naval officer, and his advancement depended on both performance at sea and performance in Navy social circles. Thalia, whose parents were among the social elite of Washington, D.C. (her mother was the niece of Alexander Graham Bell, and her father was a military hero who had served with Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War in 1898), could benefit his career.
However, the marriage was troubled by Thalia’s impetuous and often indiscreet behavior. On September 12, 1931, the couple attended a Navy event at a nightclub. During the evening, Thalia left the party, alone. Thomas later called home and spoke with his wife, who told Thomas “something terrible has happened”—she had been assaulted and raped, she said, by several Hawaiian men.
Police took Thalia’s statement, but she provided few details. A physical examination at a hospital confirmed that Thalia had suffered a broken jaw but not rape. At police headquarters, Thalia remembered the license number of the car her assailants had been driving and the fact that the men were “locals.” The police arrested Horace Ida, the owner of the car, who denied assaulting Thalia, as did the four men who were with him. Thaila stated, however, that one of those men, Joseph Kahahawai, had broken her jaw. Thalia’s story started to unravel when it became clear that she had learned of the car’s license number through police and when it was established that Ida and his friends were across town when the alleged rape occurred.
After a mistrial, Thalia’s mother, Grace Hubbard Fortescue (who had traveled to Hawaii after hearing from Thomas of the assault), Thomas Massie, and two Navy friends kidnapped Kahahawai. They tried to beat a confession out of him, intent on saving Thalia’s (and the family’s) reputation, and one of the group shot him. They were in an automobile, on the way to dump the body, when a police motorcyclist, whose suspicion was aroused by the car’s lowered shades, pulled them to the side of the road. All were arrested for murder.
After family and friends raised money for a defense, celebrated defense attorney Darrow was hired to act on behalf of the accused, but all the defendants were eventually convicted of manslaughter. Nevertheless, the territorial governor commuted Grace’s ten-year sentence to a single hour in his office. This incredibly light “sentence” reflected the biases of the time, which were underscored by newspaper headlines that touted the murder as an “honor killing.” Charges against the four remaining defendants were dropped. Later, the group departed Hawaii via ship. Thalia and Thomas were divorced in 1934; she committed suicide in 1963. Grace lived until 1979.
Impact
Thalia’s accusations, the media’s response to the ensuing trial, and the white outcry against the sentences handed down for the murder cast light on the anti-native sentiment among Caucasians in the islands. The commuted sentences announce the prejudice of the time: There was no question that the perpetrators were guilty; the majority of the white population, particularly among the Navy, felt that the beatings and murder were justified. In fact, Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, the commandant of the Hawaiian naval district, was outraged that the four criminals were not acquitted. The sensational response in the press—which looked on the native Hawaiians as criminals and rationalized the murder as deserved in the name of defending white women’s honor—provides an example of the extreme racism of the time.
Bibliography
Packer, Robert, and Bob Thomas. The Massie Case. New York: Bantam Books, 1966.
Stannard, David. Honor Killing: How the Infamous “Massie Affair” Transformed Hawaii. New York: Viking, 2005.