Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case [Mass Market Paperback]

David E. Stannard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

In 1931 Hawai‘i, Thalia Massie, the aristocratic wife of a naval officer, accused five nonwhite men of gang rape. When the trial ended in a hung jury, Thalia’s mother arranged for one of the suspects to be murdered—an act sanctioned by sympathetic whites as an “honor killing.” The ensuing murder trial, Clarence Darrow’s last, enthralled the nation and exposed the shocking realities of a Hawaiian “paradise.” This is the riveting story behind one of the pivotal scandals of American history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This story has all the elements of the most salacious of true crime stories—rape, a contract killing, racism and two sensational trials just for starters. But the larger social-historical ramifications are significant and thought provoking. Stannard (American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World), a professor of American studies at the University of Hawaii, places at the center of the tale wealthy debutante Thalia Massie, wife of naval officer Tommie, who moved with him to the "Paradise of the Pacific" in the late 1920s to start married life. A wild child with a history of chain-smoking and hard drinking, Thalia was profoundly bored with the pace and atmosphere of the islands and carried on in a highly unsuitable manner. On a September night in 1931, after leaving a party for some fresh air, Thalia claimed to have been raped by a group of young islanders. Prejudices on both sides were inflamed, and their trial ended in a hung jury. Thalia's aristocratic mother, Grace Fortescue, then arranged the abduction and murder of one of the alleged rapists, and her legendary but unlikely legal defender was no less a figure than Clarence Darrow. Stannard's measured storytelling and meticulous research yield dividends for the reader, and chapter notes provide some of the most interesting tidbits. Agent, Susan Rabiner. (On sale Apr. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In 1931, when a young socialite, the wife of a naval officer stationed in Honolulu, accused six islanders of rape, it set off a storm of racial controversy that mirrored the fevered atmosphere of the mainland, one that often ended with the lynching of black men accused of rape. Despite enormous pressure brought to bear by a corrupt police department, the U.S. military, the press, and business interests, the rape trial ended in a hung jury. The accuser, Thalia Massie, her husband, Tommie, and her publicity-seeking mother reacted by arranging for the kidnapping and murder of one of the accused men, a killing to protect the honor of white women. The sensational murder trial, which captured the attention of the mainland and the world, featured Clarence Darrow for the defense, a move that ruined his reputation as a progressive. Stannard masterfully portrays the personalities involved--socialites, native Hawaiians, politicians--and the growing tensions in the islands as a polyglot of ethnicities clashed with rising commercial and military interests. Stannard interweaves the tense courtroom drama with absorbing analysis of the 150-year history of race relations in Hawaii, showing how the Massie trial helped to transform race consciousness in paradise. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143036637
• ISBN-13: 978-0143036630
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Abuse & Self Defense > Rape

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous read, May 2, 2005

By 

Amika (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honor Killing: How the Infamous "Massie Affair" Transformed Hawai'i (Hardcover)

I picked up Honor Killing to read on the beach, and I got so engrossed that I ended up with a terrible sunburn. It's like 2 books wrapped into 1. On the one hand, it's a true-crime page-turner--with rape, murder, colorful characters, unexpected plot twists, and two nail-biting trials. On the other, it transports you back to a Hawaii you never knew existed. I learned about U.S. swashbuckling in the Pacific, the dispossession of Native Hawaiians, slavery-like sugar plantations, and a seething cauldron of race relations. By the end, I had not only been entertained but inspired. I came to think about Hawaii, civil rights, and even American democracy in new ways. Honor Killing is an exceptionally compelling book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Account of Race in Hawaii...and the U.S., May 23, 2005

By 

olihist "Ollie" (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honor Killing: How the Infamous "Massie Affair" Transformed Hawai'i (Hardcover)

David Stannard's "Honor Killing: How the Infamous 'Massie Affair' Transformed Hawaii" is a powerfully written narrative about an event that has been largely forgotten in both Hawaii and the U.S. Stannard painstakingly recounts the story of Thalia Massie and her alleged rape by four local Hawaiians. Joseph Kahahawai, one of the four accused, was subsequently murdered at the hands of Thalia's vengeful mother and husband after the trial ended in a hung jury. This set the stage for a classic courtroom battle between the renown criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow and relatively unknown prosecutor John Kelley. Stannard places the Massie Affair within the historical context of the Great Depression and prevalent racial attitudes in both Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland. His poignant conclusion alludes to the tremendous social changes that have made Hawaii into one of the most diverse and accepting States in the U.S. The Massie Affair, like the Sacco-Vanzetti trial and the murder of Emmett Till, were cases whose significance extends far beyond the courtroom or detective novel.

Throughout his account, Stannard makes references to the discrimination and lynching of African Americans in the South. The connection seems difficult to make at first, considering that African Americans were legally prohibited from using the same schools and restrooms as whites, forced to sit at the back of the bus, and the constant target of harassment by rich and poor white alike.

The Hawaiian and Asian populations may not have experienced this degree of overt discrimination, but they were still seen as a major threat, especially by the white oligarchy that had ruled Hawaii since its annexation in 1898. Sugar planters exploited ethnic tensions between their Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese laborers to keep wages low and discontent from shifting towards them. As more and more plantation workers settled into crowded shantytowns on the outskirts of Honolulu, they joined disenfranchised native Hawaiians and began to forge a culture that transcended racial barriers. The Massie Affair united these formerly disparate groups against the white oligarchy, who was increasingly seen as the source of their repression.

The charges against the three surviving accused rapists were dropped. Thalia's mother and husband, along with two sailors, were convicted by a mixed-race jury, but had their sentences commuted after intense pressure on the local governor. The Massie Affair was soon obscured by the Great Depression, the Lindbergh Kidnapping, and the rise of Hitler. For the people of Hawaii, however, the Massie Affair marked the beginning of a twenty-year long struggle to overturn the dominant white oligarchic elite. Contemporary Hawaii was forged in the courtrooms of the Hale Ali'iolani.

Stannard's concise yet incredibly detailed account of the Massie Affair is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about Hawaii beyond Pearl Harbor, beach boys, or luaus. "Honor Killing" is an invaluable contribution to the story of Race in modern America. It is also a reminder that vigilance, more than ever, is needed to ensure that Justice and the rule of Law are not sacrificed to the fleeting demands of today.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trial of the Century - Iron Chef, May 7, 2005

By 

Iron chef (Chicago Illinois) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Honor Killing: How the Infamous "Massie Affair" Transformed Hawai'i (Hardcover)

Neearly everyone in Hawaii knows about the Massie trial. Virtually no one on the continent is aware of the trial and its legacy of racism and white privilege. Although there are several journalistic accounts of the alleged rape of Thalia Massie and the lynching of Joe Kahahawaii, Honor Killing now stands as definitive.

Local reader who think they know something about this case will be surprised at the level of detail and nuance that Stannard brings to this well worn tale. A scrupulous and intreprid researcher, Stannard has combed through new sources and re-intepreted old ones, shedding new light on this story locals are already familiar with.

Mainland audiences will be surprised by the twists and turns in this case which in 1931 was the crime of the century. (The case enjoyed an unprecedented level of publicity and press which very nearly set the stage for the next "crime of the century - the Lindbergh kidnapping.) Admirers of Clarence Darrow, defender of the downtrodden, may be chagrined at Darrow's apparent lack of scruples in taking on these clients who readily admitted their guilt. And most Americans will be surprised to learn that the island paradise of Hawaii came close to being a police state.

This book is a page turner, but also reflects a scholarly attention to historical nuance and detail. You may want to read it on the beach, but maybe not a beach in Hawaii.