A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow

by Mike Farris

Overview

Lies, murder, and a legendary courtroom battle threaten to tear apart the Territory of Hawaii.

In September of 1931, Thalia Massie, a young naval lieutenant’s wife, claims to have been raped by five Hawaiian men in Honolulu. Following a hung jury in the rape trial, Thalia’s mother, socialite Grace Fortescue, and husband, along with two sailors, kidnap one of the accused in an attempt to coerce a confession. When they are caught after killing him and trying to dump his body in the ocean, Mrs. Fortescue’s society friends raise enough money to hire seventy-four-year-old Clarence Darrow out of retirement to defend the vigilante killers. The result is an epic courtroom battle between Darrow and the Territory of Hawaii’s top prosecutor, John C. Kelley, in a case that threatens to touch off a race war in Hawaii and results in one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history.

Written in the style of a novel, but meticulously following the historical record, A Death in the Islands weaves a story of lies, deception, mental illness, racism, revenge, and murder—a series of events in the Territory of Hawaii that nearly tore apart the peaceful islands, reverberating from the tenements of Honolulu to the hallowed halls of Congress, and right into the Oval Office itself, and left a stain on the legacy of one of the greatest legal minds of all time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510712157
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	332
File size:	960 KB

About the Author

Mike Farris is a commercial litigator and entertainment lawyer in Dallas, Texas. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, and is on the faculty at the La Jolla Writers Conference. His books include Front Row Seat: A Veteran Reporter Relives the Four Decades that Shaped America and Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood. Farris lives in Sunnyvale, Texas.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Part 1 Thalia Massie and the Ala Moana Boys

Chapter 1 The Woman in Green "Are you white people?" 3

Chapter 2 The Ala Moana Boys "Something terrible has happened." 8

Chapter 3 The Accusation "A woman was assaulted by a man." 14

Chapter 4 The Physical Examination "Clean as a new pin." 25

Chapter 5 Thalia's Statement "Now look at your beautiful work." 34

Chapter 6 Rounding Up the Boys "It was a car like that." 47

Chapter 7 The Identification "Our first inclination is to seize the brutes and string them up on trees." 55

Chapter 8 The Alibi "Do you know this is Bennie?" 63

Chapter 9 The Lawyers "The district attorney was too deaf to conduct a trial." 69

Part 2 Territory of Hawaii V. Ben Ahakuelo, Et Al

Chapter 10 Thalia for the Prosecution "I started to pray and that made him angry and he hit me very hard." 79

Chapter 11 The Prosecution Continues "I was instructed to keep that under cover." 93

Chapter 12 The Prosecution Rests "… the prosecution has utterly failed to prove its case." 102

Chapter 13 The Timeline "A white man was following her." 115

Chapter 14 Tying Up Loose Ends for the Defense "She said, 'I am positive they were Hawaiians because of the way they spoke.'" 121

Chapter 15 The Defendants Speak "Were you afraid she was going to choke you to death?" 131

Chapter 16 Rebuttal "… two men held this arm and she tried to get away from these men." 146

Chapter 17 Sending the Case to the Jury "The most damnable thing in the history of the Territory …" 152

Part 3 A Death in the Islands

Chapter 18 Somewhere Over the Pali "The Shame of Honolulu" 165

Chapter 19 The Abduction "Life is a mysterious and exciting affair." 172

Chapter 20 Disposing of the Body "I then noticed a human leg sticking out of the white bundle." 186

Chapter 21 A Funeral in the Islands "Poor Kahahawai, these haoles murdered you in cold blood." 194

Part 4 Territory Of Hawaii V Grace Fortescue, Et Al

Chapter 22 Turning State's Evidence "I never should have pulled that shade down." 205

Chapter 23 Judge Cristy and the Grand Jury "God has not left this world for an instant." 214

Chapter 24 The Heavyweights "[H]e has a damn fine jury personality-when he's sober." 226

Chapter 25 The Finger of Doom "Is Joseph alive?" 232

Chapter 26 Tommie's Story "Don't let him get me!" 236

Chapter 27 The Man Who Fired the Gun "We can trace those impulses back to the cradle." 246

Chapter 28 Delirium with Ambulatory Automatism "What right does he have to say that I don't love you?" 257

Chapter 29 Closing Arguments "Three able men and a cold calculating woman …" 266

Chapter 30 Custody of the High Sheriff "We, the jury, in the above entitled cause find the defendant …" 274

Part 4 Epilogue

Chapter 31 The Pinkerton Report "It has been shown that the five accused did not have the opportunity to commit the kidnapping and rape described by Mrs. Massie " 285

Chapter 32 What Really Happened? "Blasted careers, ruined lives, tragedy, and death." 294

Source Notes 305

Bibliography 309

Index 312

Editorial Reviews

“The best part about this very engaging book is its riveting portrait of Clarence Darrow. He is of course one of history’s most famous lawyers, but I didn’t feel that I really knew him until now.”
—S.C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of the Summer Moon, and Rebel Yell

“The Hawaiian sun is the only thing that shines bright in this compelling narrative. I couldn’t put the book down.”
—Laurence Leamer, author of The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan

“An enthralling tale of rape, murder, and injustice in 1930s Hawaii that starts out as a police procedural and evolves into a courtroom drama starring one of the greatest lawyers who ever lived—and he’s not even the best one in the courtroom. Irresistible.”
—James Donovan, bestselling author of A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn, the Last Great Battle of the American West

“This spellbinding book reads like a novel but has been meticulously researched to reveal the truth about one of Hawaii's and Clarence Darrow's most controversial cases. Mike Farris opens the lid on this real-life legal thriller with a brilliant command of the facts and a captivating writing style.”
—William Bernhardt, author Challengers of the Dust

“What a cast of characters: heavyweight trial attorneys, headstrong military leaders, grandstanding politicians, a scheming socialite, and five young men falsely accused of rape. And it’s all set in paradise: Hawaii in the 1930’s. It's hard to find a story with such narrative drama and courtroom excitement, but Mike Farris has done it.”
—Skip Hollandsworth, author of The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer

“Take an exotic setting, a hidden mystery, courtroom theatrics and an engrossing cast of characters, and you have all the elements for a terrific yarn. Mike Farris combines a lawyer’s knack for meticulous research with a novelist’s gift of dramatic storytelling. The result is a fascinating—and outrageous—tale that was lost until now. Farris brings it all to life wonderfully.”
—Doug J. Swanson, author of Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker

“Mike Farris has written an absolutely riveting book about a 1931 Hawaiian case that is remarkably analogous in many ways to the far better-known Scottsboro Boys. It, too, featured dramatic false charges of gang rape that played on the racial divisions. Most surprising is that one of the villains was Clarence Darrow; equally surprising, at least for some readers, will be the courage not only of a local judge, but also of police officers who recognized that those charged with the crime were in fact being framed. Farris draws on extant trial transcripts and newspapers, but he adds to these a novelistic recreation of the unfolding of the events in the lives of their participants.”
—Sanford Levinson, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution

“This compulsively readable tale reads like a legal thriller but is, in fact, a shocking look back to an era we must never forget. Even today, we hear echoes of this injustice. The names and faces may change, but the sad truth remains that we are not all judged equally under the law.”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times-bestselling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series

“A riveting page-turner where a wife of a Navy officer falsely claims she was raped by several Hawaiians. It’s Scottsboro in Honolulu—both in 1931. After a hung jury the commanding admiral at Pearl Harbor proclaims ‘the trial in my opinion and many others was a stupid miscarriage of justice which could have been avoided if the Territorial Government had shown more inclination to sympathize with my insistence of the necessity of a conviction.’ Then the story gets even better.”
—Lucas A. Powe, Jr., author of The Supreme Court and the American Elite, 1789–2008

“This book is better than the best crime fiction I have read and more informative than the best criminal justice non-fiction I have studied. The real-life characters, historic truths, and lessons learned in this book about our criminal justice system and its flaws, are extraordinary and meaningful, but even they are overwhelmed by the sheer joy and suspense of this wonderful book. Bravo.”
—Joe Cheshire, defense attorney in the Duke Lacrosse Case

“With a writer’s touch for mystery and suspense, and an attorney's keen insight, Mike Farris documents a gripping true story of lies and deceit and injustice that I dare you to put down. A Death in the Islands will surprise you, grip you, and keep you up reading late into the night. Put this one on your ‘must’ list, clear a weekend, and start turning the pages.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave

“A Death in the Islands is a gripping story of injustice and legal misconduct, a compulsive page-turner that reads like a true-life film noir. An accomplished attorney himself, Michael Farris casts a sharp light onto issues of sex, race and class in ’30s-era Hawaii that continue to resonate in today’s troubled political times. His unsparing portrait of an opportunistic Clarence Darrow is only one of several major surprises in a narrative of sustained suspense. The story of the Ala Moana boys is more than a cautionary tale; it's an indictment of an entire society that leaves you brimming with outrage.”
—Kirk Ellis, writer/co-executive producer, HBO’s John Adams

“The best part about this very engaging book is its riveting portrait of Clarence Darrow. He is of course one of history’s most famous lawyers, but I didn’t feel that I really knew him until now.”
—S.C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of the Summer Moon, and Rebel Yell

“The Hawaiian sun is the only thing that shines bright in this compelling narrative. I couldn’t put the book down.”
—Laurence Leamer, author of The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan

“An enthralling tale of rape, murder, and injustice in 1930s Hawaii that starts out as a police procedural and evolves into a courtroom drama starring one of the greatest lawyers who ever lived—and he’s not even the best one in the courtroom. Irresistible.”
—James Donovan, bestselling author of A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn, the Last Great Battle of the American West

“This spellbinding book reads like a novel but has been meticulously researched to reveal the truth about one of Hawaii's and Clarence Darrow's most controversial cases. Mike Farris opens the lid on this real-life legal thriller with a brilliant command of the facts and a captivating writing style.”
—William Bernhardt, author Challengers of the Dust

“What a cast of characters: heavyweight trial attorneys, headstrong military leaders, grandstanding politicians, a scheming socialite, and five young men falsely accused of rape. And it’s all set in paradise: Hawaii in the 1930’s. It's hard to find a story with such narrative drama and courtroom excitement, but Mike Farris has done it.”
—Skip Hollandsworth, author of The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer

“Take an exotic setting, a hidden mystery, courtroom theatrics and an engrossing cast of characters, and you have all the elements for a terrific yarn. Mike Farris combines a lawyer’s knack for meticulous research with a novelist’s gift of dramatic storytelling. The result is a fascinating—and outrageous—tale that was lost until now. Farris brings it all to life wonderfully.”
—Doug J. Swanson, author of Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker

“Mike Farris has written an absolutely riveting book about a 1931 Hawaiian case that is remarkably analogous in many ways to the far better-known Scottsboro Boys. It, too, featured dramatic false charges of gang rape that played on the racial divisions. Most surprising is that one of the villains was Clarence Darrow; equally surprising, at least for some readers, will be the courage not only of a local judge, but also of police officers who recognized that those charged with the crime were in fact being framed. Farris draws on extant trial transcripts and newspapers, but he adds to these a novelistic recreation of the unfolding of the events in the lives of their participants.”
—Sanford Levinson, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution

“This compulsively readable tale reads like a legal thriller but is, in fact, a shocking look back to an era we must never forget. Even today, we hear echoes of this injustice. The names and faces may change, but the sad truth remains that we are not all judged equally under the law.”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times-bestselling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series

“A riveting page-turner where a wife of a Navy officer falsely claims she was raped by several Hawaiians. It’s Scottsboro in Honolulu—both in 1931. After a hung jury the commanding admiral at Pearl Harbor proclaims ‘the trial in my opinion and many others was a stupid miscarriage of justice which could have been avoided if the Territorial Government had shown more inclination to sympathize with my insistence of the necessity of a conviction.’ Then the story gets even better.”
—Lucas A. Powe, Jr., author of The Supreme Court and the American Elite, 1789–2008

“This book is better than the best crime fiction I have read and more informative than the best criminal justice non-fiction I have studied. The real-life characters, historic truths, and lessons learned in this book about our criminal justice system and its flaws, are extraordinary and meaningful, but even they are overwhelmed by the sheer joy and suspense of this wonderful book. Bravo.”
—Joe Cheshire, defense attorney in the Duke Lacrosse Case

“With a writer’s touch for mystery and suspense, and an attorney's keen insight, Mike Farris documents a gripping true story of lies and deceit and injustice that I dare you to put down. A Death in the Islands will surprise you, grip you, and keep you up reading late into the night. Put this one on your ‘must’ list, clear a weekend, and start turning the pages.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave

“A Death in the Islands is a gripping story of injustice and legal misconduct, a compulsive page-turner that reads like a true-life film noir. An accomplished attorney himself, Michael Farris casts a sharp light onto issues of sex, race and class in ’30s-era Hawaii that continue to resonate in today’s troubled political times. His unsparing portrait of an opportunistic Clarence Darrow is only one of several major surprises in a narrative of sustained suspense. The story of the Ala Moana boys is more than a cautionary tale; it's an indictment of an entire society that leaves you brimming with outrage.”
—Kirk Ellis, writer/co-executive producer, HBO’s John Adams

From the Publisher

11/01/2016
Attorney and novelist Farris tells the story of Thalia Massie, who asserted that she was raped by five Hawaiian boys in September 1931. Following a hung jury, Thalia's husband, her mother, and two naval sailors took matters into their own hands. They abducted one of the defendants in an attempt to beat a confession out of him and killed another. Attorney Clarence Darrow used the "honor killing" defense in a time when there was high racial tension between the white minority and Hawaiians. The four individuals were convicted of manslaughter, but military and political pressure, including from President Herbert Hoover, called upon the territorial governor to intervene. To avoid martial law and boycott from the navy, the defendants' sentence was commuted to just one hour in custody. While this book reads like a novel, it has been meticulously researched through trial transcripts, police reports, and case materials. However, Farris admits in his introduction that he took some liberties in setting the scenes and dialog, which makes it hard to determine what was really said and what was embellished. VERDICT John P. Rosa's Local Story is a better source for the accurate history, but libraries should consider buying this title as a companion to Rosa's book.—Michael Sawyer, Daytona Beach, FL

Library Journal