Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) was a famous and controversial American lawyer.
Following three widely reported trials during the 1920s, he decided to go into retirement.
But in 1932, he was invited to take one final case, even though he had officially retired from the world of legal affairs. The purpose was to defend four persons (a quartet) who were accused of a serious crime.
What was the crime?
How and why was Clarence Darrow coaxed out of his retirement?
The story begins in 1931 in Hawaii which was at that time an American territory (an American colony).
A young white woman Thalia Fortescue had married an American naval officer Thomas Massie who was stationed at Pearl Harbor.
In 1931, the couple went to a party but things were not going well. Thalia left alone. What happened to her after she left? This is a big question.
She claimed she had been attacked and raped by five local men. Was it true? Police officers believed what she said. Some suspects were quickly found.
The prime suspect was Joseph Kahahawai, Jr., who was arrested and charged with the crime.
He denied the charges, but his denial was ignored. In 1931, he was tried in a court of law. Since the jury was unable to reach a verdict, the case was dismissed and Joseph was allowed to walk free.
In 1932, Thalia's mother Grace Fortescue came to Hawaii to take control of the situation. She was convinced that Joseph was guilty. Thalia's husband Thomas Massie agreed with her.
Grace and Thomas were joined by two friends: Edward J. Lord and Deacon Jones. This quartet went looking for Joseph. They wanted to catch him and force him to make a confession.
When they found him, they brought him back to the Massie residence where he was interrogated for a while. Later he was shot and killed.
What about the body? They had to get rid of it. They loaded the body into a car and began driving to a deserted place where the body could be dumped.
But before they reached their destination, they were
stopped by a police officer. When he had looked inside the car, he had to ask them:
“What are you doing with a dead body in your car?”
The four members of the quartet were accused of murder. When this happened, it was time to call for help.
They contacted Clarence Darrow, who was known as the greatest lawyer in America. If anybody could save them, Darrow was the man to do it.
They offered him a huge amount of money: 30,000 dollars. He had retired, but retirement was expensive.
He decided to take the case and the money, even though this case seemed to go against his usual principles about justice and equality.
A rich white woman and three white associates had kidnapped and killed a person of colour.
If Darrow was involved in this case, we would think he would support the prosecution and demand justice for Joseph. But in this case Darrow was on the other side of the fence!
Why was he prepared to defend this quartet of killers? Several answers are possible:
** Perhaps he wanted to have one more time in the limelight?
** Perhaps he needed the money?
** Perhaps money was more important than his principles?
Whatever the reason, he went into action and as it turned out, he was able to help his clients.
They were found guilty. He lost the case. The verdict called for 10
years in prison. But then the governor of Hawaii commuted the sentence to a confinement in the governor's office.
How long was the confinement?
One hour!
Darrow had achieved an amazing result for his clients. They paid him well and they got good value for their money.
When the case was over, Darrow returned to his retirement. He lived until 1938.
His final case was a contradiction of everything he stood for or everything he claimed he stood for.
It was a sad way to end a long career during which he had often used his talents to assist and support the poor person, the person who was up against power and privilege.
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Damned in Paradise
By Max Allan Collins
(1996)
Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow’s Spectacular Last Case
By David E. Stannard
(2005)
Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History
By John P. Rosa
(2014)
A Death in the Islands
By Mike Ferris
(2016)
# 2. Film and video
Blood & Orchids
A historical drama
A miniseries with two episodes
(1986)
The Massie Affair
(2005)
This documentary film is an episode of the long-running program American Experience. It was broadcast again in 2018 under a different title: The Island Murder
# 3. The following item is available online
The website Famous Trials
*****
The Massie Affair
This documentary film premiered in 2005
It is an episode of the long-running program
American Experience
In 2018, it was shown with a different title:
The Island Murder
*****
Honor Killing:
Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's
Spectacular Last Case
By David E. Stannard
(2005)
*****
The defense team and the four defendants
seen when the trial was over
*****
This poster about
what happened to
Joseph Kahahawai
was created by ACLU Hawaii
*****
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