346: The Massie Affair w/ Mike Farris - A True Crime History Podcast

06/10/24 • 76 min

Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

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.

My guest is attorney and professor Mike Farris, author of "A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow". He shares details from this riveting story with us on this most recent episode of Most Notorious.

The author's Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mike-Farris/author/B00BDU8BNY

The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.farris.756859

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The author's Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mike-Farris/author/B00BDU8BNY

The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.farris.756859

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

345: The Folsom Prison Bloody 13 Escape w/ Josh Morgan

On July 27th, 1903, thirteen convicts at California's Folsom Prison, led by Richard "Red" Gordon, attacked prison guards, took hostages, emptied the armory and made a dash for freedom. Some would be captured and punished for the murders they committed along the way, some would be killed themselves, and others would forever elude authorities.

My guest is Josh Morgan, author of "The Folsom Prison Bloody 13: The Big Escape of 1903". He joins me to share details of this epic escape and it's aftermath. The book is officially out on June 3rd.

Pre-order the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Folsom-Prison-Bloody-13-Escape/dp/1467155934

More about the author and his book here: https://www.joshmorganauthor.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

347: The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire w/ Stephanie Schorow

1 Recommendations

On November 28, 1942, fire roared through Boston's famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub during what was supposed to be a high-spirited Saturday night. By midnight, more than five hundred people were dead, dying, or maimed for life.

My guest, Boston historian and author Stephanie Schorow, walks us through the history of the nightclub, the possible causes of the tragic fire, the devastation it caused, and the aftermath. Her book is called "The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire: A Boston Tragedy".

More about the author at her website: https://www.stephanieschorow.com/

Buy the book (and help independent bookstores) here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-cocoanut-grove-nightclub-fire-a-boston-tragedy-stephanie-schorow/18576557?ean=9781467152877

More about the fire here: https://www.cocoanutgrove.org

https://bostonfirehistory.org/the-story-of-the-cocoanut-grove-fire/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices