The truth behind the local horror story of Morgan’s Corner recounts the trial, retrial and eventual pardoning of James Majors and John Palakiko, two young men sentenced to hang for accidentally killing Therese Wilder in her home near Morgan’s Corner off the old Pali road.

One of the most renowned criminal cases in Hawaiʻi of the 20th century, it was the Majors-Palakiko case that helped bring an end to the death penalty.

Morgan’s Corner is an original play dealing with bias, prejudice and inequity, told in five, often radically different, perspectives. Anyone with an interest in local history will want to see this suspenseful, historically based crime-drama.

Written and directed by Taurie Kinoshita.

Historic background

In 1948, two young men named John Palakiko and James Majors broke into the home of wealthy widow Therese Wilder, searching for food. They tied her up and left, and five days later her housekeeper found her dead.

The ensuing uproar over the death of this white woman was sensational. Acting prosecutor John Desha, once secretary to Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, was replaced for following the rule of law and refusing to seek the death penalty. John Palakiko was beaten by police, being forced to confess and make false statements. Evidence exonerating Majors and Palakiko from a first degree murder charge went missing, and the judge allowed unsigned documents to be entered as evidence.

Despite all these irregularities, Majors and Palakiko were sentenced to hang and lost their Supreme Court retrial case. After years of struggle and thousands of citizens writing in, Majors and Palakiko’s sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

This case highlights the disparity of justice in death penalty cases. People of different races were categorically treated differently by the criminal justice system—especially if the crime was a person of color against a white person.

Morgan’s Corner takes place in 1954 on the eve of Majors’ and Palakiko’s third scheduled execution. The story is told from five radically different perspectives: Prosecutor Hite, Detective Stevens, original Prosecutor Desha, James Majors (falsely accused of rape) and John Palakiko (beaten by Stevens into confessing).

This Rashomon-style (told from different perspectives) intellectual thriller deals with bias, politics, prejudice and the criminal justice system.

November 8, 9, 14, 15 at 7:30pm |  November 10, 17 at 3:00pm