Gill Jamieson Murder: Myles Fukunaga, the 1928 Punahou Kidnapping, Race and Hawaii’s Death Penalty

Gill Jamieson. Myles Fukunaga. Punahou. Honolulu, 1928. A ten-year-old boy leaves school after being told his mother has been hurt. He never comes home. Gill Jamieson was more than the child at the center of one of Hawaii’s most disturbing early true crime cases. He traveled with his father, went to birthday parties, learned piano, and had a life that should have stretched far beyond September 18, 1928. Instead, 19-year-old Myles Fukunaga took him from Punahou, killed him, demanded ransom from his family, and confessed after investigators traced the money back to him. But the case did not end with the confession. Fukunaga’s rapid trial, questions about his mental condition, the racial climate of territorial Hawaii, the response of Hawaii’s Japanese community, his appeals, and his 1929 execution turned Gill’s murder into a debate about guilt, due process, race, mental illness, and capital punishment. This episode of Beneath the Palms goes back before the headlines to restore Gill as a child first, while following the full case from kidnapping and investigation through trial, execution, and the questions that remain nearly a century later. Sources and further reading: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser and Hawaii Tribune-Herald historical coverage via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/ Fukunaga v. Territory of Hawaii, 33 F.2d 396 (9th Cir. 1929) https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/33/396/1497158/ Raced to Death in 1920s Hawaii: Injustice and Revenge in the Fukunaga Case, Jonathan Y. Okamura https://academic.oup.com/illinois-scholarship-online/book/33883 Fukunaga case, Densho Encyclopedia https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Fukunaga%20case Myles Fukunaga: Racism in Hawaii, Then and Now, Hawaii Public Radio https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/arts-culture/2019-10-08/myles-fukunaga-racism-in-hawaii-then-and-now Poor Innocent Lad: The Tragic Death of Gill Jamieson and the Execution of Myles Fukunaga, Mike Farris https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Poor-Innocent-Lad/Mike-Farris/9781949135015 Hawaii State Archives https://ags.hawaii.gov/archives/ Preservation Month: Iconic Oahu Cemetery Celebrates its 175th Anniversary, Historic Hawaii Foundation https://historichawaii.org/article/preservation-month-iconic-o%CA%BBahu-cemetery-celebrates-its-175th-anniversary-this-august/ Moiliili Japanese Cemetery, Historic Hawaii Foundation https://historichawaii.org/historic-property-oa/moiliili-japanese-cemetery/ Listener discretion: This episode discusses the kidnapping and murder of a child, suicide and mental-health concerns, racial prejudice, capital punishment, and execution. #GillJamieson #MylesFukunaga #HawaiiTrueCrime #Punahou #TrueCrimeHistory