Singer commits suicide

in Hawaiian prison

By Ed Rampell

FAMED Hawaiian musician Mackey Feary was found hanged in his cell with a bedsheet at Halawa prison, Oahu, on February 20. The beloved lead singer of Kalapana had been sentenced in January to 10 years behind bars. Samoan judge Faaonga To’oto’o gave Feary the maximum sentence allowable by law for violating the terms of his probation following six months behind bars for drugs. Feary violated probation by terrorizing his former wife, Dana Lee Feary, smashing the windshield of her auto and demanding money for drugs. Feary also test ed positive last October for the drug crystal methamphetamine, or “ice”, and was permit ted to enter a residential drug treatment pro gram. But by January, he flunked another drug test, and was expelled from the pro gram.

Feary had pleaded to the court for treat ment, but received the maximum sentence instead. Questions about Feary’s suicide, just days after the popular, handsome 42 year old musician returned to jail, are being raised.

Feary left a scathing suicide note addressed to his attorney, asking: “please don’t let my death be in vain. Publish this letter with as much media exposure as possible. Let the world know how unfair the State of Hawaii is to those of us with our special type of med ical problem”.

To Deputy Prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado, he left these chilling words: “May you bum in hell and be judged also.” And to Circuit Court Judge To’oto’o: “may God judge you just as partially as you have judged others”.

Critics say that Feary had a history of sui cidal tendencies, and was taking a prescribed, legal anti-depressant drug. In 1996, he tried to hang himself with a T-shirt at the Pearl City police facility. The Feary family is suing the State, claiming authorities were negli gent. Hawaii’s Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said that Feary was not considered a

suicide risk. Law enforcers claimed that Feary refused to take responsibility for his actions, and blamed everyone but himself for his woes.

Kalapana emerged in the 1970 s as part of the Hawaiian Renaissance, along with other musical groups such as Cecilio & Kapono and Olomana (one of its members also died a drug-related death). Mackey was Kalapana’s lead singer and songwriter. Kalapana’s hits included Nightbird, The Hurt, For You Fd Chase a Rainbow, Juliette, and Moon and Stars. Kalapana toured the Pacific Islands; this writer saw Kalapana in Guam in the 1980 s. There, Kalapana was inspired by a lovely Chamorro village to pen the poignant ballad ‘lnarajan’, which pays homage to this traditional Guamanian hamlet.

The singer/writer was laid to rest March 6 at a funeral at Kaneohe’s Hawaiian Memorial Park attended by many, including numerous Hawaii musicians. Comrades such as Brother Noland performed at the services. Kalapana bandmate Malani Bilyeu appropriately played an acoustic version of ‘Nightbird’.

Popular Hawaiian deejay Brickwood Galuteria eulogized Mackey as “Hawaii’s Paul McCartney”.

After the burial, balloons inscribed with the lyrics, ‘Nightbird, fly on’, were released, as the crowd held hands, sang Hawaii Aloha, and watched the balloons soar above the Koolau Mountain range.

Just days after Mackey’s suicide, another inmate was found hanged at the same Oahu prison. On the morning of February 23, a man from the island of Molokai, who is believed to be Native Hawaiian, apparently hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell.

This is the fourth prisoner who died by apparently hanging himself with a bedsheet in a Hawaii prison in just five weeks.

Three of them, including Feary, died at Halawa, an overcrowded, underfunded prison outside of Honolulu, disproportionate ly filled with Polynesian prisoners. ■