MOST CONTROVERSIAL INNOCENCE CASES OF PRISONERS EXECUTED IN THE USA
PART 1 - The Sacco and Vanzetti case
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian-bornanarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during the armed robbery of a shoe factoryin South Braintree, Massachussets, United States in 1920.
As Italian immigrants and anarchists, both adhered to a movement that advocated relentless warfare against a violent and oppressive government.
A controversial trial in 1921 resulted in the men's conviction, despite equivocal ballistics evidence and numerous witnesses who claimed Sacco had been in Boston's North End and Vanzetti in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the day of the robbery. To explain why they had been found armed when arrested, both defendants had to recount their anarchist beliefs in court, leading to suspicions that this may have prejudiced the jury.
After a few hours' deliberation, the jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty of first-degree murder on July 14, 1921. A series of appeals followed, funded largely by a private Sacco and Vanzetti Defense Committee. The appeals were based on recanted testimony, conflicting ballistics evidence, a prejudicial pre-trial statement by the jury foreman, and a confession by an alleged participant in the robbery. All appeals were denied by the original trial judge and eventually by the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. By 1925, the case had drawn worldwide attention. As details of the trial and the men's suspected innocence became known, Sacco and Vanzetti became the center of the largest cause celebre in modern history. In 1927, protests in their behalf were held in every major capital in the Western World, as well as Tokyo, Sydney, and Johannesburg.
Celebrated writers, artists, and academics pleaded for their pardon or at least for a new trial. Harvard law professor and future Supreme Court justiceFelix Frankfurter argued for their innocence in a widely read Atlanti Monthly article that was later published in book form. Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to death in April 1927, accelerating the outcry.Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair on August 23, 1927.
As Italian immigrants and anarchists, both adhered to a movement that advocated relentless warfare against a violent and oppressive government.
A controversial trial in 1921 resulted in the men's conviction, despite equivocal ballistics evidence and numerous witnesses who claimed Sacco had been in Boston's North End and Vanzetti in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the day of the robbery. To explain why they had been found armed when arrested, both defendants had to recount their anarchist beliefs in court, leading to suspicions that this may have prejudiced the jury.
After a few hours' deliberation, the jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty of first-degree murder on July 14, 1921. A series of appeals followed, funded largely by a private Sacco and Vanzetti Defense Committee. The appeals were based on recanted testimony, conflicting ballistics evidence, a prejudicial pre-trial statement by the jury foreman, and a confession by an alleged participant in the robbery. All appeals were denied by the original trial judge and eventually by the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. By 1925, the case had drawn worldwide attention. As details of the trial and the men's suspected innocence became known, Sacco and Vanzetti became the center of the largest cause celebre in modern history. In 1927, protests in their behalf were held in every major capital in the Western World, as well as Tokyo, Sydney, and Johannesburg.
Celebrated writers, artists, and academics pleaded for their pardon or at least for a new trial. Harvard law professor and future Supreme Court justiceFelix Frankfurter argued for their innocence in a widely read Atlanti Monthly article that was later published in book form. Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to death in April 1927, accelerating the outcry.Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair on August 23, 1927.
More on the most controversial innocence cases in the history of the death penalty
Part II - Bruno Hauptmann
Part III - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Part iV - Caryl Chessman
Part V - Since the nineties: Carlos del Luna, Cameron Todd Willingham, Troy Davies
Learn more about possible cases of wrongful convictions today
