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SACCO and VANZETTI
The Sacco and Vanzetti trial of 1921 was infamous for its disregard and violation of civil liberties. The Red Scare following World War I was at its zenith, causing rampant xenophobia. During this cultural climate, two Italian immigrant anarchists and atheists were charged with the double murder and $15,766.51 robbery of a paymaster and security guard in South Braintree, Massachusetts.
Bartolomeo Sacco and Nicola Vanzetti, a shoemaker and fish seller, respectively, were known followers of violent anarchist Luigi Galleani. Though Galleani and 8 of his associates were deported in 1919, about 60 militants waged class warfare in retaliation. As resident aliens of the United States, Sacco and Vanzetti were not subject to conscription; yet, they followed Galleani to Mexico to dodge the draft. Their unpatriotic behavior would be used against them by the prosecution. Sacco and Vanzetti always proclaimed their innocence. Sacco said at the time of the crime he was in Boston having dinner with friends (anarchists), and that earlier in the day he sought a passport at the Italian consulate. A consulate employee testified on his behalf. Vanzetti said he was selling fish when the crime occurred. While a few witnesses claimed to have seen Sacco and Vanzetti at the crime scene, most prosecution and defense witnesses said they could not positively identify them.
Bullets, guns, and a cap were presented as material evidence at Sacco and Vanzetti’s trial. Both prosecution and defense called two ballistics experts. Prosecution experts linked the fatal bullet to Sacco’s gun; defense experts testified to the contrary. According to the prosecution, Vanzetti’s gun was stolen. It was traced to a repair shop where the guard had taken it a few weeks before his murder. The defense countered that no record was found showing the gun had been claimed, and the guard’s widow told a friend her husband might not have been killed if he had retrieved his gun. A cap found at the scene was claimed by the prosecution to belong to Sacco. But, it was a size 6 7/8, smaller than the size 7 l/8 cap illegally taken from his home as evidence; when Sacco tried on the cap in court, it was too small. Due to sketchy evidence, many expected the pair to be acquitted. But, after only three hours of deliberation, the jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty of first degree murder.
Popular sentiment for Sacco and Vanzetti concluded their civil liberties had been violated; they were victims of prejudice against Italian immigrants. The trial was believed to have been political rather than criminal. The nativism of the 1919 Red Scare caused the the two men to be prosecuted for their radical ideologies and anarchist activities. The Roaring Twenties' patriotic, ultraconservative jury composition, coupled with improper, prejudicial conduct in and out of the courtroom by Judge Webster Thayer, resulted in an unfair trial for Sacco and Vanzetti. Sacco and Vanzetti’s famed liberal lawyer, Fred H. Moore, led new investigations and garnered support from labor unions and worldwide organizations. Renowned intellectuals, including Upton Sinclair, Dorothy Parker, and Bertrand Russell helped turn the campaign for a new trial into an international cause célèbre. A series of motions, petitions, and appeals were of no avail; the two were put to death in 1927. Sacco and Vanzetti’s executions ignited riots in England, France, and Germany. In the United States, several bombs exploded, including ones placed at the homes of the executioner, a juror, and Judge Thayer.
Bibliography The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti–A Critical Analysis for Lawyers and Laymen, Felix Frankfurter, Little, Brown & Co.,1927 Protest: Sacco-Vanzetti and the Intellectuals, David Felix, Indiana University Press, 1965 The Case That Will Not Die: Commonwealth vs. Sacco and Vanzetti, Herbert B. Ehrmann, Little, Brown & Co., 1969 |
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