Sacco-Vanzetti Trial

Sacco-Vanzetti Trial 

a trial in the USA of the revolutionary workers Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, natives of Italy who were falsely accused of murdering a paymaster and a guard at a shoe factory on Apr. 15, 1920, in South Braintree, Mass. The trial, which was accompanied by harassment of workers’ organizations and other progressive organizations, began in June 1920 in Plymouth, Mass. On July 14, 1921, a court of handpicked jurors, relying on distorted “expert” testimony and on testimony from perjurers, returned a verdict of guilty for Sacco and Vanzetti, who were sentenced to death.

Contrary to trial procedures in the USA and the convincing arguments of the defense, Judge Thayer of Massachusetts and federal judicial bodies denied all petitions for a review of the case. The court’s decision gave rise to widespread protests in the USA and throughout the world. However, none of the appeals brought results. On Aug. 23, 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti were electrocuted.

SOURCE

The Letters of Sacco and Vanzetti. New York, 1928.

REFERENCES

Zhizn’i smert’ Sakko i Vantsetti. Moscow-Leningrad, 1929. (Translated from English.)
Val’ton, E. T. Delo Sakko i Vantsetti. Moscow-Leningrad. 1927.
Joughin, G. L., and E. M. Morgan. Nasledie Sakko i Vantsetti. Moscow, 1959. (Translated from English.)

V. L. MAL’KOV