Sacco-Vanzetti case

Murder trial in Massachusetts, USA, 1920-21. Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco (1891-1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888-1927) were convicted of murder during an alleged robbery. The conviction was upheld on appeal, with application for retrial denied. Prolonged controversy delayed execution until 1927. In 1977 the verdict was declared unjust because of the judge's prejudice against the accuseds' anarchist views.

The two accused men were philosophical anarchists who had evaded the draft in World War I. Protests were made from many quarters arguing that the two were victims of the Red Scare. Modern ballistics evidence suggests that one of the fatal shots was fired from Sacco's gun, but the judge's prejudice against the defendants' political views raised questions about the fairness of the trial. The case was extremely divisive at the time.