Sacco and Vanzetti: Innocent or Guilty?

The murder case involving defendants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti was one of the most celebrated criminal trials in the United States during the twentieth century. Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian immigrants who had come to America as young men and professed the radical philosophy of anarchism. They were accused of carrying out a robbery of a shoe factory in Braintree, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1920. Two men were killed during the robbery. Sacco and Vanzetti were accused of the crime and were eventually convicted in a trial that was widely regarded as having been unfair. They were sentenced to death. Many people believed in their innocence, however, and their case became a passionate cause for some. However, attempts at proving their innocence and exonerating the two men were unsuccessful. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by the state of Massachusetts in 1927. Though their case is no longer as well known as it once was, Sacco and Vanzetti continue to be regarded by many historians and scholars as having been the victims of injustice. Were Sacco and Vanzetti innocent of the crime of which they were accused? The evidence indicates that the two Italian anarchists were likely not responsible for the crime they were convicted of. Instead, it is probable that Sacco and Vanzetti were wrongfully executed after having received an unfair trial and having their attempts to prove their innocence thwarted by a biased legal and judicial system.