A major robbery near Boston in April 1920, resulting in two deaths, became a trial of the century. Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants with anarchistic beliefs, were charged with the crimes. The evidence was mixed, and prejudice infected the proceedings. Sacco, perhaps, was guilty, while Vanzetti was not. Maybe? The jury found them both guilty. Many argued they did not receive a fair trial. Nonetheless, they were later executed.
The Crime
It was mid-afternoon on April 15, 1920, in Braintree, Massachusetts. The small town is famous as the home of John Adams, who was known to defend unpopular people.
A paymaster and his guard were carrying over $15,000, a sizable amount of money even over a hundred years later. Two gunmen stole the payroll, fatally shooting the men.
The gunmen jumped into a nearby automobile. Witnesses said there were four or five men involved. They looked Italian. An automobile, with the license plates removed, was later found nearby. It was likely the same vehicle, especially when the police found out it was stolen.
Sacco and Vanzetti Arrested
The police believed a man recently deported to Italy might be involved.
They investigated and obtained a lead involving an automobile that might have been another getaway car. Mario Buda (Boda) was investigated. Buda acted suspiciously, including when he went to pick up the automobile at the garage. The garage owner’s wife called the police.
Buda fled the scene. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were nearby and boarded a streetcar. They were seen talking in Italian. Two officers arrested them.
Both Sacco and Vanzetti were carrying a gun. The police questioned them. Sacco was absent from his job the day of the robbery. Vanzetti worked for himself.
Vanzetti’s gun was similar to the one taken from the slain guard. Sacco said he was a night watchman, which is why he was armed. Vanzetti, a fish seller, supposedly needed a gun for self-defense, given recent robberies. The police did not find this convincing.
Sacco and Vanzetti later said that they thought the police were questioning them in connection with their political beliefs. They didn’t want to risk being caught or having to incriminate friends who had socialist literature. So, they lied about being anarchists.
They were charged with robbery and murder instead. The police did not believe various things they said. They were caught in various lies, including when Vanzetti obtained his gun.
Sacco and Vanzetti had no previous problems with the law. Now, they were charged with robbery and murder. Vanzetti was also charged with a previous attempted robbery.
Sacco had an alibi for that one.
Doubly Suspicious?
Nicola Sacco was a shoemaker and nightwatchman. He was born in 1891. Sacco was married and had a young son. His wife was pregnant at the time of the arrest.
Bartolomeo Vanzetti was born in 1888. He sold fish and was unmarried. Sacco and Vanzetti met in 1917, part of a group avoiding the draft. They were now friends.
They were both Italian immigrants. A large number of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe immigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th Century.
There was a strong anti-immigrant feeling in the United States. Italian-Americans started to celebrate Columbus Day around this time, partially to show they were patriotic Americans.
Many people feared that the new immigrants had dangerous foreign beliefs. Sacco and Vanzetti were anarchists. Anarchists believed government was a threat to liberty and happiness. People would be able to join together privately to self-govern themselves.
Sacco and Vanzetti were believed to be associated with violent anarchists. Some anarchists supported violent revolution. Mario Buda was probably involved in a series of anarchist-related bombings in 1919. The bombings helped result in an early Red Scare.
Mario Buda was angry that his friends were arrested. He was likely involved in a retaliatory bombing in New York City that killed thirty-eight people. Buda later went to Italy.
The Trials
Vanzetti was found guilty of taking part in an earlier attempted robbery and sentenced to an unusually long sentence. He had many alibi witnesses, but they spoke English poorly and did not convince the jury. Some testimony seemed staged.
The main event was the Sacco-Vanzetti trial. A major difficulty for the prosecution was that the money was never found. There were competing witnesses. A convincing piece of evidence was a ballistics expert who testified that one of the bullets was consistent with Sacco’s gun.
(Years later, modern-day ballistics techniques reaffirmed this testimony.)
Sacco and Vanzetti’s beliefs were also put on trial. The defense argued they were political prisoners, using the media and protests to make the case. It became an international incident. Mussolini, the leader of Italy, thought they were wrongly accused.
They were found guilty after a six-week trial and given the death penalty.
The Appeals
The jury found them guilty on July 14, 1921.
There was a great effort to prove their trial was unfair. Felix Frankfurter, who later became a Supreme Court justice, played a significant role in their defense. Many problems were found with the trials. Celestino Madeiros, a convicted murderer, confessed to the crime and said Sacco and Vanzetti were not involved. The judge refused a request for a new trial.
Many celebrities supported their cause. Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poet, met the governor and wrote an appeal: “I cry to you with a million voices: answer our doubt … There is need in Massachusetts of a great man tonight.”
Everything failed. They were executed on August 23, 1927.
Aftermath
Governor Dukakis, on the fiftieth anniversary of the execution, declared they were unjustly tried and convicted. Many people agree that they did not receive a fair trial.
There is probably more reason to believe that Sacco was guilty. Vanzetti might have had some knowledge about the crime. There were problems with the evidence submitted by both sides.
The whole truth is still debated.