Sacco and Vanzetti

The 1920s Massachusetts case in which Italian immigrant anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted of robbery and murder and executed. Their trial and appeals became a major controversy over evidence, prejudice, and political justice.

Braintree murders: The 1920 robbery and murders of paymaster Frederick Parmenter and guard Alessandro Berardelli in Braintree, Massachusetts. The crime for which Sacco and Vanzetti were tried and convicted.
Nicola Sacco: An Italian-born anarchist and shoemaker executed in 1927 after conviction in the Braintree robbery and murders. His alleged role in the crime rested heavily on disputed ballistics evidence.
Forensic ballistics: The analysis of firearms, ammunition, and marks to connect bullets or cartridge cases with weapons. The prosecution’s identification of Sacco’s pistol depended on contested firearms comparisons.
Red Scare: A period of intense fear of radicalism and subversion in the United States, especially after World War I. Anti-radical suspicion formed part of the political climate surrounding the prosecution.
Sacco–Vanzetti trial: The 1921 Dedham trial that convicted Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti of the Braintree robbery and murders. Its testimony and conduct became central to later challenges to the convictions.
Bartolomeo Vanzetti: An Italian-born anarchist and fish peddler executed in 1927 after conviction in the Braintree robbery and murders. His conviction drew particular scrutiny because the physical evidence against him was limited.
Trial by jury: A legal procedure in which a jury evaluates evidence and determines disputed facts in a trial. The jury’s verdict became inseparable from arguments about prejudice and courtroom fairness.
Palmer Raids: A series of federal raids in 1919–1920 targeting suspected radicals and immigrants in the United States. The raids illustrate the era’s enforcement climate toward immigrant anarchists.
Celestino Madeiros: A Portuguese immigrant whose confession to the Braintree robbery implicated the Morelli gang and excluded Sacco and Vanzetti. His confession fueled renewed efforts to overturn the verdict.
Luigi Galleani: An Italian anarchist writer and organizer whose followers included Sacco and Vanzetti. Their association with Galleanist anarchism shaped official suspicion and public interpretation.

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