Sacco-Vanzetti Case
A mid-afternoon armed robbery of a shoe company in South Braintree, Massachusetts leaves a paymaster and security guard dead. What followed this unremarkable crime was unpredicted by most, it would become one of the most famous trials in American history and a huge case in understanding forensic crime detection.
The two men shot were Fred Parmenter and Alessandro Berardelli, they had taken sever shots as they attempted to move the payroll boxes of their New England shoe company. The two armed thieves were identified as italian and fled in a Buick. The car was found several days later and evidence found suggested a man named Mike Boda was involved in the robbery. However this man had already fled the country in route to Italy. The police did catch his colleagues, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who each possessed loaded weapons at the time of their arrest. Sacco had the same type of weapon used to kill the security guards with bullets from the same manufacturer as those used to kill the two workers. In addition Vanzetti was identified as a participant in a previous robbery.
Both men were anarchists who believed that social justice would only occur through the destruction of governments. In the 1920s America developed a fear of communism and radical politics that resulted in an anti-immigrant hysteria. They used this fear to their advantage by getting support from the left wing with claims that the prosecution was politically motivating. Millions were raised in their defense and bombings even ensued because of this case. This money helped create a great defense, bringing forth more than 100 witnesses to testify on their behalf. However the crucial issue was the ballistic tests on the murder weapon possessed by Sacco. Prosecution experts claimed it was the murder weapon while defense experts stated otherwise. Whatever the case the two men were found guilty on July 14, 1921 and were given the death sentence.
More controversy ensued as a result of the verdict imposed on the two men. As they waited for death row a jailhouse confession by another criminal stirred more controversy. However better forensic advances proved without a doubt that the weapon Sacco was carrying was indeed the murder weapon. In August 1927 the two men were finally executed. However the new evidence still didn't halt all the controversy. In October 1961 and again in March 1983, more investigations were conducted but both came to the same verdict. On August 23, 1977, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a statement that Sacco and Vanzetti had not received a fair trial.
