August 23rd marks the 98th anniversary of the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian immigrants that were found guilty of homicide and robbery in 1920 though it is commonly believed that they were innocent. A podcast that expertly examines their case is Criminalia. In the episode, you are given details about their trial and the bias against them. It is very interesting and educational.
In the beginning of the episode, you learn about the the lives of Niccola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Sacco was a craftsman and shoemaker that was fairly well off. Vanzetti was a construction worker and fish seller that was impoverished. Both of them immigrated to the United States in 1908. They were anarchists and followers of Luigi Galleani who published an anarchistic newsletter about overthrowing governments and even provided instructions about making bombs in one of his articles.
On April 15, 1920, there was a robbery at the Slater and Morrill Shoe factory. Around $16,000 was robbed and two men that worked for the factory were killed. Sacco and Vanzetti were on the police radar due to their connection to Galleani and they were arrested after a loose connection was made between them and the getaway vehicle. Sacco and Vanzetti assumed their arrest was due to their political beliefs.
In the podcast episode, you learn about the strong bias against Sacco and Vanzetti in their trial. You learn that the judge overseeing the case allowed the prosecution to use Sacco and Vanzetti’s political beliefs as evidence against them and never censured a juror that made disparaging remarks against the defendants. He also told the jury to discount the testimonies from all of Sacco and Vanzetti’s witnesses just because they were Italian. Much of the testimonies from the prosecution’s witnesses contradicted each other and one even admitted his testimony was false. This did not stop the jury from finding them guilty after a few hours of deliberation on July 14, 1921. Sacco and Vanzetti appealed the decision to no avail. They were executed on August 23, 1927.
The hosts of Criminalia provide a concise summary of the Sacco and Vanzetti case and they illustrate the prejudice that Sacco and Vanizetti faced that led to their conviction. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone that has some knowledge of this infamous case but would like to learn more.
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian at the Will Library. He is currently reading The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff.