Sacco and Vanzetti

         It is very difficult to know that someone’s fate, sometimes whether the person lives or dies, is in your hands. If you’re not convincing enough to get the jury to see your side, the defendant may have his or her life change forever. In the Sacco-Vanzetti case, death was on the table. These men were Italian anarchists that were charged with robbery and murder. They were executed by electric chair, a terribly painful death. The jury believed them to be guilty of the crimes and think so too.

            To begin with, the ballistics test conducted at the Massachusetts Police Lab shows that the bullet couldn’t have come from Sacco’s gun. Despite what others have said about the type of gun, the ballistics test was probably the most advanced type of forensics the police had at the time. Vanzetti was unsure of where he bought his gun and the bullets. Vanzetti had a strange reason for not telling where he bought the gun. He said it was because he paid in cash and because of the hold-ups around that time. Vanzetti didn’t explain why he lied about where he got the gun.

            In addition, Sacco didn’t go to work on the day of the crime. Sacco said that he went to apply for a passport and he was then seen at Boni’s Restaurant by seven eye witnesses. Sacco could have committed the crime and then have gone to the restaurant to make this day look more normal to cover himself in case anyone suspected him of something. Sacco at first didn’t say he was in Boston. An eye witness that agreed that Sacco was at the restaurant said that he was called to be a juror for Sacco’s trial by a Boston anarchist club. The witness probably did this out of fear for what the anarchist group could do to him or his family.

            Furthermore, the many lies told during this trial show the criminals’ consciousness of guilt. Sacco lied about where he was on the day of the crime, why he had a gun with him on the crime date, and his anarchist convictions. His anarchist views were very obvious when he would write for the Cronaca Sovversiva,an anarchist newspaper. He even moved to Mexico to avoid being drafted for World War I during 1917. Sacco also attended anarchist meetings regularly. He claimed that he lied about his anarchists views because he thought he would be deported back to Italy. Vanzetti also lied about his guns and where his friends were. He made up these lies because he feared what was going on with the Red Scare and he feared deportation. The safety of his anarchists friends was also a concern for him.

            I believe that the jury was correct in finding Sacco and Vanzetti guilty. The bullet matched the gun that it came from. They were anarchists and committed the crimes even though they said they didn’t. In the end, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed after seven years of waiting for their sentence. 


Image Source: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/SACCO&V.jpg