Vanzetti
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were suspected anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery of a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. After a controversial trial and a series of appeals, the two Italian immigrants were executed on August 23, 1927.
Since their deaths, critical opinion has overwhelmingly felt that the two men convicted largely on their anarchist political beliefs and were unjustly executed. In 1977, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unfairly tried and convicted and that "any disgrace should be forever removed from their names." The case is still officially open.
Read more about Vanzetti: Background, Robbery, Arrests and Indictment, Defense Committee, Motions For A New Trial, Appeal To The Supreme Judicial Court, Madeiros Confession, Second Appeal To The Supreme Judicial Court, Protests and Advocacy, Defendants in Prison, Sentencing, Clemency Appeal and The Governor’s Advisory Committee, Execution and Funeral, Continuing Protests and Analyses, Massachusetts Judicial Reform, Historical Viewpoints, Later Evidence and Investigations, Dukakis Proclamation, Later Tributes