Sacco and Vanzetti

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Judge Thayer:

Innocent until proven guilty has always been the case in the court, and I do not think this belief was upheld in the case of Sacco and Vanzetti. There was insufficient evidence and many unreliable eyewitnesses to convict these so called "criminals." The eyewitnesses called to the stand were never completely certain of identifying Sacco or Vanzetti at the scene of the crime, and it is important to note that the eyewitnesses seemed much more certain of their indentifications in the trial than they did at the preliminary hearing a year earlier. These people were most likely influenced by the effects of the Red Scare, not by a desire to tell the truth. The defendants Sacco and Vanzetti also felt the need to lie, because they were afraid of the consequences of being anarchists during this time period. They lied to ensure their safety as well as their friends, who were also fellow anarchists. These outside influences made this case very subjective and biased. The trials should have lasted longer for as long as they needed to, to be sure that these men were really guilty of the crimes of murder and armed robbery. This case should have been taken very seriously instead of being based entirely on fear. Because of this carelessness two men who are possibly innocent will die. The charges of murder and armed robbery are very serious, yet all along it seems as if these 7 years of trials and prosecution, the intent was always to have them killed, regardless of the lack of evidence. The prosecution's ballistics evidence of the bullet that supposedly came from Sacco's gun, was very weak. An expert noted that a scratch on the bullet was most likely made from a defect in Sacco's gun. However, this theory was never tested, and could be entirely false. If the bullet was in fact shot from his gun, a simple test to recreate this scenario would have been simple. You can put a clean bullet into the gun and fire, and if this bullet also has the same scratch, then that would've supported the fact that the bullet came from Sacco's gun. But seeing as how this simple test never happened, I am at a loss to how these men were convicted. This case was one entirely based on assumptions, and it is appalling that our legal and judicial system has stood by this and done absolutely nothing, to at least reasonably get Sacco and Vanzetti's account of the situation. We have placed this unjust prejudice upon not only Sacco and Vanzetti, but all foreigners and immigrants, and it has made them feel unsafe and fearful for their lives. No one should be living like that in America. This is a land of equal opportunity and success for all, and we have denied this to everyone except those native born to America. I am disgusted and disappointed by what has unfolded in this case and I ask you to never let something like this happen again.