At 3:00 P.M. on April 15, 1920, a paymaster
and his guard were carrying a factory payroll of 15,776 through the main street of South
Baintree, Massachusetts. Two men who were standing by a fence suddenly
pulled out guns and fired upon them. The gunmen snatched up the cash
boxes dropped by the mortally wounded pair and jumped into a waiting
automobile. The group, which consisted of four or five members, was able
to avoid capture.
Three weeks later, on the evening of May 5, 1920, two Italians,
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti fell into a police trap that had
been set up for a suspect in the Braintree crime. Although originally
not under suspicion, both men were carrying guns at the time of their
arrest and when questioned by authorities, they lied. As a result they
were held and eventually indicted for the South Baintree crimes.
The trial took place in Dedham between May 31 and July 14, 1921.
The state's case was based primarily upon two facts: Sacco possessed a
pistol of the type used in the murders, and the accused when arrested
were at a garage attempting to claim an automobile that had been seen in
connection with the South Baintree crimes. Even though this evidence was
inadequate, it played a large role in the trial. In addition, there was
contradictory evidence from the witnesses. The judge, Webster Thayer,
and the jurors were accused of bias. However, the verdict was still
guilty. During the next six years, motions to submit new evidence for a
new trial were denied. Eventually, these two immigrants were sent to the
electric chair on August 23, 1927. However, on August 17, 1927,
Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts signed a proclamation that
recognized the faults of the trial and cleared the names of Sacco and
Vanzetti.
-Greg Ryslik
Copyright 1999 by Chris Chan, Greg Ryslik, and Haig Altunian
