Moon Chung

Sacco and Vanzetti: Guilty or Not Guilty?

1. Go to the page Chronology. What might have been a possible motivation for the government to charge S & V with murder? Give 3 specific reasons. a) They were the writers/donaters to an anarchist newspaper. b) Suspicious and armed. c) False evidence regarding to the events on April 15, 1920. 2. Exactly what happened April 15, 1920? The bandits who had attempted to rob the L.Q. White Shoe Company decided to strike the Slater & Morill Shoe Company in hopes of succeeding. They then took the payroll and flee. 3. Go to the page Summary of Evidence. If you were Saccos lawyer, what would you say about the eyewitness testimony against him as you pounded the table and screamed? (Give a word-for-word answer!) For those who are testifying against my client, I ask you How can you call him to be the criminal if you yourselves are not certain whether this man has committed the crime and also refuse to make a positive identification? Even several of the closesy witnesses could not identify Sacco as the culprit. 4. Explain why ballistics reports confused the jurors. One of the recovered bullets could not have been fired from Saccos gun but apparently bullet 3 was consistent with being fired through Saccos pistol. 5. What was Saccos explanation of where he was on the day of the murder? How convincing do you find this? Explain. Saccos explanation was that he went to get a passport from the Italian consulate. I do find this convincing because the prosecutors argument also states although the consulate had forgotten who Sacco was, it wasnt surprising because the man goes through hundreds of faces each day. 6. If you were Vanzettis lawyer, what would you have said to the jury about the eyewitness testimony? (Word for word!)

No saw my client Vanzetti actually shoot anyone, am I correct? Mr. Levangie also said that he identified the driver of the car to be Vanzetti himself but WHY would he say that it would be hard to identify the man he had seen driving the car? 7. A lot of evidence has been presented since the case was settled. List THREE new findings and explain what you think they mean as to S & Vs guilt or innocence. I 8. Go to Letters from Prison. Read Saccos letter of July 19, 1927 to his daughter. Write a short respond to it, asking a question posed by some statement he makes in the letter. Dear Father, All those things youve said I know it to be true. What has happened in America? Will you ever be coming back? Ive missed you so, father and only wish to see your return. I will see to it that mother and Dante see this message as I am afraid it might be your last. I will treasure this and I hope you do make it back! Your Daughter, Ines 9. Do the same for Vanzettis letter from July 28, 1927 when he wrote to the governor. Respond to him as the governor would have answered (word for word!)

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So what do YOU think? Guilty or Not Guilty?

Ive come to the conclusion that Mr. Sacco and Venzetti should be tried seperatly. Mr. Sacco is the guilty and Venzetti is innocent because of the fact that Saccos trials were more intense and that evidence seem to point that Sacco is guily whereas Venzettis evidence and eye witness accounts are a majority vague.