Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Boston

In 1921 Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted of a murder that occurred during an armed robbery outside Boston. Following a highly controversial trial whose outcome was likely tainted by the defendants’ association with anarchist activities, Sacco and Vanzetti received the death penalty. Their execution by electric chair in 1927 set off worldwide protests; today, legal experts agree that the men were tried without the protection of proper judicial safeguards. This early example of modern press photography portrays Vanzetti, with his characteristic long mustache, on the way to his first appearance in court. An unprecedented legal and political scandal, the Sacco and Vanzetti affair was one of the first worldwide media sensations to be captured extensively on camera.