Sacco-Vanzetti

Dan Lauria
Sep 2, 2018 · 12 min read

Sacco-Vanzetti:

The Sacco-Vanzetti case, a controversial murder trial in Massachusetts, U.S. (1921–27), resulted in the execution of the defendants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.

The trial resulted from the murders in South Braintree, Massachusetts on April 15, 1920, of F.A. Parmenter, paymaster of a shoe factory, and Alessandro Berardelli, the guard accompanying him, in order to secure the payroll that they were carrying. On May 5th Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian anarchists who had immigrated to the United States in 1908, one a shoemaker and the other a fish peddler, were arrested for the crime. On May 31, 1921, they were brought to trial before Judge Webster Thayer of the MA Superior Court, and on July 14 both were found guilty by verdict of the jury.

Socialists and radicals protested the men’s innocence. Many people felt that the trial had been less than fair and that the defendants had been convicted for their radical anarchist beliefs rather than for the crime for which they had been tried. All attempts for the retrial on the grounds of false identification failed. On November, 18, 1925, Celestino Madeiros, then under a sentence for the murder, confessed that he had participated in the crime with the Joe Morelli gang. The state Supreme Court refused to upset the verdict, because at that time the trial judge had the final power to reopen a case on the grounds of additional evidence. The two men were sentenced to death on April, 9, 1927.

A storm of protest arose with mass meetings throughout the nation. Governor Alvan T. Fuller appointed an independent advisory committee consisting of President A Lawrence Lowell Harvard University, President Samuel W. Stratton of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robert Grant a former Judge. On August 3, 1927, the governor refused to exercise his power of clemency, his advisory committee agreed with this stand. Demonstrations proceeded in many cities throughout the world, and bombs were set off in New York City and Philadelphia. Sacco and Vanzetti, still maintaining their innocence, were executed on August 23, 1927.

Opinion has remained divided on whether Sacco and Vanzetti were guilty as charged or whether they were innocent victims of a prejudiced legal system and a mishandled trial. Some writers have claimed that Sacco was guilty but that Vanzetti was innocent. Many historians believe, however, that the two men should have been granted a second trial in view of their trial’s significant defects.

This is one of the most important trials in American history. If any of my readers want to read more than my plagiarized snippet from obvious, easily found, sources please Google Neil Proto and read his book on this case, a case which shaped our nation. Mr. Proto is the definitive source. Some still say Sacco and Vanzetti were guilty. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, a naturalized citizen from Austria, and a liberal on most issues was in favor of the conviction. John Dos Passos, the great muckraker and novelist, wrote volumes in defense of the two innocents. Innocent or guilty I’ll let those who bother to read continue the debate. I would like to focus on the true issue, the abuse of the legal process, and the distortion of the rule of law. This abuse which I felt fueled the Southern Jim Crow laws that emerged after this the real topic of debate. By denying the due process of law to those that may be different we, as a country start to march backwards from the light of freedom into the dark abyss of totalitarian rule.

I am the grandson of two sets of Italian grandparents. Although my father’s side may have some French blood, a suspicion my mother never let my father forget. My mother, one of the kindest and funniest people I’ve ever known, would constantly refer to my father as the “Frog” whenever he did something regrettable, trivial or insignificant. If my father spilled a glass of wine, my mother would say; “Look at the frog.” When my father voted for President Ford, my mother said; “Whatta’ ya expect from a frog?” I, and my friends were my mother’s best audience; we were always ready to laugh even at my father’s expense. Truth be told, my father, a very kind and gentle soul, would laugh the most. After more than forty years in show business, one unbreakable rule of thumb, “never cut funny,” was first taught to me around my childhood kitchen table. Laughter was as much a staple in my home as Pasta, olive oil and garlic. Dean Martin, Pat Cooper, and Richard Conti, would bring smiles to the once Italian but now our very American home. This is not to mention, Phil Rozzuto, my fathers boyhood friend from Middle Village Queens and, Yogi Bara and Leo “the lip.” The greatest baseball player, “Joey D” and the undefeated Marciano, ” the Roc” all brought deep heart felt grins. Of course the man himself Frank Sinatra and the funniest man ever, Dom DeLouise, both of whom became my friends, were all a staple of my early life. However, any mention of Sacco and Vanzetti was a topic that would bring with it a fearful silence, dark cloud, to my second and third generation Italian-American house.

Today, we seem to have forgotten about this landmark trial. When it is brought up among law scholars of today, there still is debate on guilt and innocence. However, the abuse and the miscarriage of justice that occurred during the trial itself, is no longer a topic of debate. The rule of law was abused, put aside, mismanaged and trashed and thus the Sacco & Vanzetti case of 1911 remains relevant to what we as American’s are facing today. Yes, we are a nation of immigrants. Yes, we are the bastions of freedom. Yes, we are the safe house for those oppressed. However, no American wants totally open borders. We Americans, as a people know that, in this age of radicalism, fanaticism and terrorism, a mode of self-defense is a practical course. We all agree on this. Is there an American liberal who would deny that President Obama deported more illegal aliens than any other President? Is there a conservative, who doesn’t respect the rule of law and who doesn’t remember President Reagan’s “Road to Citizenship?” Being an independent, I believe there is much common ground on this issue. We need immigrants to maintain an American lifestyle established and founded by immigrants. Why is their so much hatred built around the issue of immigration? Why is their a hatred and disrespect for those seeking what our forefathers sought; “Freedom.”

The solution, the answer, should be the law. Many Presidents from Reagan to Obama tried to get Congress to impose more practical and humane laws to cover the growing flow of immigration. Yes, I know there are less Mexicans coming to the United States than there are leaving but over all, immigration to free nations is on the rise. Why is it different now? The answer is obvious; we now have a traitor in the White House that is oblivious to the rule of law. Weather you thought President Reagan was too lenient, or President Obama to harsh on immigration, there was a distinct difference between those two good Americans and the traitor who now sits in the White House. Our past Presidents believed in the rule of law. The current traitor who sits in the White House does not. Reagan, Clinton, Poppa Bush, Bush Jr, and President Obama all instigated executive actions while proposing bills to be brought before congress and when these Bills were not initiated they withdrew their actions and resorted to the law as already written. Our past Presidents did this because they were men of honor who respected the rule law, men who believed in democracy even when the public tide brought back a sea of disgruntled voters. These past Presidents stood firmly to the standards set down by the law of the land. Why has this changed? Why has the executive action to separate children of aliens from their parents so different now than when it was when tried in the past by both conservatives and liberals alike? The answer is simple. Harsh measures have been used to prompt the congress of this great nation to enact different laws. In the past, when these actions failed to change the law, families were quickly reunited. Now we have Traitor Trump who doesn’t believe in the law. We have a president who sees himself as a dictator and beyond the laws of a once proud nation. We see a very small man who cannot accept anything that goes against his syndical, hateful whims. The law is not part of the canon of dictatorship.

Traitor Trump is a man of no integrity who listens to Sean “Goebbels” Hannity instead of his own intelligence agencies. This is a man who would denigrate a fine Republican Senator, a war hero, a man of honor, and will praise the ruthless dictators with their mission in life to destroy democracy. I listen to Mr. Hannity or Ms Ingram each day and cannot believe what I’m hearing. Each of them at one time or another have held up a photo of an illegal immigrant who has murdered a white child and said; “Tell the parents of this murdered child that you want open borders.” This is a very effective tool of hate but a tool that is only used by the hateful deconstructionist of logical thought. By this simplistic logic my grandfather should not have been allowed into the United States because he would have become Al Capone or Sacco or Vanzetti. By this distorted, vile logic of hate we should of stopped all the Irish that came to America because they all would become Bugs Moran and lets not forget all those Jews who would become Bugsy Segal and Myer Lanski. Lets punish the many for the action of the few, seems to be the thought behind this un-American spewing of hate.

Whenever a guest like Ms. Kelly Ann “the liar” comes on a news show she spouts the litany she is paid to spin and will not answer any of the questions put to her about the lies of Traitor Trump. Again as an independent who welcomes the wrath of both sides I see the fault of the liberals as well as the conservatives. The conservatives only want to talk about, “hating Immigrants,” “the economy & jobs.” Liberals seem to only want to talk about the lies of Traitor Trump and the horrible act of taking immigrant children away from their parents. While immigrant families were being torn apart the entire hour of MSNBC, CNN for days on end were devoted to this heinous act while fox news spent fifteen minutes on this issue, which always ended with the most illogical excuses for this administration’s actions. Hannity of fox news still hasn’t covered this administrations failure to abide by the court decision to return the children to their parents. Instead they bring up theories as to why Hillary and Obama should be investigated and how well the economy is doing. Then they continue to defame the actions of Americans who have dedicated their lives to keep us citizen safe. Traitor Trump pats himself on the back while Hannity, Ingram and Kelly Ann, denigrate members of the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, former heads of national security, Generals and Admirals all who have put their lives on the line, day after day, to keep us safe from harm.

You want to talk objectively about the economy, lets do so. President Obama took office when the unemployment rate was almost at the height of the great depression and when he left office it was at 4.9 percent. This seems to be too slow a drop for some Wall Street investors. Now Traitor Trump has brought it even lower with his bullish, open range tactics of removing all investment safe guards. I have a problem with both. I give them both credit on the economy and unemployment, but a failing grade on the debt they incurred while doing so. I’m glad people are working but President O left us with our highest debt ever and now Traitor Trump has almost doubled it. All I can say is one President did it while making the world a cleaner place and the other has no regard for the filth we are leaving behind. I’d really like to leave the hatred behind and talk about how we can keep people working without taking on this enormous debt, the enormous environmental problem that we are passing on to future generations.

As far as possible past crimes by former heads of state; how about we let a fine American like Mr. Mueller finish is current investigation without criticism and then hire him to do another investigation against past politicians? I promise not to interfere. I’m more than willing to lock up any politician who has been proven, in a court of law, to have been found guilty of breaking the law of the land. How can anyone say the Mueller investigation is the wrong thing to do when six people have already pleaded guilty in a court of law? We should all be praising anyone who finds criminal acts that have taken place under the cover of political procedure. “The last refuge of a rogue is patriotism.” Instead of constructive non-partisan debate; I have to listen to Traitor Trumps, frantic talk of a fascist with the moral spine of a whale turd.

Why have I waited till now to speak out about the abuse of the law pertaining to immigration? The answer is easy. A great American, a Senator, a war hero and good father has passed away; John McCain. As an independent there were many domestic political points that I differed with Senator McCain on and many things I agreed with especially about our foreign policy and of course the VA. As a former Marine officer and Vietnam Veteran and a member of the National Veterans Foundation (NVF.org) many a time I met with the Senator and I considered those meetings one of the great high lights of my life. What a great guy.

I noticed at the AZ memorial for Senator McCain that the speakers included a Hispanic politician, a black athlete and a former vice president from the other party.

In Washington, DC former presidents and political opponents stood before the nation and spoke of John McCain’s love of America. These men spoke so eloquently and shared words of true patriotism with all of us, regardless of political affiliation. They spoke of what an America should and could be. Former President Bush, not known as a great speaker, spoke with passion and grace about a hero in war and in congress. President Obama, a fine speaker, spoke of an honest and respected advisory whose council he sought. What first struck me was that both men, Republican and Democrat could speak in clear, understandable sentences about someone other than themselves. They spoke of a man who understood the greatness of the America that is still to come.

Why were these great men, both Liberal and Conservative there to honor Senator McCain? They were there because John McCain was a very big man who understood that all Americans need to be able to disagree and to peacefully protest in order for the United States of America to move forward. The Senator knew that our goal was still for our great nation, to become a more perfect union. Senator McCain understood that when the fighting begins the blood of the American next to you is just as red as yours regardless of race, color or religion. Senator McCain was a big man who understood that the USA was a shelter to those who are politically suppressed and were put in arms way because of their defiance in the face of dictatorship and fascism. Of course John McCain, like so many of us wanted the immigration laws enforced but, like President Reagan and President Obama he wanted the laws to express not blind fear, but a humanity and a sense of what this land of immigrants has contributed to the history of freedom. Yes John McCain was a very, very big man.

We now have a traitor in the White House who has no respect for the law. The law has stated that children must not be taken from their parents. This was ignored. The law now states that children of immigrants must be returned to their parents and this is also being ignored. The laws regarding political asylum, laws which most of our ancestors needed to become Americans, is now ignored. Why? Because Traitor Trump is a very, very small man.

Traitor Trump and Senator John McCain both took the same oath; “To protect our nation against enemies foreign and domestic and to uphold the law of the land.” The rule of law is under attack, the free press is under attack, our national security experts are under attack and those that aid the traitor in the White House, who leads these attacks, are now complicit with treason.

Respectfully,

Dan Lauria

Dan Lauria

Written by

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade