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Nicola Sacco, right, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-born anarchists, were convicted of killing a clerk and a security guard in Massachusetts. They were executed in 1927. Their executions led to mass protests all over the world and anarchist bombings of banks in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The judge in the case said several inflammatory things about the men that led many to accuse him of prejudice in the case.![Leopold_and_Loeb]()
Nathan Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb were convicted for the murder of a 14-year-old boy in 1924. Both educated at the University of Chicago, the teenagers saw themselves as Nietzschean supermen who were above the law and wanted to commit the perfect crime. The case became especially famous for an argument by defense attorney Clarence Darrow, who convinced the judge to spare Leopold's and Loeb's lives, based on the fact that the two were influenced by philosophy they had learned in school.![Scottsboro Boys]()
In a case that eventually went to the Supreme Court, nine African-American teenagers, ages 12 to 19, were accused and convicted of raping two white women and alleged prostitutes on a freight train in Alabama, even though doctors found little evidence of rape. The Scottsboro Boys, as they became known, were indicted by an all-white grand jury and convicted by an all-white jury. Their defense lawyers -- one of whom was a real estate attorney, and the other of whom had never tried a case in Alabama -- were not allowed to meet with them before the trial. The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the lower courts twice, saying due process had not been followed because the accused were not only guaranteed a defense, but a competent defense, and later because Alabama had violated the equal protection clause by excluding blacks from the jury. In the final round of trials, four of the men were convicted of rape, while five had all charges dropped.![Charles_Lindbergh]()
Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of kidnapping and murdering one-year-old Charles Lindbergh Jr, son of the famed aviator. The baby was discovered dead a short distance from the Lindberghs' home two months after the abduction. Hauptmann, who maintained his innocence to his death, turned down an offer to commute his sentence to life in prison in exchange for a confession.![Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg]()
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were communists convicted of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union after World War II. They were executed in 1953. At the time, many questioned the government's prosecution of the Rosenbergs, with some comparing it to the anti-Semitic Dreyfuss case in France. Soviet communiques would later reveal Julius Rosenberg to have passed information to the Soviets, but Ethel's involvement is still in question.![Chicago_7]()
Seven anti-war activists who protested at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago were indicted for conspiracy and inciting riots. All of them were eventually acquitted, while an eighth man involved was imprisoned for four years for contempt of court. The seven were the leaders of the Hilton hotel protest, during which thousands of demonstrators were tear gassed and beaten by police. They did not have a permit for the protest, much of which was captured by media. Photo: AP![Charles_Manson]()
Charles Manson was the mastermind behind the Tate and LaBianca murders and was convicted of murder by conspiracy in 1971. Much of his actions were based on his concept of "Helter Skelter." Manson believed America would soon become embroiled in a race war, and he wanted the Manson "family" to emerge victorious at the end. Manson avoided the death penalty when California temporarily eliminated it around the time of his trial. Photo: AP![John Hinckley, Jr.]()
John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981. Hinckley reportedly was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster by killing the president, as he previously trailed Jimmy Carter before being arrested on firearms charges. Hinckley also had considered committing suicide in front of Foster or hijacking a plane. The insanity acquittal led to widespread anger, and some states removed insanity as a possible defense after the trial. Photo: AP![O.J. Simpson]()
Hall-of-fame running back O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran was able to convince jurors that police had mishandled evidence. In a later civil trial, a jury unanimously found that evidence showed Simpson committed the crimes, and he was ordered to pay $12.5 million. Simpson famously had difficulty putting on the gloves prosecutors claimed were worn by the murderer, and Cochran coined the phrase "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" to convince jurors of Simpson's innocence. Photo: AP![Timothy_McVeigh]()
Timothy McVeigh, an army veteran and security guard, was convicted of bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, in the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil before Sept. 11. The bombing killed 168 people, and McVeigh was executed in 2001. The bombing was reportedly revenge for the federal seize on a compound Waco, in which 76 people died after the 51-day siege. McVeigh reportedly meant to inspire a revolt against the federal government. Photo: AP![Khalid Sheik Mohammed]()
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, will be put on trial in New York, along with four alleged accomplices. Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2006. Mohammed has reportedly confessed to planning the 9/11 attacks, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Bali nightclub bombing and the failed Richard Reid shoe bombing. Photo: APTrials of the Century
From gruesome murders to horrific crimes -- check out the most famous trials of the past century.
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- Trials of the Century
