Commonwealth v. Sacco & Vanzetti (1921)

Ballistics Evidence — Bullet III and Sacco's Colt .32

Prosecution ballistics expert Captain William Proctor testified that Bullet III (extracted from guard Alessandro Berardelli's body) was "consistent with" having been fired from Sacco's .32 Colt automatic pistol. However, on cross-examination, Proctor could not state positively that the bullet came from Sacco's gun specifically — only that it came from a .32 Colt-type pistol. Years later, Proctor signed an affidavit stating the prosecution had asked him to craft his testimony to imply certainty he did not feel. Defense expert James Burns testified the bullet markings were inconclusive and could match thousands of .32 Colt pistols. Modern ballistics re-tests (1961, using comparison microscopy unavailable in 1921) concluded Bullet III did match Sacco's pistol — but this finding remains disputed by some experts who question whether the evidence was tampered with during decades of custody.

Eyewitness Identification Testimony

Seven prosecution witnesses identified Sacco or Vanzetti at the scene. Key witness Mary Splaine testified she saw Sacco leaning out of the getaway car for "about a second and a half" from a distance of 60 feet, yet provided an extraordinarily detailed description (height, weight, hair color, hand shape, complexion). At a preliminary hearing, Splaine had said she could not identify anyone. Multiple defense witnesses contradicted the prosecution identifications. Defense argued: Italian immigrants in 1920s Massachusetts "all looked alike" to Anglo witnesses; the identifications were tainted by three weeks of newspaper coverage before the lineup; Splaine's evolution from "I can't identify anyone" to detailed certainty suggests coaching. Prosecution argued: multiple independent witnesses converged on the same identification, which is powerful corroboration.

Consciousness of Guilt Evidence

When arrested on May 5, 1920, Sacco and Vanzetti were armed (Sacco carried his .32 Colt; Vanzetti carried a .38 Harrington & Richardson revolver). When questioned by police, both men lied: they denied knowing each other well, denied anarchist associations, and gave false accounts of why they were picking up the car (a vehicle linked to the crime). Prosecution argued these lies demonstrated consciousness of guilt — innocent men do not lie to police. Defense argued: in the post-Palmer Raids climate of 1920, Italian anarchists were being rounded up and deported without hearings. Sacco and Vanzetti lied because they feared deportation for their political beliefs, not because they committed robbery and murder. They were carrying guns because anarchists in their community had recently been killed (Andrea Salsedo fell/was pushed from a 14th floor DOJ office in New York on May 3, 1920 — two days before their arrest).

Judge Thayer's Documented Bias

Judge Webster Thayer was overheard making prejudicial statements about the defendants outside the courtroom. Reporter Frank Sibley of the Boston Globe quoted Thayer as saying: "Did you see what I did with those anarchistic bastards the other day?" Professor James Richardson of Dartmouth reported Thayer saying at a golf game: "Did you see what I did to those anarchistic bastards?" Defense filed multiple motions for mistrial based on judicial bias, all denied by Thayer himself (Massachusetts law required the trial judge to rule on his own recusal). The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court noted the impropriety but held that bias must be demonstrated from the trial record, not extrajudicial statements.

Alibi Evidence

Sacco presented alibi evidence that he was at the Italian Consulate in Boston obtaining a passport on April 15, 1920. A consulate official, Giuseppe Adrower, testified he remembered Sacco because Sacco brought an unusually large photograph for the passport (too large for the standard form). Multiple Italian community members corroborated Sacco's Boston presence that day. Vanzetti presented alibi witnesses — Italian fishermen and customers — who testified he was selling eels (a pre-Easter tradition) in Plymouth, 25 miles from South Braintree. Prosecution dismissed the alibi witnesses as fellow anarchists engaging in solidarity perjury. Defense countered: the consulate official was an Italian government employee with no anarchist connections, and his passport-photograph recollection was a specific, memorable detail unlikely to be fabricated.