On August 23, 1927, Nicola Sacco and Barolomeo Vanzetti were executed in one of the most controversial legal cases in American history. Two men were killed and robbed in Braintree, Massachusetts, and two poor Italian immigrants were arrested for the crime. Although neither Sacco nor Vanzetti had criminal records, they both had guns on them at the time and were following a violent anarchist leader. After their arrest, the seven-year trial sparked national and international protests calling for their exoneration. There were numerous elements in the trial that influenced the guilty verdicts for the men, including, but not limited to, weak evidence. The Sacco Vanzetti trial highlights the social injustices and prejudices present in American society at the time. It is evident that even though they are innocent, the court used Sacco and Vanzetti as scapegoats in this crime due to their beliefs and backgrounds. The “Red Scare” was consuming the lives of many Americans after World War I. After the war ended, anarchist bombing began and a general fear of socialists, anarchists, communists and immigrants spread across the nation. There has always been resentment toward immigrants in America, and these attacks have only intensified those feelings. Americans were worried that because the Russian Revolution had happened, the next one would happen in America. The government began rounding up immigrants and deporting them. Many innocent people have been arrested due to their anti-democracy views. Although Sacco and Vanzetti were on trial for murder, their beliefs about how society should be run were the primary focus of the trial. Nicola Sacco and Barolmeo Vanzetti came to America as Italian immigrants in 1908. Sacco was seventeen and worked in a shoe store... ... middle of paper ... in the second trial that included both Sacco and Vanzetti, Thayer said to reporters: "Have you ever seen a case where so many flyers and circulars were put out... saying that people could get a fair trial in Massachusetts? Wait until I present my case to the jury, I'll show them!"[122 ]. Even years after the case, there were a number of people who came forward to the press with Thayer's comments about the Sacco-Vanzetti case. In 1924, Professor P. Richardson, a Massachusetts lawyer, quoted Thayer as saying, "Did you see what I did with those anarchist bastards the other day? I guess it'll keep them a while... Let them go to the Supreme Court now and let's see what they can get out of it (Watson 252).” Sacco and Vanzetti were made an example of what Thayer was capable of doing to immigrants who stood up for what they believe in.