On March 6, the trial of Julias and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage and being members of the Communist Party begins. Overseeing the prosecution is Assistant U.S. Attorney Irving Saypol and his new star protégé, Roy Cohn.
During the trial, nationwide protests against the government’s paranoid manhunt for alleged Communists grew larger than ever, with Julias and Ethel becoming the faces of the resistance.
Not long after the trial starts, evidence emerges that the Rosenbergs are not guilty after all. Despite the evidence and the protests, on March 29, the Rosenbergs are convicted of espionage. On April 5, they are given the death sentence.
David Greenglass, whose testimony was used to arrest and convict the Rosenbergs, admitted after the trial that Roy Cohn encouraged him to lie in his testimony if he wanted to protect himself and his wife.
The case made Roy Cohn a media star.
Sources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1695240.stm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Rosenberg-and-Ethel-Rosenberg
Where’s My Roy Cohn? (Documentary)
Photo: AP Photo
