The Rosenbergs
The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg began on March 6, 1951 in the New York Southern District federal court overseen by Judge Irving R. Kaufman. Roy Cohn, the lawyer known for his infamous association with Senator Joseph McCarthy , and more recently with Donald Trump, was part of the prosecution that succeeded in exacting a conviction.
The Rosenberg’s crime was legally termed “Conspiracy to Commit Espionage” for purportedly selling nuclear secrets to the Russians. However, the Rosenbergs were not charged with treason, as some may suppose, and could not be, because the United States was not at war with the Soviet Union. As stated:
By Section 110 of Article III. of the Constitution of the United States, it is declared that:
“Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open Court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason.”
It was reported that the Rosenbergs were offered a deal to commute their death sentences if they admitted guilt, which they refused to do, and therefore the Rosenbergs were convicted on April 4th, 1951 and then sentenced to death row on April 6.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953 in the electric chair.
