INQUEST ON THE ROSENBERG‐SOBELL CASE1
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1970.tb01259.x |
| Date | 01 March 1970 |
| Published date | 01 March 1970 |
| Author | Chorley |
THE
MODERN LAW REVIEW
Volume
33
March
1970
No.
2
INQUEST
ON THE
ROSENBERG-SOBELL CASE
ON
March
6,
1951
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and
Morton
Sobell
were charged before a United States Federal Court in New York
State with conspiring
to
commit espionage in wartime, a capital
offence. After a long trial they were convicted of the charge by
the jury.
On
April
5,
1051
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were
con-
demned to death and later executed: Morton Sobell was sentenced
to thirty years
’
imprisonment.
This trial, described by the
Columbia
Law
Review
“
as the
outstanding
‘
political
’
trial of this generation,” naturally
attracted attention all over the world. Much has been written
about
it
since, as the result of which a great deal more is known
than was proved
to
the jury.
In
particular the researches of
Walter and Miriam Schneir leading
to
their
book
Invitation to an
Inquest
seem
to
me
to
be
of
such importance as to require the
attention of a11 who feel concern at possible miscarriages of justice,
particularly when death sentences have been imposed and carried
out in a time
of
intense political hysteria.
I
make
no
apology
therefore for presenting an extensive summary and analysis of the
evidence presented in this volume.
In
the Peruvian Andes while travelling
on
the highest railroad
track
in
the world the authors
of
this book gat into conversation
with a Franciscan friar in the course
of
which he put
to
them the
question,
“
Do
you think the Rosenbergs were guilty
?
”
Although
they had, curiously enough, embarked
upim
a
study of the Rosen-
berg case with a view
to
discovering the answer to that very
question they were unable
to
give the friar an answer. This book
shows how they eventually arrived at the answer, which is
one
of
“
not guilty.”
It
is
unlikely that anyone who studies with an
1
Invitation to an
Inquest.
By
Walter and Miriam Schneir.
$9.46
(paperback).
viii
and
487
pp.
New York, 1968-a Delts Book.
121
VOL
33
6
1
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