The Rosenbergs

In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested and accused of "conspiracy to commit espionage" — transmitting sensitive documents from the Manhattan Project (America's top-secret project for building an atomic bomb) to the Soviet Union. Theirs becomes the nation's most infamous political trial of the 20th century. Prosecution witnesses, almost all of whom are either under indictment or in prison, include Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, who once worked as a machinist at the Los Alamos laboratory. He testifies that Julius asked him to obtain atomic secrets. Most people agree that Ethel is arrested largely to coax a confession out of her husband. In April 1951, after a 14-day trial, they are found guilty. Judge Irving R. Kaufman engages in improper ex-parte communications with the FBI and prosecution, and condemns the Rosenbergs to death.

Pleas for clemency pour into the White House from around the world, but the husband and wife are executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing on June 19, 1953, leaving behind two young sons. Ethel is the first woman executed by the U.S. government since a woman named Mary Surratt was hanged for her involvement in Lincoln's assassination.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Separated by Heavy Wire Screen as They Leave U.S. Court House after Being Found Guilty by Jury Roger Higgins, World Telegram, 1951 Library of Congress