History Sandwiched In
Wisconsin Historical Museum 30 N. Carroll St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
press release: In 1917 a bomb exploded in a Milwaukee police station, killing nine officers and a civilian. Days later, a trial began for eleven Italian immigrants who had already been in jail for months for an unrelated riot. The specter of the bombing, for which no one had been arrested, haunted the proceedings. Against the backdrop of World War I and amid a prevailing hatred and fear of radical immigrants and anarchists, the Italians had an unfair trial. Famed attorney Clarence Darrow led an appeal that gained freedom for most of the convicted, but his own methods were deeply suspect.
Dean A. Strang, lawyer and author of Worse than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror, will share this story and how the entire case left a dark, though largely forgotten, stain on American justice. A book signing will follow the presentation.
Cost: Suggested donation of $3/person
Info
Closed Permanently