Murder: True Crime Stories - Spies or Scapegoats?: The Rosenberg Case 2

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

75 years after the Rosenberg trial gripped the nation, its legacy still sparks debate about justice, fear, and political power. In Part 2 of this two-part special, Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes turns to the courtroom battle that would cement Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s place in history and ignite decades of controversy. Carter Roy is joined again by Vanessa Richardson, host of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, to break down the prosecution’s strategy, the defense’s uphill fight, and the testimony that shaped the jury’s decision. Against a backdrop of anti-Communist hysteria and the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, the case raises urgent questions about due process, loyalty, and the influence of public opinion. As the verdict is delivered and the sentence shocks the world, the fallout reverberates far beyond the courtroom. Public protests, international appeals, and lingering doubts ensure that the Rosenberg case endures as one of the most polarizing chapters of Cold War history. Head over to our Murder True Crime Stories YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@MurderTrueCrimeStories If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Murder True Crime Stories to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios YouTube: @murdertruecrimestories To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi everyone, it's Carter. Exciting news. Video episodes of murder true crime stories are now on YouTube. Every Friday, I'll be dropping a full video episode going deeper into the cases that still haunt us, the mysteries that haven't been solved, and the stories that deserve more than just a headline. Same depth, same commitment to telling the real story. Now you can watch it. Subscribe at Murder True Crime Stories on YouTube.

to catch a new video episode every Friday. This is Crime House. On the evening of July 17th, 1950, 7-year-old Michael Rosenberg was sprawled out on his living room floor. He was listening to the radio, captivated by a story about cowboys and bandits. Michael was trying to get his mind off things. Lately, his parents had been noticeably stressed, speaking and hush-tones and spending less time outside the apartment. Michael didn't know what was going on, but he was grateful that everything was calm tonight.

His little brother, two-year-old Robert, was already asleep in the other room. Michael was wrapped up in the story on the radio when suddenly the apartment door swung open. Three men in black suits stepped into the living room and turned off the broadcast. They announced that they were there to speak with Julius Rosenberg, then stormed into the other room where Michael's parents were. Michael heard his mother, Ethel, cry out, I want a lawyer. But it was no use. Julius was taken away that night. Less than a month later, Ethel would be too. Michael and Robert would never see their parents outside a prison cell ever again. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. And sometimes the final

The chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder, True Crime Stories, a crime house original powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Friday's episodes covering the cases that deserve a deeper look. Remember, those Friday episodes are also on YouTube with full video. Just search for Murder, True Crime Stories, and be sure to like. like and subscribe. And I'm Vanessa Richardson, host of Conspiracy Theory's Cults and Crimes. Crime House is made possible by you.

Follow conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes and murder true crime stories wherever you listen. And subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free access to each two-part series. Today we're continuing our deep dive into the story of the Rosenberg's. Last time we met Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. We learned about their love story, their family, and Julius's descent into the world of espionage. As World War II came to a close and the Cold War ramped up, the FBI went on the offensive, searching for Soviet spies in their midst. Eventually, they identified several undercover agents, including Ethel's brother, David Greenglass.

In June of 1950, he was arrested for a conspiracy to commit espionage. Once the FBI had David in their custody, the floodgates opened. He led the Bureau straight to Julius and Ethel. What followed was one of the most controversial trials in U.S. history. Both Rosenbergs were labeled traitors and faced the death penalty. But in the 75 years since their fates were sealed, many questions remain. We're still wondering, was justice truly served? or did the U.S. government choose to kill an innocent woman just to prove a point?

All that and more coming up. Are my gloves? Come on, heat. Winter is hard, but your groceries don't have to be. This winter, stay warm. Tap the banner to order your groceries online at voila.ca. Enjoy in-store prices without leaving your home. You'll find the same regular prices online as in-store.

Many promotions are available both in store and online, though some may vary. After 19 years, they're back. Frankie Munes, Brian Cranston, and the rest of the family reunite in Malcolm in the middle, life's still unfair. After 10 years avoiding them, how and lowest demand Malcolm be at their anniversary party, pulling him straight back into their chaos. Malcolm in the middle, life still unfair. A special four-part event, streaming April 10th on Hulu on Disney Plus. On April 6th, 1917, the United States officially entered World War I.

Three months later, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law. It set hard punishments, big fines, and up to 20 years in prison for any individual who encouraged disloyalty to the government or interfered in national security matters. The Espionage Act was almost exclusively written to target the budding, left-wing movement, anti-war activists, labor organizers, and immigrants. But the disloyalty it claimed to target was brought enough that almost anyone who disagreed with the government could be convicted. And three decades later, leftist politics had once again become the primary targets of the U.S. government. By 1950, the Cold War was in full swing, with the U.S. and the Soviet Union going head-to-head in a battle of ideologies. In America, anti-communist sentiment was reaching a fever pitch.

Politicians like Senator Joseph McCarthy, the head of the House on American Activities Committee, stoked those fears. Thousands of suspected communists were investigated for having alleged ties to the USSR. President Dwight Eisenhower encouraged the witch hunt, but his main focus was on weeding out spies. Americans who had been secretly passing along information to the Soviets. In early 1950, the floodgates broke open when a German-born nuclear physicist named Klaus Fuchs was arrested by British intelligence. For years, he had worked on the Manhattan Project at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. Under questioning, he quickly confessed to passing along atomic secrets to the USSR. But more importantly, he named his co-conspirators. Eventually,

The trail led back to 28-year-old David Greenglass, who'd worked alongside Fuchs at Los Alamos. The FBI had hard evidence that David was a spy for the KGB, and on June 15, 1950, he was arrested for conspiracy to commit espionage. But David wasn't the FBI's real target. His brother-in-law, 32-year-old Julius Rosenberg, was. then, Julius had been on the FBI's radar for several months, if not years. Back in 1945, he was fired from his job at the Army Signal Corps engineering laboratories after his bosses learned he'd previously been a member of the Communist Party. Since then, the U.S. government had been trying to gather more information on Julius and other potential agents through a program called

the Venona Project. The goal was to decrypt messages from Soviet intelligence. After a Klaus Fuchs and other possible conspirators were arrested, the FBI ramped up its efforts, and on February 8, 1950, the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy met in secret. A collection of 20 senior government officials discussed what to do about Julius. The chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Gordon Dean, kicked off the proceedings with a grave comment. Quote, it looks as though Rosenberg is the kingpin of a very large ring. And if there's any way of breaking him by having the shadow of a death penalty over him, we want to do it. But first, they needed to gather more evidence.

That's when David Greenglass came back into the picture. After David was arrested on June 15, 1950, the FBI threatened to put his wife, Ruth, on trial two. They even said she could get the death penalty. David panicked. He told the FBI that he'd be. been forced into the whole thing by his brother-in-law Julius and his sister, 34-year-old Ethel. That was exactly what the Bureau wanted to hear. They were already thinking of how they would make the case against Julius Stick, and they floated the idea of implicating Ethel too, which would be

more difficult because they didn't actually have any evidence that she was a spy. During the meeting with the Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Attorney Miles Lane waved away this fact. He said it was important for the country that she be given a hard sentence. FBI Director Jay Edgar Hoover, who was dead set on unraveling the left, agreed. He thought going after Ethel would make Julius spill his secrets. And with David in their back pocket, they were ready to execute their plan. The evening of July 17, 1950, was stifling. The heat and humidity lingered even after the sun went down.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg had been stewing in their apartment for weeks, waiting for something, anything to happen. The Soviets had told the family to get out of the country. They'd given the Rosenberg's falsified documents and a plan to get across the Mexican border where they could then fly to Switzerland and go to the Czechoslovakian embassy. but Julius and Ethel were biding their time. Ethel's brother, David, was in FBI custody,

and Julius and Ethel had just gotten some very bad news. David had agreed to testify against both of them in exchange for a lesser sentence. But David was family, and Ethel still loved him. Plus, David's wife, Ruth, was pregnant. To make matters worse, Ruth was currently in the hospital with severe burns after something she was cooking, caught on fire. Ethel and Julius wanted to support her and keep her company, so for now,

all the Rosenbergs could do was sit and wait. At around 9 p.m. on July 17th, the FBI finally arrived. Julius and Ethel's son, seven-year-old Michael, was listening to the radio when they came in. The agents explained that Julius had been charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. Ethel told the agent she wanted a lawyer, but ultimately there was nothing she could do for her husband. Two agents took Julius away to FBI headquarters. Later that night, he was brought to the federal courthouse. Another agent drove Ethel and her sons to his arraignment hearing that night. Ethel tried to put on a brave face for Michael and her other son, two-year-old Robert.

Michael asked if his dad was coming home that night. Ethel said, not tonight. She didn't have the heart to tell him he probably wouldn't be coming home for a long time. Julius was arraigned before a U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of New York. Emmanuel Mani, Block, a fellow Communist Party member who had represented several wrongfully accused workers, stepped in pro bono as Julius's attorney. Julius's bail was set at $100,000, the equivalent of over $1.3,000,000, million dollars today, which he was unable to pay.

He was put in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and sent away to the Federal House of Detention on 11th and West Streets. By the end of the night, Julius' arrest had become international news. The head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, called him, quote, another important link in the Soviet espionage apparatus. The press made sure to highlight the Rosenberg's membership in the Communist Party, just as they had when Harry Gold and D. David Greenglass were arrested. And that wasn't the only similarity.

From the beginning, the threat of the death penalty hung over Harry Gold and David Greenglass. The FBI made sure they knew what was at risk if they didn't talk. Both of them confessed and named their fellow spies. The same threats were made against Julius Rosenberg, but this time things didn't go the way the FBI had expected. He refused to confess or give up any names, and this was critical because it gave his co-conspirators time to escape. Joel Barr, Julius's oldest friend, had already been living in Paris for years to avoid the FBI, and he'd recently managed to get a new identity and moved to South Africa with another spy named Alfred Saurant.

Julius had recruited his friend from City College, Morton Sobel, to spy for the KGB years ago. When Morton found out Julius had been arrested, he fled to Mexico City with his family in tow. He wasn't able to get a fake passport to get to Europe, but he figured he'd be safe in Mexico, for the moment, at least. Julius was giving the FBI a run for their money, but his loyalty did have consequences, and his his wife, Ethel, would end up as collateral damage. On August 7, 1950, 34-year-old Ethel Rosenberg was subpoenaed to appear before a confidential federal grand jury. But before she took the stand, her brother was called to testify. 28-year-old David Greenglass described how Ethel's husband, 32-year-old Julius, had recruited

him to spy for the Soviets. According to David, Julius had given him one half of a cardboard jello box. Harry Gold, the courier who worked with David and Klaus Fuchs at Los Alamos, had the other half. David said this was how Harry Gold had identified himself as David's so-called handler. Beyond that, David didn't say much. It was obvious the prosecutors wanted him to reveal more information about Ethel's role in the whole operation. They asked David repeatedly about it, but his answer never changed. Until finally, he said, quote, I said before and say it again, honestly, this is a fact. I never spoke to my sister about this at all, end quote, meaning he never talked to her about

any of the work he did with Julius or the other operatives. When it was Ethel's turn to testify, she was just as tight-lipped. She answered questions about her background, but when she was asked about the espionage, she exercised her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. nation. Ethel went home to her sons, confident that her innocence had been asserted, but the government had already made up its mind before she even took the stand. Four days after her grand jury testimony, on August 11, 1950, Ethel was arrested for conspiracy to commit espionage and held at $100,000 bail, just like her husband. Although the government had no real evidence against Ethel,

they needed her if they were going to get Julius to crack, which meant they had to find something, anything to pin on her. For that, they turned to her brother. The Rosenbergs were set to stand trial on March 6, 1951. The FBI used the six months until then to build their case against the couple. In the media, Julius and Ethel were labeled as traitors to their country. In jail, the prosecutors repeatedly threatened them, with the death penalty, they were barely allowed to see their kids, who bounced between relatives

and temporary foster homes after Ethel's arrest. As if that wasn't bad enough, the authorities had caught up with Morton Sobel in Mexico City. He claimed he was kidnapped by the Mexican secret police and brought back to the United States, where he, too, was charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. Behind the scenes, the government threatened Ruth Greenglass, David's wife, with the same charges. But they were willing to make a deal. They'd drop the case if the green glasses told them what they needed to hear. When David initially testified before the grand jury, he swore he'd never spoken to his sister, Ethel, about any of his activities.

But by February 25, 1951, 10 days before the Rosenberg's trial, David changed his tune. He and Ruth put out a public statement claiming the following. They said that in 1945, David brought over the notes about the atomic bomb to the Rosenberg's apartment. After Julius reviewed them, Ethel had been the one to type up the report to the Soviets. This completely contradicted what David had previously told prosecutors that Ruth had been the one to type up the documents. But the government didn't care. The next day, all charges against Ruth were dropped. it was the worst thing that could have happened for Julius and Ethel ahead of their trial,

especially because the government had a trick up its sleeve in the form of a young attorney named Roy Cohn. Like Julius and Ethel, Cone was born to a Jewish family in New York, but that's where their similarities ended. Cone was almost a decade younger than the Rosenbergs, born in 1927, and grew up very, very, privileged. He was the only child of Albert C. Cone, a prominent New York lawyer who became a judge on the New York State Supreme Court when Cone was young. His mother came from extreme wealth. Her father founded the Bank of United States, and her uncle was Joshua Lionel Cowan, who built a financial empire out of toy trains. Cohn graduated from Columbia University at 19 years old, then followed

in his father's footsteps and spent another year at Columbia Law. law school. But unlike his father, who was an active member of the Democratic Party, Cohn drifted toward conservative politics. Soon after passing the bar, he joined the board of the American Jewish League against communism. After that, he used his father's connections to become an assistant U.S. attorney at just 21 years old. Cohn quickly showed he had the skills to sniff out and convict suspected communists. But when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested, he sensed an opportunity to take things a step further and really make a name for himself. The first turtle was getting David Greenglass to agree to testify against Ethel. By then, David had already fabricated

the story about Ethel typing up the notes. In return, the government had dropped its case against him and Ruth. But now they needed David to repeat his story in front of the jury. When he resisted, Cohn threatened to bring new espionage charges against Ruth. It was enough to convince David to testify against his own sister. Cohn's next step was tapping U.S. Attorney Irving Seypole as chief prosecutor, meaning he and Cohn would work together on behalf of the government. Cohn also helped get Judge Irving Kaufman on the bench. Like Cohn, they had both grown up in affluent Jewish New York families and were extremely anti-communist. The Rosenberg's charges, conspiracy to commit espionage, didn't necessarily carry the punishment of execution. Both the FBI and the Department of Justice

were opposed to giving the Rosenberg's the death penalty, but Roy Cohn was out to smear, in Ethel as treasonous Americans and bad Jews. He thought they deserved to die for their crimes and hoped Kaufman would agree. The Rosenberg's trial began on March 6, 1951, with Martin Sobel being charged as a co-defendant. All three of them pleaded not guilty. There was initially a fourth co-defendant, David Greenglass. He was still present in the courtroom, but since he pleaded guilty and become the prosecution's most important witness, he was no longer on trial. David's testimony was detailed. He explained how he became a part of the Manhattan Project and how Julius recruited him into his spy network.

And crucially, David expanded on his testimony about Ethel. In addition to the story about Ethel typing up the atomic bomb notes, he claimed she had contacted his wife, Ruth, to help convince David to become a spy. Of course, this contradicted his previous statements, but Manny Block, the Rosenberg's defense attorney, was deliberately never shown these transcripts, meaning he couldn't contest David's claims. And thanks to Roy Cohn and the prosecution, things only got worse from there. Over the next few days, more witnesses took the stand. Harry Gold, David's Soviet handler, who was also cooperating with the government, testified about passing a law. long secrets from Julius. Max Elicher, who had gone to City College with Julius and Morton Sobel, also testified. He said he had turned them down when they asked if he wanted to spy for the Soviets.

Elizabeth Bentley, the spy who had turned herself in, also swore that she had met Julius through her Soviet contacts. Things weren't looking good for Julius. The only silver lining was the possibility that Ethel might be acquitted. After all, the only thing the prosecution had against her was David's testimony, but proving her innocence to the jury wasn't going to be easy. 35-year-old Ethel Rosenberg was pretty shaken up by the time she took the witness stand. For months, she'd been vilified in the press as an Adam spy. Her chronic illnesses, which gave her significant back pain,

had gotten worse while in jail. and now her own brother, who she helped raise, had turned against her. Ethel did her best to put on a brave face as she sat down in front of the courtroom. This was her moment to make things right, her only opportunity to prove her innocence. On the stand, Ethel explained that both she and her son, Robert, had been very ill during the time she was alleged to have been spying. She contradicted specific details from David's testimony, including his claim that she and Julius had a secret compartment in their table, specifically for taking photos on microfilm. For a moment, it seemed like Ethel would be all right. But then came Roy Cohn's cross-examination.

Under questioning, Ethel repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights. In response, Cohn only pushed harder, asking why she wouldn't want to self-incriminate. Ethel struggled to respond. She stumbled over her words, nervously searching for the right thing to say. Her attorney tried to step in and call for a mistrial, but Judge Kaufman refused the request. Ethel's inability to answer Cohn's questions made her look guilty, and the jury took notice. 23 days after the trial began, on March 29, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage, along with Martin Sobel, while their co-defendant was given a... a prison sentence of 30 years, Judge Kaufman sentenced Julius and Ethel to death.

Judge Kaufman cited Section 2 of the Espionage Act, which said that anyone convicted of sending information relating to the national defense to a foreign government may be imprisoned for life or put to death. Kaufman said that he had prayed to God about his decision and ultimately decided on execution. But in his autobiography, Roy Cohn disputed Kaufman's explanation. He said, quote, the closest Kaufman got to prayer was the phone booth next to the Park Avenue Synagogue. He called from that booth to ask my advice on whether he ought to give the death penalty to Ethel Rosenberg, end quote. Cohn encouraged him to do so. In his mind, she was worse than her husband, the secret mastermind behind the whole spiring. When he sentenced the Rosenbergs,

Kaufman labeled them as mass murderers. He blamed them for giving the Russians the atomic bomb, which he said caused the Korean War. In his eyes, the Rosenbergs were responsible for everyone who had died there, more than 50,000 people. It was a wild leap in logic. And even though the FBI and the DOJ had both opposed the death penalty, they didn't intervene. Julius and Ethel did have a few options to appeal their death sentences, but they knew it was going to be an uphill battle. After Julius and Ethel were convicted, they were transported to Sing Sing Prison in upstate New York. Sing Sing was notorious for its cruel practices and hard labor, but there were a few bright spots. Although Julius and Ethel were almost always separated, they were able to hear each other through the walls every Friday night, singing prayers on the Sabbath, and most importantly, they were finally allowed to see their children, albeit during short, supervised visits.

The kids hadn't had much stability since their parents were arrested. Many of their family members had either sided with David and Ruth Greenglass or were too afraid to take custody of the kids. kids. Those relatives were worried about somehow implicating themselves. It was a lot for Julius and Ethel to navigate, but they tried to keep things light when Michael and Robert were around. They would sing and play games together, including ironically hangman. In the meantime, their attorney, Manny Block, was looking for ways to appeal their sentences, but everywhere he turned, the government jammed up the process. Not only were, other judges unwilling to overturn Kaufman's ruling, but there weren't many ways to counter the use

of the Espionage Act. There was only one place the Rosenbergs could hope to beat the government in the court of public opinion. When Julius and Ethel were convicted, the media largely reported the news without comment. They even quoted Judge Kaufman when he said the Rosenbergs were responsible for the Korean War. Beyond this, that, the papers didn't offer an opinion on whether justice was truly served. But things began to change a few months later when a left-wing New York City newspaper, the National Guardian, began campaigning for the Rosenberg's release. They said the government had insufficient evidence and that the couple was innocent. The Guardian's efforts started to pick up momentum around the

world. Before long, several high-profile figures, including Albert Einstein, Frieda Paulo and Pablo Picasso were speaking out in support of the Rosenbergs. Their efforts led to massive protests around the world, including in the U.S. It still wasn't enough to turn the tide. By early 1953, two years after their conviction, Dwight Eisenhower had become president and had the opportunity to give clemency to the Rosenbergs. Even Pope Pius Ith asked him to spare Julius and Ethel's lives. But Eisenhower stood firm.

In the last few years, anti-communist sentiment had only gotten stronger, and the Red Scare was in full swing. Eisenhower felt like he had to keep cracking the whip. For the Rosenberg's clemency had been their last chance. Now it was clear that Irving, Kaufman, and Roy Cohn were, going to come out on top. The Rosenberg's days were numbered and time was running out. When West Jet first took flight in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion, inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked,

the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when WestJet welcomes you on board. Here's to Westjetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. When a birthday party in suburban San Jose turns deadly, 18-year-old identical twins are arrested for suspected murder. One of them spends nearly two years in jail before the truth comes out. Authorities locked up the wrong twin. How could one brother let his twin take the fall?

And why would the other give up his freedom? for a crime he didn't commit. Blood Will Tell is a modern-day Shakespearean saga about what we're willing to sacrifice for the people we love and whether our most tragic mistakes are worthy of redemption. Listen to Blood Will Tell, a new series from Audible and Campside Media wherever you get your podcasts. On May 31st, 1953, Judge Irving Kaufman set the date for the Rosenberg's

execution. It would be in three weeks on the couple's 14th anniversary. Thirty-five-year-old Julius and 37-year-old Ethel were running out of time. But Julius was hoping for a miracle. Julius's faith was rewarded a few days later when the Rosenberg's lawyer, Manny Block, said the government had a plan to save them from death. Julius met with a team of U.S. attorneys to learn more. They said they would remove the death penalty on one condition. He and Ethel had to publicly admit their guilt and name the other communists in their network. And this was the same tactic used by Senator Joseph McCarthy in his House on American Activities Committee hearings, forcing former and alleged communist to choose between naming names or being blacklisted.

After securing the Rosenberg's conviction, Roy Cohn had been promoted to McCarthy's chief counsel, and he pushed for these same techniques to be used against Julius and Ethel. The couple refused to give in. Even with their lives on the line, they wouldn't implicate anyone else, and they didn't want to admit to something they claimed they hadn't done, and they rejected the government's deal, and released a public statement. They said, quote,

by asking us to repudiate the truth of our innocence, the government admits its own doubts concerning our guilt. We will not be coerced, even under pain of death, to bear false witness. Now there was nothing left to do but wait and pray. As the date of the execution drew closer, Manny Block tried to intervene one last time. Through another lawyer, the case made it up to Supreme Court Justice William Douglas. Douglas granted a stay of execution. Douglas wasn't the only Supreme Court justice who disagreed with Kaufman's ruling. Felix Frankfurter, the only Jewish justice on the court, wrote privately, quote, I despise a judge who feels God told him to impose a death sentence, end quote.

Unfortunately, Douglas and Frankfurter's votes weren't enough to overturn Kaufman's decision. The stay of execution only lasted one day. It was rescheduled for the next day, Friday, June 19, 1953, at 11 p.m. This presented a new problem. The amended time came during the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest. Manny Block felt that this violated his client's religious rights and asked for the execution to be delayed once again. Judge Kaufman was more than happy to accommodate the change. He moved up the execution three hours to 8 p.m. before sundown when the Sabbath began. The day before the execution,

the Rosenberg's sons, Michael now 10 years old, and Robert now six, were brought to Sing-Sing to say goodbye to their parents. The boys couldn't stop crying. Michael, in particular, kept yelling, one more day to live. Julius and Ethel hugged and kissed their boys, but tried to remain as stoic as they could, and they had resolved to show no emotion throughout the process as an act of resistance against the government. After less than an hour together,

the boys were taken away, and Julius and Ethel were led back to their cells. Julius and Ethel were forced to spend their last night in separate cells. writing letters and arranging their affairs. Julius put together their last will and testament in a letter to Manny Block. Julius ended his letter with a request from Ethel. She wanted the public to know that she and her husband were the first victims of American fascism. Then Julius wrote one last letter to his sons.

He wrote, quote, Eventually, to you must come to believe that life is worth the living, and freedom must sometimes be purchased very dearly. At around 1 p.m. on June 19th, the Rosenbergs ate their last meal. They declined a special lunch and received the standard serving of fish with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, string beans, salad, jello, and coffee. The couple was allowed one brief meeting before the execution. They held each other close and kissed goodbye.

Julius was led away silently to the electric chair, where a handful of prison officials and doctors waited with the executioner. Julius's execution was violent, but quick. He died after the first electric shock. Ethel's experience was far worse. After three shocks, doctors determined she was still alive. The executioners pulled the lever twice more before she was dead. Smoke curled off the top of her. her head as they unstrapped her from the chair. The Rosenberg's died alone, the only American citizens ever executed for espionage, but millions of people around the world mourned for them afterward. Julius and Ethel's funeral was held in Brooklyn two days after their death on June 21st, 1953. The weather was blistering, with temperatures hitting 95 degrees. That didn't stop the than 10,000 people from crowding around the synagogue where the service was held. But this

outpouring of support wasn't reported on in most American newspapers. Ten days after their executions, Manny Block wrote an op-ed in the National Guardian, criticizing the mainstream media's coverage of the case. He said, quote, Our great newspapers, which during the trial had seized eagerly upon every propaganda release of the prosecution, closed their page. to all news about the victims." Around the world, many people celebrated the Rosenbergs as martyrs. Left-wing leaders called the trial a miscarriage of justice. But of course, the two people who mourned Julius and Ethel the most were their sons, Michael and Robert.

Their lives were turned upside down, even more than before. At one point, someone sent Michael an anonymous postcard. It said, of course you feel for the loss of your parents, but when you think of all the boys they killed in Korea, you should realize that they deserve to die. Why don't you change your names and become Christians? The boys did eventually change their names after their parents were executed. They began living with a friend of their parents, Robert Mirapole, and his wife, Anne. And in 1957, the Mirapole's officially a woman. adopted Robert and Michael. But as the boys grew older, they never forgot about their parents, and they never stopped fighting for justice.

In 1995, four years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States declassified the transcripts from the Venona Project, which had decoded encrypted Soviet messages. The transcripts made it clear that Julius had, in fact, been a spy for the Soviet Union. Something was missing, though. There was no evidence to suggest that Ethel had anything to do with the espionage. A few years later, in 2001, on the 50th anniversary of the trial, David Greenglass, now 79 years old, shocked the world. He admitted that he had committed perjury when he said Ethel typed up his atomic bomb notes. He said his wife, Ruth, was actually the one who'd done it.

David explained how Roy Cohn and the rest of the prosecution had threatened to bring massive espionage charges against Ruth unless he changed his story. Just like that, the government's main piece of evidence against Ethel Rosenberg was disproven. And in the years since, other critical aspects of their argument fell apart too. Other declassified documents showed that Julius's spy network didn't actually impact the Soviet nuclear program. But some of the people who got off easy did. Klaus Fuchs, who spent nine years in prison, probably had the greatest impact. Robert and Michael Mirapole, as they are now known, have been campaigning for decades for their mother to be pardoned. Multiple presidential administrations have declined to do so.

The ripple effects of the Rosenberg trial can still be seen today, especially when it comes to one man, Roy Cohn. Cohn used the Rosenberg case as a springboard to become Joseph McCarthy's chief council during his reign over the House on American Activities Committee. Under McCarthy, Cohn helped blacklist prominent Hollywood communists who'd committed no crime other than their political affiliation. After the McCarthy era fizzled out in 1954, Cohn established a private practice in New York, representing some of the most prominent business people in the city. His reputation for getting his clients out of trouble was second to none. All the while, he served as an advisor to Richard Nixon and then later to Ronald Reagan.

During Reagan's campaign, Cohn bribed the Liberty Party of New York into splitting the Democratic vote, which paved the way for Reagan to win the state. In 1986, when he was 59 years old, Cohn was disbarred as a lawyer for committing fraud. Five weeks later, he died. of AIDS. As a closeted gay man, Kohn lied about his illness, claiming he was suffering from liver cancer. Without the Rosenberg trial, Roy Kohn may not have had such a storied career, and for better or for worse, our country would have looked very different without him. The legacy of the Rosenberg's is complicated. Julius Rosenberg's parents fled Russia at the

height of injustice against the Jewish people, but the life they found in New York wasn't much easier. And like many children of immigrants, Julius was forever changed by their struggle. But Julius did turn his back on America, and in doing so, he put innocent people at risk, namely his own family, and whether or not Julius deserved to die for his actions is up for debate. However, most people agree that Ethel was a victim. She was wrongfully convicted, and we have the evidence to prove it. Now, we'd love to get your thoughts. Do you think Ethel should have been spared, or was she guilty by association? Do you think Julius was justified in his choices? Should the government have done things differently? Tell us what you think in the comments. Wherever you land,

one thing is clear. In trying to make an example of Ethel and Julius, the U.S. government left two young boys as orphans. They could have grown up with their mother, if not both, their parents. And that's the real tragedy. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is murder, true crime stories. Come back next time for the story of another murder and all the people it affected. and thanks again to our special guest host, Vanessa Richardson. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original, powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on TikTok and Instagram.

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This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Natalie Bratzowski, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Camp, Jake Natheerman, Leah Roche, and Michael Langsner. Thank you for listening. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Murder True Crime Stories. Not sure what to listen to next, check out America's most infamous crimes hosted by Katie Ring. From serial killers to unsolved mysteries and game-changing investigations, each week Katie takes on a notorious criminal case in American history.

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