Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American communists who were excuted in the year 1953 at Sing Sing prison for episonage (spying) and obtaining U.S information about the Atomic bomb. Julius and Ethel not only obtained this information but then proceeded to pass this information to Russia and the Soviet Union during World War II. The Rosenburgs were executed for this 'crime' in 1953, their execution being the first of its kind, being that it was the first execution to be carried out against civilians for episonage. The decision to excute the Rosenburgs via the electric chair was, and still is, extremely controversial, - in 2003 The New York Times published a 50th Anniversary of the Execution edition, stating "the Rosenbergs case still haunts American history, reminding us of the injustice that can be done when a nation gets caught up in hysteria.''
On the morning of the 16th June, 1950, shortly after 8am, FBI agents arrived at the New York City apartment of thirty-two-year-old Julius Rosenberg. The agents wanted to question Rosenberg about information they had received the day before from his brother-in-law, David Greenglass. Greenglass's statement led the FBI to suspect that Rosenberg had recruited his brother-in-law to steal atomic secrets from Los Alamos and passed those secrets on to the Soviets. After calmly finishing his morning shave, Rosenberg denied the agents' request to search his apartment, but agreed to accompany them downtown to answer questions about the alleged role that he and his wife played in what would become the most famous spy story of the twentieth century. Three years later, on the 19th June 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Rosenburg would be dead.
Although the court found the evidence strong enough for a conviction, the ruling and the Rosenberg's death sentence became a very controversial topic among the American public. Many Americans believed the death penalty to be too severe. There was a powerful movement to save the couple, but in the end they were sentenced to death by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.
I Believe - Frankie Laine - Number 1 at the time of the Rosenburg's deaths.
