The Case of Morton Sobell

YEAR: 1954
ITEM: Book
COMPANY: The National Committee to Secure Justice
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes

One of the most famous trials of the last century was the Julius & Ethel Rosenberg espionage case; Sobell was a co-defendent in that case. The Case of Morton Sobell looks to be a self-published small booklet of 32 pages and measuring only 6.25" tall and 4.75" wide. The booklet was written by D. N. Pritt who was an "Internationally known British lawyer" according to the booklet's cover. The booklet was published by The National Committee to Secure Justice for Morton Sobell likely in late 1953 or in 1954 as it makes reference to Sobell's transfer to Alcatraz in November 1952 and to Julius and Ethel's execution in June 1953.

The author makes the argument that Sobell was not given a fair trial primarily because he was unfairly tarnished by evidence against Julius and Ethel. Sobell had worked for a while at Reeves Instrument Company (RICO), the same company that produced one of the earliest electronic computers in the country. Among Reeves' clients were the US Navy, the US Air Force and many defense industry companies...so Reeves provided computers for a lot of top secret projects. Two of the RICO executives testified at the trail.

Sobell was sentenced to 30 years and was transferred to Alcatraz in November 1952. He was transferred from Alcatraz in March 1958 to Springfield Medical Facility for Federal Inmates and from there to Lewisburg where he was released in 1969 having served a little less than 20 years. He died in 2018 at the age of 101.

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