Bruno Hauptmann

Convicted February 14, 1935 of extortion, and the kidnapping and murder of 20-month-old Charles Augustus Lindberg, Jr., sentenced to death. Executed via electrocution April 3, 1936 at the New Jersey State Prison.

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The kidnapping of the Lindberg baby was dubbed the "Crime of the Century," and continues to captivate to this day. Hauptmann asserted his innocence throughout his interrogation and trial, pleading not guilty to the charges, and even refusing to confess in exchange for an offer to commute his death-penalty to a life sentence. After his death, his wife Anna Hauptmann campaigned unsuccessfully for her husband's innocence, though Anthony Scaduto's 1974 Scapegoat seemed to popularize the idea of Hauptmann's alleged innocence. In recent years, Hauptmann has enjoyed a more sympathetic portrayal in the media, and supporters of his innocence persist into the digital age. However, recent review of the case with modern forensics for a program on Court TV concluded that evidence indeed points to Hauptmann.