Final answer:
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried and executed for allegedly passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Their sentence in 1950 reflected the heightened anti-Communist sentiment in the US. The trial remains controversial due to questions surrounding the evidence, particularly against Ethel.
Step-by-step explanation:
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put on trial in 1950 for allegedly facilitating the transfer of nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, during a time when fear and suspicion of Communism were at a peak in the United States. Their family connection to David Greenglass, who worked on the Manhattan Project and was a confessed spy, posed them as key figures in a spy ring that potentially accelerated Soviet atomic bomb development. They were found guilty and sentenced to death, and despite international outcry and numerous appeals, they were executed at Sing Sing Prison in June 1953.
The trial was controversial and divisive, with some Americans believing the sentence was justified due to the gravity of the accused crime. Others argued that the evidence against Ethel was particularly weak and that the case was overstated to fuel Cold War hysteria. Their execution remains one of the most debated topics in the history of American espionage and Cold War politics.