Over the centuries the justice system, the media and society have witnessed shocking events and horrific trials.
The thing is, media outlets and journalists always try to uncovers stories, give information to the public, and sometimes be dramatic in order to gain recognition and, of course, high ratings.
However, on these 7 occasions they went too far. It’s up to you to decide if they should’ve been stopped or not.
1. Gloria Vanderbilt’s Custody Battle
The daughter of famous railroad heir Reginald Vanderbilt and his wife (who was a popular socialite and a lot younger than her husband) Gloria Mercedes Morgan, gained lots of media attention just when she was just 10 years old.
After her father died when she was 1 year old, her mother started spending the trust fund left by Reginald on parties.
Her mother’s lifestyle was not approved by her aunt Gertrude Whitney, Reginald’s sister and one of the richest women in the States at the time, and so in 1934 Gertrude decided to kidnap her niece.
This started a media circus and a long custody battle. For the whole period of the trial more than 100 hundred journalists were present in the courtroom, writing several pages regarding the details of the trial.
After two months, the judge decided to give custody of Gloria Vanderbilt to her aunt Gertrude.
2. The Rosenberg Trial
In 1951, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty and convicted for espionage. Ethel’s brother worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and stated that he gave Julius classified nuclear documents.
The pair was sentenced to death by electric chair, the couple were the only ones who were executed in the U.S. for espionage during the Cold War. The Court’s decision sparked national outrage and a political circus.
This event amplified a lot of fear about the Cold War among all Americans.
