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Adnan Syed (2022) -

Adnan Syed spent over two decades behind bars for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a case which was featured on the landmark podcast 'Serial,' before a judge vacated his conviction in a September 2022 hearing, leading to his release. A Maryland appellate court has reinstated the conviction on the basis that the lower court violated the rights of the victim's brother, Young Lee, to attend a key hearing in person (he attended only on Zoom) by not giving him enough notice ahead of time. 

The decision to vacate Syed’s conviction in 2022 came nearly eight years after the podcast unearthed the case and raised questions about the conviction and Syed's legal representation. “There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon. "For the time being, Adnan remains a free man,” Syed’s attorney said upon news of the redo hearing on the motion to vacate, according to the CNN.

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The Nuremberg trials (1945-1946) -

One of the most significant trials in modern history, the Nuremberg trials saw former Nazi officials tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal.

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The Nuremberg trials (1945-1946) -

The location at Nuremberg, where Adolf Hitler had once hosted propaganda parades, was symbolic of the end of his regime. Of the 177 defendants, only 25 were found not guilty.

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The O.J. Simpson murder trial (1995) -

In a high-profile trial that became a media circus, O.J. Simpson stood accused of the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.

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The O.J. Simpson murder trial (1995) -

Everyone involved in the trial became the subject of media coverage and public speculation, including his lawyer Robert Kardashian (father of Kim, Khloé, Kourtney, and Rob Kardashian). In the end, Simpson was acquitted of the murders in criminal court, but was eventually found responsible for both deaths in a civil trial.

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The Lizzie Borden trial (1893) -

One of the first trials to receive widespread publicity in the US, this case centered around the brutal axe murders of Borden’s father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.

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The Lizzie Borden trial (1893) -

Borden was tried for the murders, but the jury acquitted her, as there was only circumstantial evidence against her. Nonetheless, the case went down in history, inspiring films, theatrical productions, literary works, and folk rhymes.

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The trial of Charles Manson and the Manson Family (1970-1971) -

Charles Manson was an American criminal who led the Manson Family, a California-based cult. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August of 1969. In 1971, Manson himself was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.

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The trial of Charles Manson and the Manson Family (1970-1971) -

Manson was sentenced to death, but following the abolition of capital punishment in California in 1972, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in prison in 2017.

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The Rosenberg espionage trial (1951) -

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were an American couple tried for being suspected Soviet spies. Julius was an engineer for the US Army Signal Corps, who passed confidential information relating to the Manhattan Project to the USSR. He was arrested in June 1950, with his wife Ethel also arrested shortly after.

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The Rosenberg espionage trial (1951) -

During their short trial, the couple insisted on their innocence. But they were found guilty of espionage, sentenced to death, and executed. They left behind two sons, Michael and Robert.

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The Leopold and Loeb trial (1924) -

Another high-profile case that reflected America's growing fascination for courtroom drama, this trial centered around the murder of a 14-year-old boy with a chisel. The case saw attorney Clarence Darrow mount a famous defense of two wealthy teenage boys, who were supposedly motivated by a desire to commit the "perfect crime."

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The Leopold and Loeb trial (1924) -

Darrow used Nietzschean nihilism to argue that, though guilty, Leopold and Loeb acted on influences beyond their control. The defense was successful, and the teens were spared death sentences.

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The Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) -

The Scopes Monkey Trial was a legal case in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it illegal for teachers to teach human evolution in state-funded schools. Clarence Darrow served as the defense attorney for Scopes.

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The Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) -

Scopes was convicted and fined US$100, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality that he had been fined excessively. The law was repealed in 1967.

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The Bill Clinton impeachment trial (1998) -

On December 19, 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for allegedly lying under oath and concealing an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. This was the second time in history that a US president had been impeached, the first having been President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

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The Bill Clinton impeachment trial (1998) -

After the hugely publicized and controversial impeachment trial, which lasted around five weeks, Clinton was cleared of both counts.

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The Adolf Eichmann trial (1960) -

One of the chief architects behind the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann was captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel to stand trial.

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The Adolf Eichmann trial (1960) -

His trial was televised and broadcast internationally, intended to educate on the crimes committed against Jews. Eichmann was sentenced to death.

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The trial of Galileo (1633) -

As one of history's most prominent astronomers and physicists, Galileo Galilei faced trial at the hands of the Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was prosecuted for his support of heliocentrism, the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe.

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The trial of Galileo (1633) -

Galileo was condemned to life imprisonment. In 1992, the Catholic Church finally admitted its error at the Inquisition, and in 2000 Pope John Paul II gave a formal apology for the trial of Galileo.

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The Chicago Seven trial (1969-1970) -

In 1968, during the Democratic National Convention, anti-war protests escalated into riots on the streets of Chicago. Seven suspected protest leaders were arrested for inciting riots and criminal conspiracies.

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The Chicago Seven trial (1969-1970) -

Tried for over five months, the defendants hit back by disrupting the court proceedings with jokes. All the defendants were charged with and acquitted of conspiracy, but five were found guilty of inciting a riot. All five were sentenced to five years in prison, and all seven were given jail time for contempt of court. The convictions were later reversed on appeal.

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The Rodney King case and the Los Angeles riots (1992) -

On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was captured on video being brutally beaten by LAPD officers. The video was broadcast across the world, and triggered public outrage, which turned into a full-blown riot when three of the four police officers were acquitted.

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The Rodney King case and the Los Angeles riots (1992) -

The trial was the final straw for LA's disenfranchised racial minorities, confirming that, despite footage, the LAPD wouldn't be held accountable for abuse against black communities.

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The Black Sox Scandal (1921) -

In one of the darkest moments in baseball history, eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox were indicted on charges of having thrown that year's World Series in exchange for money.

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The Black Sox Scandal (1921) -

Dubbed as the Black Sox, the eight players received a total of US$70,000-$100,000 for losing five games to three. They were eventually acquitted, but banned from playing baseball ever again.

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The trial of Socrates (399 BCE) -

Condemned by those he sought to serve, Socrates was tried as a threat to Athenian democracy in 399 BCE, formally on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth.

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The trial of Socrates (399 BCE) -

The philosopher was ultimately condemned to death by drinking a poisonous beverage of hemlock.

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The Salem witch trials (1692-1693) -

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693.

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The Salem witch trials (1692-1693) -

Nineteen "witches" were eventually convicted and sentenced to hanging, while many others were imprisoned.

See also: The most famous Salem witch trial descendants and relatives

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The most epic trials in history -

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