It’s time to exonerate Ethel

"This death sentence is not surprising. It had to be. There had to be a Rosenberg case because there had to be an intensification of the hysteria in America to make the Korean War acceptable to the American people. There had to be hysteria and a fear sent through America in order to get increased war budgets. And there had to be a dagger thrust in the heart of the left to tell them that you are no longer gonna give five years for a Smith Act prosecution or one year for Contempt of Court, but we're gonna kill ya!"

THOSE WERE The words of Julius Rosenberg before he and his wife Ethel were executed at Sing Sing prison in June 1953 for the alleged crime of giving "the secret of the atomic bomb" to the USSR.

Perhaps no other case than the trial of these two communists speaks to the terrifying climate of the Cold War and the McCarthyist witch hunt that trapped tens of thousands of communists, trade unionists and other radicals in its net.

The federal government's message was clear in its execution of the Rosenbergs: We will make an example of you, even if you are innocent.

More than six decades later, family members and supporters are calling on the government to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg, who had nothing to do with any plot to share atomic secrets, a fact that has become all the more apparent over the years.

Robert Meeropol, one of the Ethel and Julius' sons, and Robert's daughter Jenn, among others, are circulating a petition through the website of the Rosenberg Fund for Children, the nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the children of parents who suffered due to their involvement in progressive causes.

DURING THE proceedings against the Rosenbergs, dubbed the "trial of a century," prosecutors claimed that the couple gave away the so-called "atomic secret," which was portrayed as the one piece of information that made it possible for the USSR to develop an atomic bomb.

The idea was ridiculous, even at the time, yet prosecutors provided evidence in court, the testimony of Ethel's brother and sister-in-law in particular, to try to prove their point.

No evidence linked Ethel to espionage, but prosecutors believed they could use her as a lever to coerce a confession from Julius, so they threatened her with the death penalty as well. Julius and Ethel refused to be intimidated.

Ethel released a statement that was quoted in the left-wing weekly newspaper the National Guardian a month after being transferred to Sing Sing. She stated to government officials that they were "in for a sad awakening. We are victims of the grossest type of political frame-up ever known in American history. In our own way, we will try to establish our innocence. But we ask the people of America to realize the political significance of our case and come to our aid."

A campaign to defend the Rosenbergs gained international support, among famous writers and artists as well as the thousands of ordinary people who turned out to demonstrations to save them.

More recently released evidence confirms Ethel's innocence.

In 2008, the Rosenbergs' co-defendant Morton Sobell, who served 18 years in federal prison, announced that he had spied for Russia and implicated Julius in his espionage attempt--though the intelligence they passed on wasn't the "secret" of the atomic bomb. What's more, this took place during the Second World War, when the U.S. and Russia were allied in fighting the Nazis.

While Sobell's confession implicated Julius, it also made clear that Ethel had nothing to do with the espionage.

In July 2015, the transcript of the grand-jury testimony of Ethel's brother David Greenglass, given seven months before the 1951 trial, was released. It showed that the Greenglasses never mentioned Ethel until later in the case when prosecutors thought they could use charges against Ethel to threaten Julius into admitting he was an atomic spy. The transcript points to the conclusion that Ethel's brother lied about her in court in order to win a lighter sentence.

IN AN atmosphere of anti-communism and Cold War fears, the death sentence was easy for prosecutors to win. And it served as a chilling example of the ultimate punishment against those who dissent. Today, we face a different kind of hysteria, whipped up in the name of a "war on terror," which puts immigrants and Muslims on its "suspects" list.

The legacy of McCarthyism still hangs in the air, in the form of today's surveillance state, but also in the task that lies ahead for socialists and other leftists who want to rebuild an American left that was decimated during the red scare. Showing solidarity today with the cause of Ethel Rosenberg can be part of that task.

The campaign to exonerate Ethel was launched earlier this year, and so far, the petition has gained more than 6,000 signatures. On September 28 of last year, which would have been Ethel's 100th birthday, 13 New York City Council members and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer issued proclamations declaring that that she was wrongfully executed.

It's time for President Obama to join this list.

Historically, exiting presidents make such announcements about pardons or clemencies after the November election and before they leave office. This means that the campaign will work through the summer to gain more support and endorsements. The campaign is encouraging people to see Mother's Day as a day for supporters to sign and circulate the petition and show their support.

You can find out more about the campaign at the Rosenberg Fund for Children website.