The trial and conviction of these two men became a worldwide sensation. Many people protested that the evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti was weak and that they were actually tried for their immigrant status and political beliefs. Judge Webster Thayer, who presided over their trial, spoke openly of his disdain for foreigners and anarchists, and refused several motions for a new trial, even after another man named Celestino Medeiros confessed to the Braintree crimes in 1925. Despite worldwide protests, Sacco and Vanzetti were put to death in the electric chair on August 23, 1927.