What if the Lindbergh kidnapper was innocent?

Question

How would the world be different if the kidnapper was innocent or if Lindbergh was still alive?

Answer 1

There's actually quite a few people who believe that the man tried and convicted of the kidnapping, Bruno Hauptmann, was in fact innocent. The problem is that the trial was a rushed and chaotic media circus, so the truth got mixed up with the hoopla. It's virtually impossible to sort out what actually happened nowadays. He may have been guilty, but we'll probably never know.

The only thing we do know is that Hauptmann wound up with some of the ransom money, but that's hardly enough to justify his subsequent execution. If he had been found not guilty at his trial, people might have been shaken by the verdict at the time and proclaimed that the justice system had failed, but I think history would ultimately be a little nicer about the whole thing. If the trial had been as fair as it should have been, the investigation might have continued and the truth may have been fully known.

A very thorough book about it is called "The Airmen and the Carpenter," and a pretty good (albeit a little inaccurate) movie about it was made recently, called "Crime of the Century."

Answer 2

well if Lindbergh was still alive we would all want the youth serum that he used

this was a major news story not to be confused with a major event - the only noticeable difference would be the headlines on archived newspapers

Answer 3

That sounds like a plausible premise for another alternative history book. Have fun writing it.

Answer 4

He wasn't and the baby's not.