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The Lindbergh Law made extradition proceedings no longer necessary for the crime of kidnapping murder. The law was approved by Congress on June 22, 1932 and on May 18, FDR signed into effect a harsher Lindbergh Law which made the sending of a kidnap/ransom note across state lines a federal offense. It also permitted the death penalty for kidnapers who took their victims from one state to another and failed to return them unharmed.

Cameras in Court?

Another law was passed because of the Lindbergh-Hauptmann Trial. The American Bar Association passed Cannon 35 which banned all still and motion cameras and microphones from courtrooms. That law was established because of the constant noise of flashes and reporters whispering throughout the trial, and more importanty. so that a fair trial could be given to all. Many believe Hauptmann did not receive a fair trial because of the media. When he was arrested, headlines read: "Lindbergh Kidnaper Arrested." He was presumed guilty upon arrest. Reporters fought to be the first to bring fresh news. Wires transmitted daily court transcripts all around the world. The entire trial added up to 55,000 transmitted words.

The trial consumed Lindbergh and his family. Charles Lindbergh sat near the jury throughout the trial and he spent most of the time staring at Hauptmann. After the trial was over, Lindbergh tried to hide out with his family. But,while his son Jon was on his way to nursery school, the Lindbergh car was supposedly pushed off the road.  They suspected another kidnapping, but instead it was a few photographers who wanted a picture of Jon. This outraged Lindbergh, who witnessed photographers take photos of his first son in his casket. He decided that he and his family would move to England. He began participating in research which resulted in the development of the first artificial heart. In 1950, the Lindberghs moved to Darien, Connecticut. One day a man knocked on the front door. Lindbergh's 5-year-old daughter, Reeve, answered the door. The man said he was her long-lost brother Charles. It was discovered that the man was an escapee from an asylum located nearby.

Lindbergh died in 1974. His wife, Anne, died in 2001. 

Hauptmann's wife, Anna, lived to be 94-years-old, dying October 10, 1994 in Lancaster County. Just as her husband spent his last two years claiming his innocence, Anna spent the rest of her life insisting that her husband was innocent.

What happened to the others involved in the Hauptmann Case??? Hauptmann's son, Manfried, is still alive. He is said to be living in Pennsylvania. 

The prosecutor, David Wilentz, died in 1996, while his son, Robert Wilentz was the Chief Justice of New jersey's Supreme Court! 

 Col. Norman Schwarzkopf died in 1958 and his son, General Norman H Schwarzkopf Jr.  still defends his father's pathetic failures. 

Defense attorney, Edward Reilly, (Death House Reilly from Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn), died shortly after the execution of Hauptmann, from syphilis.

The Osborn Family has certainly profited from their participation in The Trial of the Century. Their business still flourishes today in the Wall St. area of  lower Manhattan. 

Many still today wonder how Bruno Richard Hauptmann was convicted of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder. Many questions go unanswered. Some declare that the nation needed to see someone convicted to offer some closure to the case; however, what closure has become of the execution of Hauptmann? Yes, Hauptmann died, but did he commit the crime?  So many questions still go unanswered. Can we dig up old evidence and find the true killer? Of course we can. But, although that may bring peace to Hauptmann's memory, it cannot bring Hauptmann back. The true "Crime of the Century" is not the kidnapping and murder of the poor Lindbergh baby, but the wrongful execution of Richard Hauptmann.

Vintage newspaper articles on this website were found with Ancestry. Com databases  click logo for details