In the 1920s, a Makeover Saved This Woman From the Death Penalty

Sabella Nitti was the first woman sentenced to death in Cook County, and she was innocent. And then she got a bob. Sabella Nitti was ugly. At least that's what the prosecutor said-- in fact he built much of his case around her looks, leaning on sexism, racism, and stereotypes to convince the jury that Nitti was an "ugly animal" capable of killing her husband with their farmhand Peter Crudele, even though the actual evidence was circumstantial and flimsy. Photo: Courtesy of Emilie Lucchesi, Ugly ...