Sedition Justice Served: Socialist Millionaire’s Wife Jailed for 10 Years

June 2, 1918, marked a somber day in Kansas City, Missouri, as Mrs. Rose Pastor Stokes, the wife of a millionaire and a prominent socialist, was sentenced to a decade behind bars. Federal Judge Arba S. Van Valkenburgh delivered the stern verdict, slamming down a 10-year term in the Missouri State Penitentiary for violating the Federal espionage law. The courtroom drama unfolded as Mrs. Stokes, undaunted, presented an impassioned defense of her actions and protested her innocence of any wrongdoing. In a final, defiant flourish, she declared, ‘I am ready for my sentence.’