Original sentence: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were American Communists who captured and maintained world attention after being accused and convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.The couple were the only two American civilians to be executed for the crime of espionage during the Cold War.Their case has been at the center of the controversy over communism in the United States ever since, with supporters steadfastly maintaining that their conviction was an egregious example of persecution typical of the "hysteria" of those times (see Red Scare, McCarthyism) and likening it to the witch hunts that marred Salem and medieval Europe
Edited sentence: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were the only two American civilians to be executed for the crime of espionage during the Cold War