Reportedly, actor Timothy Hutton wanted his part so much he had his agent constantly telephone director Sidney Lumet to organize an interview. Later, Hutton flew to New York at his own cost, met with Lumet, and within twenty minutes had secured the role.
Timothy Hutton had been offered the lead in Risky Business (1983) but opted to work with Sidney Lumet on this one instead, in defiance of his then agent Sue Mengers' advice.
The execution scenes were filmed in the former death chamber at Sing Sing Prison utilizing the electric chair that once sat there.
The main characters of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson were based on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.