On this day in 1924, Leopold and Loeb found guilty of the murder of Robert Franks in the “crime of the century”
One “Crime of the Century” occurred on this day in 1924. Nathan Leopold (18-years old) and Richard Loeb (19) thought they had committed the perfect crime when they kidnapped and killed 14- year old Bobby Franks. They hadn’t, but they became the poster boys for the botched perfect crime. Leopold was a millionaire’s son who was a brilliant student and famous amateur ornithologist. Richard Loeb was the son of a retired vice president of Sears. He went to college at age 15 and graduated at age 17. Handsome and charming, he was also an alcoholic who believed in taking risks. It was his idea to commit the perfect crime to prove their intellectual superiority. Leopold was on board because as a disciple of German philosopher Nietzsche, he believed in the idea of the superman who was above the law. The two became lovers while attending the University of Chicago. They got their kicks with acts of burglary and arson, but were disappointed in the lack of news coverage. They hatched plan to kidnap and ransom a child. On May 21, 1924 they drove around looking for a victim. After two hours, they spotted Leopold’s cousin Franks walking home. They convinced him to get in the front seat of the car. Soon after, Loeb bludgeoned Franks with a chisel. The body was hidden in a culvert where it was found before the ransom scheme could finish. Although they tried to cover their tracks, Leopold had dropped his glasses at the culvert. It had an unusual hinge that was traced to him and the duo were arrested and confessed. Loeb opined that he was justified in his search for knowledge. Killing Franks was no different than pulling the wings off a fly to find that it would make it useless. Loeb’s father hired Clarence Darrow. Darrow was the most famous defense lawyer after his defense of labor union leader Eugene Debs for criminal conspiracy in the Pullman Strike. He was paid $70,000 ($1 million today). Darrow took the case because he saw it as a chance to oppose the death penalty. He believed crime was a mental problem and the solution was not punishment, especially the death. Knowing a jury would never declare innocence, he had the two plead guilty so Judge John Caverly would hear and decide the case. Caverly had a reputation for leniency. Both sides presented a team of psychiatrists. The defense focused on psychoanalysis and argued that both young men had been traumatized by their governesses (haven’t we all?). They lived in a fantasy world. The prosecution shrinks focused on neurology and proclaimed the two totally sane. The dueling psychiatrists were not a great moment for the public’s perception of psychiatry! Or of judges, as Cavelry decided the two men were too young to fry. He sentenced them both to 99 years in prison. In 1936, Loeb was stabbed in the prison shower. In 1958, Leopold was paroled and moved to Puerto Rico where he died in 1971.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leopold-and-loebs-criminal-minds-996498/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb
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