Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard A. Loeb (June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), more commonly known as Leopold and Loeb, were two wealthy University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924, and received sentences of life in prison. Leopold & Loeb under arrest. ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... Bobby Franks(1910 or 1909-1924) was the son of Chicago millionaire Jacob Franks. ...

Their crime was notable in being largely motivated by an apparent need to prove the duo's belief that their high intellects made them capable of committing a perfect crime, and also for its role in the history of American thought on capital punishment and in attorney Clarence Darrow's enormous (and effective) summation on behalf of mercy and medical treatment for the murderers as opposed to retributive capital punishment. For other uses, see Perfect crime (disambiguation). ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Clarence Seward Darrow (April 18, 1857 Kinsman Township, Trumbull County, Ohio - March 13, 1938 Chicago) was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenaged thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks (1924) and... Retributive justice maintains that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to crime, regardless of whether the punishment causes any tangible benefits. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...

Motive

Leopold, age 19 at the time of the murder, and Loeb, 18, believed themselves to be Nietzschean supermen who could commit a "perfect crime" (in this case a kidnapping and murder) without fear of being apprehended.^[1] Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The friends were exceptionally intelligent: Leopold had already completed college and was attending law school at the University of Chicago.^[1] He spoke five languages^[2] and was an expert ornithologist, while Loeb was the youngest graduate in the history of the University of Michigan.^[1] Leopold planned to transfer to Harvard Law School in September, after taking a trip to Europe. Loeb planned to enter the University of Chicago Law School after taking some post graduate courses.^[1] Ornithology (from the Greek ornis = bird and logos = word/science) is the branch of zoology concerned with the scientific study of birds. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U of M, UM or simply Michigan) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan, and one of the foremost universities in the United States. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Both Leopold and Loeb lived in Kenwood, a wealthy neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Loeb's father, Albert, began his career as a lawyer and became the Vice President of Sears and Roebuck. Besides owning an impressive mansion in Kenwood, two blocks away from the Leopold home, the Loeb family also had a summer estate in Charlevoix, Michigan. Kenwood, located on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the official Chicago Community Areas. ... This article refers to Sears as it existed prior to its merger with Kmart. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

The pair had worked themselves up to committing the crime for months, starting out with petty theft.^[1]

Timeline

On Wednesday, May 21, 1924, they put their plot in motion. The pair lured Franks, a neighbor and distant relative of Loeb's, into a rented car. Loeb first struck Franks with a chisel. Leopold and Loeb then suffocated Franks. After concealing the body in a culvert under a railroad track outside of Chicago—the body was burned with hydrochloric acid to make identification more difficult—they did their best to make it seem that a kidnapping for ransom had taken place; the Franks family had enough money that a request for $10,000 in ransom was plausible.^[1] The ransom note had been typed on a typewriter that Leopold had used with his law school study group. During police questioning, Leopold's and Loeb's alibis broke down and each confessed. Although their confessions were in agreement about most major facts in the case, each blamed the other for the actual killing. is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The chemical compound hydrochloric acid is the aqueous (water-based) solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCl). ... The term ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. ...

They had spent months planning the crime, working out a way to get the ransom money without risking being caught. They had thought that the body would not be discovered until long after the ransom delivery. Regardless, the ransom was not their primary motive; each one's family gave him all the money that he needed. In fact, they admitted that they were driven by the thrill. For that matter, they basked in the public attention they received while in jail; they regaled newspaper reporters with the crime's lurid details again and again.

Public reaction

The public was outraged. The Jewish community did not imagine that such shining examples of ideal success could have committed such a crime. The fact that both murderers were of Jewish origin led to fears of anti-Semitic responses. Meyer Levin has been quoted as saying that it was "a relief that the victim, too, had been Jewish" (reducing the chances of cultural retaliatory violence). For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Meyer Levin (fl. ...

The murder and subsequent trial received worldwide publicity, and part of the fascination was based on public perception of the crime as a Jewish crime. In 1924, Chicago was consummately an ethnic city, where the majority of residents were immigrants or the children of immigrants, and in which politics, neighborhoods, and institutions often carried ethnic labels. Neither defendant was a practicing Jew. Loeb's mother was Catholic and his father was Jewish. Bobby Franks' parents, while ethnically Jewish, were converts to Christian Science. Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ...

Leopold and Loeb both admitted that they had a sexual relationship, and this increased the lurid aspects of the crime considerably in the eyes of the press. Jim Garrison once compared the alleged connection between Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby to the Leopold and Loeb partnership, describing Oswald as "a switch-hitter who could never please his wife," and the assassination as a "thrill-kill." This statement is reproduced in Gerald Posner's debunking work, Case Closed. Earling Carothers Jim Garrison (November 20, 1921 - October 21, 1992) — who changed his first name to simply Jim in the early 60s — was the Democratic District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973; he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to two United States government investigations, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. ... Jack Leon Ruby (1911 – January 3, 1967) was born Jacob Rubenstein, and changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in December 1947. ... Gerald Posner and his wife Trisha. ...

Trial

Defense attorney Clarence Darrow

The trial proved to be a media spectacle; held at Courthouse Place, it was one of the first cases in the U.S. to be dubbed the "Trial of the Century."^{[citation needed]} Loeb's family hired 67-year-old Clarence Darrow—who had fought against capital punishment for years—to defend the boys against the capital charges of murder and kidnapping. While the media expected them to plead not guilty (by reason of insanity), Darrow surprised everyone by having them both plead guilty. In this way, Darrow avoided a jury trial which, due to the strong public sentiment against his clients, would most certainly have resulted in a conviction and perhaps even the death penalty. Instead, he was able to make his case for his clients' lives before a single person, Cook County Circuit Court Judge John R. Caverly. Download high resolution version (1122x1536, 132 KB) The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Download high resolution version (1122x1536, 132 KB) The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Courthouse Place, also known as the Cook County Criminal Court Building, is a Richardsonian Romanesque-style building at 54 West Hubbard Street in the Near North Side of Chicago. ... Trial of the century is an idiomatic phrase used to describe certain well-known court cases. ... Clarence Seward Darrow (April 18, 1857 Kinsman Township, Trumbull County, Ohio - March 13, 1938 Chicago) was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenaged thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks (1924) and... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... For jury meaning makeshift, see jury rig. ...

Darrow gave a twelve-hour speech, which has been called the finest of his career. The speech included: "this terrible crime was inherent in his organism, and it came from some ancestor … Is any blame attached because somebody took Nietzsche’s philosophy seriously and fashioned his life upon it? … it is hardly fair to hang a 19-year-old boy for the philosophy that was taught him at the university."^[3]

It may be, in fact, that Darrow accepted the case because it offered a huge public platform for such a speech; he knew that his strong argument against capital punishment would be reprinted in newspapers around the world. And if he could successfully reason that such heinous murderers should not be executed, perhaps he would make other capital punishment cases more difficult to prosecute. In the end, Darrow succeeded; the judge sentenced Leopold and Loeb each to life in prison (for the murder), plus 99 years each (for the kidnapping). Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...

Prison and later life

At Joliet Prison, Leopold and Loeb used their educations to good purpose, teaching classes in the prison school.^[4] In January of 1936, at age 30, Loeb was attacked by fellow prisoner James Day with a straight razor in the prison's shower room, and died from his wounds.^[1][4] Day claimed afterwards that Loeb had attempted to sexually assault him; an inquiry accepted Day's testimony, and the prison authorities ruled that Day's attack on Loeb was self-defense.^[1][4] That inspired the newsman Ed Lahey to write in the Chicago Daily News, "Richard Loeb, despite his erudition, today ended his sentence with a proposition."^[5] Years later Day's cell mate admitted that the killing was preplanned. Day supposedly wanted revenge because Loeb no longer bought luxuries for inmates with no income.^{[citation needed]} Joliet Correctional Center (colloquially known as Joliet Prison) was a prison in Joliet, Illinois, United States from 1858 to 2002. ... A straight razor Straight razor is the name given to a reusable knife blade used for shaving facial hair. ... Sexual assault is any physical contact of a sexual nature without voluntary consent. ... The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and published between 1876 and 1978. ...

In 1944, Leopold participated in the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study where he volunteered to be infected with malaria^[6]. Early in 1958, after 33 years in prison, Leopold was released on parole.^[1][2] That year he wrote an autobiography titled Life plus Ninety Nine Years.^[1][2] Leopold moved to Puerto Rico to avoid media attention, and married a widowed florist.^[1][2] He died of a heart attack on August 30, 1971 at the age of 66.^[1][2] He donated his organs.^[1] Leopold and Loeb have been referenced several times in popular culture. The Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study was a controlled study of the effects of malaria on the inmates of Stateville Penitentiary near Joliet, Illinois. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... Murderers Leopold and Loeb have been referenced by several cultural works. ...

Bibliography and films

• Alfred Hitchcock (director). Rope. Film, 1948.
• Fleischer, Richard (director). Compulsion. Film, 1959.
• Haneke, Michael (director). Funny Games. Film, 1997.
• Higdon, Hal. Leopold and Loeb: The Crime of the Century. University of Illinois Press, 1999. (originally published in 1975). ISBN 0-252-06829-7
• Kalin, Tom (director). Swoon. Film, 1990.
• Levin, Meyer. Compulsion. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1996. (originally published in 1956). ISBN 0-7867-0319-9
• Logan, John (Author), "Never The Sinner." Play, Samuel French, Inc. 1987.
• Saul, John (Author), In the Dark of the Night, 2006 ISBN 034548701X
• Dolginoff, Stephen (author/composer) "Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story" (Musical published by Dramatists Play Service ISBN 0-8222-2102-0
• Mark Anthony Galluzzo (director. "R.S.V.P. Film, 2002.
• Barbet Schroeder (director). Murder by Numbers. Film, 2002.
• Kurt Vonnegut (author). "Jailbird" (page 171) Published by Delacort Press/ Seymour Lawrence ISBN 0-440-05449-4
• Gautham Menon (writer/director). "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. Film, 2006.

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Rope (1948) is an Alfred Hitchcock classic film notable for its single location covered in what appeared to be just a few continuous shots. ... Richard Fleischer (born December 8, 1916) is an American film director. ... Compulsion directed by Richard Fleischer, was a film made in 1959. ... Michael Haneke A feature film is twenty-four lies per second. ... Funny Games is a 1997 home invasion thriller film directed by the Austrian Michael Haneke. ... Tom Kalin (born 1962) is an award-winning screenwriter, film director and producer. ... Swoon is an independent film written and directed by Tom Kalin, released in 1992. ... John Logan is a noted American screenwriter of the 1990s and early 2000s. ... For the Canadian philosopher, see John Ralston Saul. ... In The Dark of The Night is a novel by John Saul. ... Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff. ... RSVP may refer to: répondez sil vous plaît; see: French phrases used by English speakers. ... Barbet Schroeder (born August 26, 1941 in Teheran to a Swiss diplomat father) is a movie director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working together with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... Jailbird is Kurt Vonneguts 1979 fictional novel about a man recently released from a low security prison. ... Gautham Menon (born in 25 February 1973) is a mechanical engineer turned film maker. ... Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) is a Tamil film starring Kamal Haasan, Jyothika, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Prakash Raj and music composed by Harris Jayaraj. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} The Leopold and Loeb Trial:A Brief Account by Douglas O. Linder. 1997. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Freedom by Marilyn Bardsley. Crime Library - Courtroom Television Network, LLC. Accessed 11 April 2007.
3. ^ Clarence Darrow: A Plea for Mercy. American Rhetoric.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Life & Death In Prison by Marilyn Bardsley. Crime Library - Courtroom Television Network, LLC. Accessed 11 April 2007.
5. ^ Dr. Ink (August 23, 2002). Ask Dr. Ink. Poynter Online.
6. ^ Leopold, Nathan Life plus 99 years, 1958

Leopold, Nathan F., Jr. Life Plus 99 Years. Lowe and Brydone (Printers) Limited, 1958. is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

External links

• Leopold and Loeb Trial Home Page by Douglas Linder. Famous American Trials - Illinois v. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School. 1997. Accessed 11 April 2007.
• Nathan Leopold and Richad Loeb, Crime of the 20th Century by Marilyn Bardsley. Crime Library - Courtroom Television Network, LLC. Accessed 11 April 2007.
• Leopoldandloeb.com
• Thrill Me:The Leopold and Loeb Story main site/CD ordering
• Thrill Me:The Leopold and Loeb Story Review quotes from York Theatre Company
• Harold S. Hulbert Papers, Northwestern University Archives, Evanston, Illinois