The two were neighbors, law students, and quite an odd duo that nevertheless formed a tight bond that even led Leopold to fall in love with Loeb. The two had a peculiar fixation on the idea of committing a "perfect crime," especially Leopold who wished to impress Loeb by trying to get away with murder. As a result, in May of 1924, Leopold and Loeb lured a 14-year-old boy into a forest where he was murdered with a chiseled and placed in a culvert. The duo sent a ransom note demanding $10,000 to the family of the boy, yet his body was found before the money was delivered. If it wasn't for Leopold leaving his glasses at the crime scene, the two would have most likely gotten away with the crime.
The families of Leopold and Loeb hired one of the best lawyers they could find, Clarence Darrow, who knew that his priority, in this case, would be to save these boys from the death penalty. Darrow endured a twelve-hour trial in the courtroom in which he argued that these men were compelled to commit this crime not out of their personal desire, but because "[n]ature made them do it, evolution made them do it, Nietzsche made them do it. So they should not be sentenced to death for it". Leopold and Loeb had a nihilistic view on the world brought by their interest in the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche and Darrow used this to his advantage in the courtroom. Darrow's argument, although disorganized, went down in history as one of the most significant attacks on the death penalty and a "trial of the century". Other similar crimes had been committed by people of similar ages, the calculation within the crime was unlike no other, leading almost all but Darrow to think they were deserving of execution. Even though Darrow saved these criminals from being sentenced to death, he revealed that long term imprisonment would be much more torturous than immediate execution. In 1936, Loeb was killed in a prison fight and in 1958 after a 34-year sentence, Leopold was released from prison.Leopold and Loeb's crime received national attention of both deep interest and disgust. Additionally, the innovation and accessibility to the Ford Model T raised worries for the ability of criminals to transport themselves easily. There was also an increase in the support for a national police force and in newspapers, the case was remembered as a story so shocking that it was to be remembered through history.
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/monkeytrial-clarence-darrow/
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/Accountoftrial.html
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/monkeytrial-leopold-and-loeb-trial/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leopold-and-loebs-criminal-minds-996498/
I found it particularly interesting that Darrow was one of the only lawyers believing that Leopold and Loeb were not deserving of the death penalty. I believe this shows how opinions over commonly disputed topics, such as the death penalty, shift over time, because today far more people oppose it. Even being one of the only lawyers opposed to the death penalty, Darrow only lost one client to execution over his entire career, showing that he was a very talented lawyer.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/07/30/famous-lawyer-clarence-darrow-opposed-to-the-death-penalty-lost-only-one-client-to-execution/
I also found it interesting that at the time, not many people agreed with either of Darrow's stances in the cases you mentioned. One thing that definitely shaped his views was that he was an atheist, and he was determined to debate with Bryan over science and religion. The Scopes Trial presented a great opportunity to do so. Darrow was more excited by the contest of ideas than the law, which is why both the Scopes Trial and the Leopold and Loeb Trial captivated him.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/monkeytrial-clarence-darrow/