The Crime of Leopold and Loeb
Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two young men from rich families in Chicago. In 1924 they kidnapped and killed 14-year-old Bobby Franks just for the excitement of committing the “perfect crime.”
When they were caught, they admitted to what they had done. Famous lawyer Clarence Darrow defended them and saved them from the death penalty. Instead they were sentenced to life in prison. At the time people called it “the crime of the century,” and it was one of the biggest news stories of 1924.
Who Were Leopold and Loeb?
Leopold and Loeb had many similarities, which made people think of them as one rather than two separate individuals. Both came from wealthy Jewish families and lived in Kenwood, a neighborhood in Chicago with large homes. Loeb’s father was a lawyer and a vice president at Sears, Roebuck & Co. Leopold’s father was a millionaire who made paper boxes.
Both young men were very smart. Leopold started college at 15 and later went to law school. He was also interested in birds and spoke several languages. Loeb also started college young, graduating at 17. He was more social than Leopold. The two met in college and soon became close friends. Together, they committed small crimes, like theft and arson, before deciding to kidnap and kill Bobby Franks.
Bobby Franks was from the same wealthy neighborhood and attended an elite school. Loeb and his brothers had gone to the same school. While Franks knew the Loeb family, he did not know Leopold.
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The Kidnapping and Murder
On May 21, 1924, Leopold and Loeb kidnapped Bobby Franks as he walked home from a baseball game. They lured him into their car by pretending to talk about a tennis racket. Then, one of them hit him on the head with a chisel and stuffed a gag in his mouth. Bobby likely died within minutes from suffocation.
Trial
Leopold and Loeb’s confessions had small differences, but their overall story was the same. Their main goal was to collect ransom money, and the murder was just part of the plan. Leopold later told the Chicago Tribune—though he claimed he was being sarcastic—that they felt no guilt:
“It was just an experiment. It is as easy for us to justify as an entomologist in impaling a beetle on a pin.”
They started planning the crime in late 1923, enjoying the excitement of designing the “perfect crime.” They even wrote the ransom note days before the murder, addressing it simply to “Dear Sir.” The victim did not matter to them—he only needed to be from a wealthy family who could pay a large ransom. They chose Bobby Franks at the last minute.
The two men disagreed on one major point in their confessions—each claimed that he was the one driving while the other killed Bobby Franks.
As soon as Leopold and Loeb were arrested, Leopold’s father hired famous lawyer Clarence Darrow. Darrow was known for defending workers’ rights and opposing the death penalty. He did not try to prove their innocence but instead fought to keep them from being executed. On July 21, 1924, Leopold and Loeb pleaded guilty, which meant there would be no jury trial. Instead, a single judge, John R. Caverly, would decide their fate.
For 33 days in the summer of 1924, the courtroom was packed. The press filled most of the seats. Prosecutor Robert E. Crow called the two young men heartless criminals who deserved to die. In contrast, Darrow argued that they were mentally troubled and should be given mercy. He gave a passionate speech against the death penalty.
On September 10, Judge Caverly gave his decision. He sentenced them to life in prison for murder and an additional 99 years for kidnapping. He agreed that their crime was one of the most terrible ever committed but decided they should not be executed.
After sentencing, Leopold and Loeb were sent to Northern Illinois Penitentiary near Joliet. In 1925, Leopold was moved to a new prison at Stateville, and Loeb joined him there in 1932.
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Prison Time
In 1933, Leopold and Loeb started a school for prisoners at Stateville. This allowed them to take on responsibilities and move around the prison more freely.
In January 1936, Loeb was attacked while taking a private shower. His former cellmate, James A. Day, slashed him with a razor about 56 times. Day claimed he acted in self-defense because Loeb made unwanted advances toward him. However, this was doubtful since Loeb’s throat was cut from behind. He was rushed to surgery, where doctors tried to stop the bleeding, but he did not survive. Leopold was there, standing at the foot of the operating table as his friend died.
While in prison, Leopold kept busy. He studied different languages, took college courses, organized the prison library, and participated in medical experiments. He also became an X-ray technician. In 1949, his 99-year sentence was reduced to 85 years, and he was released on parole on March 13, 1958, after serving 33 years.
After his release, Leopold moved to Puerto Rico and worked as a hospital technician. In 1961, he married a widow. He died of a heart attack in 1971. During his life, he wrote an autobiography, Life Plus 99 Years (1958), and a book about birds, Checklist of Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (1963).
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