Nathan Leopold (left) and Richard Loeb (center) after their VerhaftungNathan Leopold junior (19 November 1904 - 29 August 1971) and Richard Loeb (11 June 1905 - 28 January 1936), better admits than Leopold and Loeb, was two wealthy students at OF Chicago, which 1924 the Bobby Franks of the University murdered and but to life imprisonment were condemned. Their act was remarkable, because it was motivated mainly by the ambition of the students to commit perfect the crime. Also the crime played a role in the American discussion around the death penalty.

The crime

Leopold, at the act time 19 years old, and the Loeb planned a kidnapping with following murder. They held themselves for superhumans in the sense Nietz and were not therefore afraid not to be seized. To 21. They put May 1924 their plan into practice: They lured Bobby Franks, distant relatives and neighbours a Loebs, into a rented car. There Loeb struck down it first with a chisel, afterwards suffocated it it together. To make more difficult after Leopold and Loeb had hidden the corpse in a ditch under railway rails outside of Chicago - the face with acid corroded, in order an identification -, received the family of the victim a demand for ransom at a value of 10,000 dollar. So they wanted to pretend a kidnapping.

Before however the family had found the ransom, Eisenbahnarbeiter found the corpse. The investigators it was immediately clear that it could concern no usual kidnapping - a kidnapper would not have had a reason kill Bobby Franks.

Eyeglasses, which were found beside the corpse, led finally on the trace of Nathan Leopold. The demand for ransom had been typed on a typewriter, which had used these together with some study colleagues. During the the alibis of the authors in itself collapsed. Both confessed the crime, accused however that in each case of different to the actual killing Bobby Franks.

For months they had planned the act and possibilities had devised of coming to the ransom without to be gotten. They had always assumed the corpse would be discovered only for a long time after the money delivery. The money was not however their main motive; their families supplied it too are sufficient. Rather both addition the Nervenkitzel accompanying with the act to have searched. Even in the prison they tried to keep this Nervenkitzel upright by supplying newspaper reporters again and again with all details of their crime.

The consequences and the procedure

The public was shocked. In the Jewish municipality nobody had been able itself to present that so shining examples of success could commit a such crime. Both the family Leopolds and the family Loebs was relatively wealthy, and almost any young student of the University OF Chicago had at that time a secured future before itself. There was thus absolutely no reason to become the criminal. Anti-Semitic politicians such as genes Scott tried to use the crime for their propaganda although none was the accused practicing Jew. Loebs nut/mother was even Katholikin, and Leopold had stressed often and during the process its atheism. Meyer Levin marked the fact that it "an easement (is) that also the victim of Jewish faith was" and met with it the opinion of many Jewish municipality members.

The legal proceedings became the Medienspektakel; one spoke publicly of the "century crime". The family Loebs engaged the attorney Clarence Darrow as a defender, an embittered opponent of the death penalty. One expected that he would plead for acquietal because of irresponsibility; Darrow however surprises the public with the fact that he could be admitted both accused guiltily. Thus it avoided a judgement by jurors, which would have surely been expressed because of the heated public opinion in death by the strand. Instead it could argue now before an individual judge and plead for the life of its two mandators.

Darrow gave an twelve-hour speech, which is considered with good reason as the best of its career. Possibly Darrow had taken over the case straight, in order to be able to give such a speech, because so he could communicate its strong arguments against the death penalty by the press reports in all world to a broad public. And if it could show that even such cruel murderer would not have to be executed, then perhaps also different death sentences to intersperse would be more difficult.

Darrow was finally successful: The judge condemned Leopold and Loeb to a lifelong imprisonment for the murder and to further 99 years prison for the kidnapping.

In the prison the two used their education for a good purpose, by giving instruction to other prisoners. In January 1936 however Loeb, at the age by 32 years, was attacked by its cell comrade James Day with a razor and succumbed to its injuries. Day could make later convincing that Loeb had tried to trouble him sexually and he in self-defence had acted.

1958, after 33 years prison, became Leopold on probation to dismiss. It pulled after Puerto Rico, in order to escape the attention by the press, and married a verwitwete Floristin. 1971 it died with 66 years at a cardiac infarct.

Adaptionen in literature and films

1956 treated Meyer Levin the case in its novel "Compulsion ", a fiktionalisierten version of the real events, in which the names of the authors in "Steiner" and "bunch were changed". 1959 served the book as collecting main for the film of the same name of the director Richard butcher, in whom Dean stick-wave and Bradford Dillman the main roles played. The character which is based on Darrow was represented by Orson Welles. Its speech at the end of the film, which takes up the conclusion final speech Darrows, is considered as one the longest Monologe of film history.

In addition the crime inspired Alfred Hitchcock to its film "Cocktail for a corpse" (1948).

See also: Art of the murder

Related links

• Leopoldandloeb.com (English)
• Famous Trials article (English)

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