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Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, Clarence Darrow and the Crime of the Century (Volume Six, Episode Six) Part One

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Long before Claus Von Bulow or OJ Simpson, in 1924, two Chicago teenagers committed what was called at the time, “The Crime of the Century,” only to be spared by the efforts of the greatest defense attorney in American history.

Nathan Leopold

During their scouring of the Wolf Lake area, police detectives questioned the game warden of the forest preserve that was located nearby about any recurring visitors to the location.  One of the names he revealed was that of Nathan Leopold, Jr a nineteen year old ornithologist and recent Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Chicago, currently taking a class at the University of Chicago’s law school.  On Sunday morning, May 25, two policeman were sent to Leopold’s home to pick up the teenager for questioning, the house coincidentally in the Kenwood section near both the Harvard School and Bobby Franks’ house.  Leopold had plans for a date that Sunday and was initially resistant to coming down to the precinct, but the police assured him that their captain just wanted to ask some routine questions and if he brought his car he would be back in no time. 

Richard Loeb

Once Richard Loeb’s name was mentioned he also was brought to the LaSalle, placed in a separate room and questioned until the early morning hours.  He claimed he left Leopold around dinnertime and mentioned nothing about picking up girls, an obvious contradiction that was certainly suspicious.  The next morning, Leopold and Loeb found themselves in custody, in separate police stations, Leopold at Crowe’s headquarters in the Criminal Courts Building, Loeb at a nearby precinct house.  

Bobby and Jacob Franks

At the Franks’ house, as the dinner hour approached, Bobby Franks’ parents began to wonder where their son was.  Jacob and Flora Franks were the type of typically wealthy family that populated the Kenwood neighborhood.  Jacob Franks’ wealth initially stemmed from a pawn shop he inherited from his parents known as Franks Collateral Loan Bank.  Franks eventually diversified his business interests, first into separate watch and watch case manufacturing companies and then into various real estate and stock investments which generated a net worth of at least 1.5 million 1924 dollars, equivalent to about 27 million dollars today.

Graves of Bobby and Jacob Franks, Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

.  Because of the incredible public and media interest generated by the death of Bobby Franks, the Franks family decided to hold a small, private funeral service in their home as opposed to what might become a public circus.  The Franks family were converts to Christian Science from Judaism and the affair consisted of various readings and hymns before a police escort accompanied the Franks procession to Rosehill cemetery, the pallbearers all fellow students from the Harvard School. 

Clarence Darrow

Understanding his nephew’s predicament, Jacob Loeb decided to reach out to an even more prominent individual, Clarence Darrow.  By 1924, Darrow was nearing the conclusion of one of the most illustrious and controversial legal careers in US history.  Starting from a small law practice in the tiny Ohio town of Andover, Darrow eventually made his way to the city of Chicago where he became famous and frequently vilified for representing various labor officials like Eugene Debs and Big Bill Haywood.  A 1911 scandal involving a Los Angeles bombing case which resulted in Darrow negotiating a plea deal and accusations of jury tampering via bribery alienated the attorney from organized labor.  Darrow then switched to criminal and civil defense, mostly involving defendants facing the death penalty.  In over 100 cases, Darrow had only one defendant executed and that was when he joined the defense only for the penalty phase of the trial.  Despite a practically disheveled appearance, Darrow’s quick legal mind and remarkable eloquence during impassioned closing arguments made him the most famous trial lawyer in America.  

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Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, Clarence Darrow and the Crime of the Century (Volume Six, Episode Six) Part Two

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Long before Claus Von Bulow or OJ Simpson, in 1924, two Chicago teenagers committed what was called at the time, “The Crime of the Century,” only to be spared by the efforts of the greatest defense attorney in American history.

Chicago Criminal Courts Building

Clarence Darrow would not begin his summation until the afternoon of August 23rd, so anticipated throughout the city of Chicago that a mob descended on the courthouse hoping to push into the courtroom.  This throng congregated in the stairwells, common areas and hallways leading to the sixth floor chamber where Darrow was scheduled to speak.  Twice after the midday recess, the famed attorney attempted to begin his summation, only to stop, the noise of spectators emanating from the hallway outside of the court too boisterous, police and bailiffs struggling to push the crowd out of the courtroom’s proximity.  Angrily, the judge contacted the city police chief directly, demanding that order be restored.  Within minutes, additional police resorting to billy clubs eventually removed the source of this distraction. 

Crowe, Leopold, Loeb and Darrow before Judge Caverly

Darrow immediately lived up to his reputation.  Although he had formulated his strategy well in advance, he surprised the court, the media, the prosecution and even the defendants after a lengthy opening statement by pleading his clients guilty to both murder and kidnapping.  Strategically, this was a brilliant maneuver on several fronts.  It ambushed Crowe by not allowing the prosecutor to potentially get two bites of the apple in attempting to condemn the defendants.  If he was aware of this strategy in advance, he would withdraw most likely the kidnapping charge and attempt to retry it later.  Darrow’s plea circumvented that option.  The decision as to what sentence the defendants received now was the sole responsibility of the judge, who would be asked to personally condemn two teenagers as opposed to a jury.  

Leopold and Loeb Prison Mug Shot

On the eleventh of September, 1924, Leopold and Loeb would begin serving hard time at Joliet state prison, a forbidding stone edifice housing some of Illinois’ most hardened criminals.  One immediate hardship was the end of the meals that they were able to order from a Chicago restaurant during their trial.  Although they granted interviews upon their entrance to the prison, Loeb would never publicly speak again and Leopold waited twenty years before interacting with a journalist.  This despite repeated press attempts to provide updates on the successive anniversaries of their incarceration.  Possibly to separate the two prisoners, Leopold was quickly transferred to Stateville prison, a brand new maximum security facility.  The formerly high profile prisoners were so isolated that Leopold only found out about the 1929 death of his father from a prison employee.

Nathan Leopold, 1958

Despite his recent parole rejection, Leopold cooperated with the Saturday Evening Post on an April, 1955, four part series that was sympathetic.  Even more eventful was the 1956 novel Compulsion written by Meyer Levin, a runaway best seller that was a very thinly disguised account of the Loeb and Leopold murder and an eventual film starring Orson Welles.  Once again, Nathan Leopold was an American celebrity, although he hated the book and sued Levin and 20th Century Fox for invasion of privacy, an unsuccessful suit that dragged on for most of the rest of his life.  Perhaps, attempting to tell his side of the story, in 1958, Leopold published Life Plus 99 Years, a sanitized autobiography also undertaken to persuade any future parole proceedings. A best seller, the book created an additional groundswell for Leopold’s release.  This sentiment finally played out on February 13, 1958 when Nathan Leopold emerged from Stateville Prison, a free man.

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Podcast Book and Music Information and Purchase

Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, Clarence Darrow and The Crime of the Century (Volume Six, Episode Six) Book and Music Information

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The books used to compose this podcast included:

“Leopold and Loeb: The Crime of the Century,” by Hal Higdon, and

“Arrested Adolescence: The Secret Life of Nathan Leopold,” by Erik Rebain.

The music used in this podcast included:

Intro, Part One and Outro, Part Two: “Dance of the Gypsies,” by Hanu Dixit

Outro, Part One: “Never Surrender,” by Anno Domini Beats, and

Intro, Part Two: “Inconsciousness,” by Mini Vandals