Crime Of The Century: The Leopold And Loeb Case

Leopold and Loeb, a pair of teenage prodigies, were seen as perfect to the general public. This was until the boys committed what was known as the “Crime of the Century”. There were many reasons that the Leopold and Loeb case earned the title “Crime of the Century”. To start, kidnapping itself is a severe crime, especially when a child is involved. Although Leopold and Loeb spent months planning the crime, their victim could have been anyone in the area. They lived in a very wealthy area in Chicago with plenty of other families. This worried parents that it could have been their child that was kidnapped. The murder itself took multiple weeks for the police to uncover. Perhaps the biggest reason was the trial. The trial itself was a massive event, but what brought attention to the trial was Clarence Darrow, the most famous attorney during the time. Darrow’s orations and efforts helped Leopold and Loeb escape the death penalty. In present day, it is still debated whether the murder of Bobby Franks is deemed worthy of the title, “Crime of the Century.” Nathan Leopold was born on November 19, 1904 in Chicago Illinois. Leopold’s family were Jewish immigrants from Germany that struck rich from logistics and freight transport. He grew up in the same neighborhood Richard Loeb did on the south side of Chicago, …show more content…
The philosophy said based on the evolutionary fight for survival, the goal for mankind was to be a superior person or a dominating figure. This was know as a superman. Leopold believed that Loeb was the closest to being a superman than anyone else he knew. Leopold thought this because Loeb had “a brilliant mind, was handsome, and was irresistible to women” (Higdon, pg 20). Leopold’s obsession with Nietzsche’s philosophy led him to believe that it was possible to rise above law and society. This fueled Leopold and Loeb’s drive to commit crimes even