Home > History Fact Finder > Law and Famous Trials - Who Were Leopold And Loeb?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Tweet This

Who were Leopold and Loeb?

Nathan Leopold, age nineteen, and Richard Loeb, age eighteen, were the sons of millionaires who committed a murder that led to a sensational and controversial trial. Leopold and Loeb were fascinated by crime. After experimenting with minor theft and arson, the boys decided to commit the perfect murder. On May 21, 1924, they murdered Bobby Franks, Loeb's fourteen-year-old cousin, and sent a ransom note to the Franks family. Their "perfect" crime quickly unraveled, however, when Franks's body was found a day later, along with Leopold's distinctive eyeglasses. After Leopold was forced to admit that the glasses belonged to him, police arrested the boys

With the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) representing them, Leopold and Loeb went to trial on July 23, 1924. Darrow, knowing the boys would be executed if found guilty, entered a plea of guilty by reason of insanity. In an effort to...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Law
   1. What was the Justinian Code?
   2. What is civil law?
   3. What is common law?
   4. What is the only U.S. state that does not use common law?
   5. What was trial by ordeal?
   6. What is writ of habeas corpus?
   7. What is international law?
   8. What was the Code Napoleon?
   9. How was the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court determined?
   10. Who was the first justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
   11. What were Jim Crow laws?
   12. What is the Miranda warning?
2. Trials
   1. What was the impact of the Salem witch trials on American society?
   2. What was the significance of the John Peter Zenger trial?
   3. How did the Dred Scott case contribute to outbreak of the Civil War?
   4. Why was Susan B. Anthony put on trial?
   5. Who were Leopold and Loeb?
   6. Who was Mata Hari?
   7. What was the beer hall putsch trial and why was it important?
   8. What was the Scopes "Monkey Trial"?
   9. Why is the court-martial of Billy Mitchell famous?
   10. Was Al Capone tried for mob activities?
   11. What were the Nuremberg trials?
   12. Why were the Rosenbergs executed?
   13. What was the lasting effect of the Clarence Earl Gideon trials?
   14. Why was Nelson Mandela sent to prison?
   15. What was Roe vs. Wade?
   16. What was ABSCAM?
   17. Did a dingo kill Azaria Chamberlain?
   18. What was meant by "the" trial of the twentieth century?