Episode 11: The Crime of the Century
Illinois v. Nathan Leopold & Richard Loeb
In 1924, the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks horrified the country, especially when the killers were revealed to be two wealthy teenagers, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Everyone expected Leopold & Loeb to hang. But would the arrival of one of America's most famous defense lawyers, Clarence Darrow, change the outcome?
Episode Resources
Episode Transcript
Works Cited/
Referenced
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Nina Barrett, “Revisiting the Crime of the Century,” interview with Nina Barrett by Dean Jobb, Chicago Review of Books, August 28, 2018.
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Nina Barrett, The Leopold and Loeb Files: An Intimate Look at One of America’s Most Infamous Crimes (Midway Books, 2018).
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Karl M. Bowman and H.S. Hulbert, “Richard Examination: Report of Preliminary neuro-psychiatric examination,” ed. Lingyu Kong and Jeannie. Via Loeb and Leopold.
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Maurice Chammah, “The Mercy Workers,” The Marshall Project, March 2, 2023.
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Max Ehrenfreund, “Texas boy avoids jail in deaths of four after psychologist testifies wealth spoiled him,” The Washington Post, December 12, 2013.
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Paula S. Fass, “Making and Remaking an Event: The Leopold and Loeb Case in American Culture,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 80, No. 3 (December 1993).
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Matt Howerton, “10 years ago, ‘affluenza’ teen Ethan Couch killed four and injured several others in drunk-driving crash,” WFAA, June 16, 2023.
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Greg King and Penny Wilson, Nothing But The Night: Leopold & Loeb and the Truth Behind the Murder that Rocked 1920s America (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2022)
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Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, “Ransom Note,” collection of Northwestern University.
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Martha Neil, “‘Affluenza’ teen on probation for fatal crash is sent to pricey rehab,” ABA Journal, February 6, 2014.
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The Pulitzer Prizes, “The 1925 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Reporting: James W. Mulroy and Alvin H. Goldstein of Chicago Daily News.”
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Erik Rebain, various articles, Loeb and Leopold.
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Samuel Strom and Melissa Bender, “The M’Naghten Rule,” FindLaw, last reviewed November 30, 2023.