PAROLE AFTER 12,000 DAYS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28551, 2 April 1958, Page 8

PAROLE AFTER 12,000 DAYS

Nathan Leopold’s Reform [By JOHN ARTHUR] On the afternoon of May 21, 1924, two brilliant young Chicago men, both too rich and too clever, offered Bobby Franks, aged 14. a lift home from school in their car. The next day Bobby's naked body, the skull crushed, the face burnt horribly with acid, was found pushed into a drain in a nearby swamp. The two men, aged 18 and 19. were soon eonnected with the killing, and America was shocked to hear them confess they had killed the boy as an experiment: to get a “thrill.” This month. Nathan Leopold, surviving member of the warped partnership, was freed from prison on parole, after serving nearly 34 years of a life sentence. He has had in his own words. “12.000 days to carry my guilt in my soul and 12,000 nights to be bitterly remorseful.” His partner, Richard Loeb, died in prison in 1936. slashed 56 times with a razor by another prisoner to whom he made advances. Brilliance Leopold, now 53, a fat and balding diabetic, did not come out of prison a hopeless or worthless man. His brilliance, which led him into one of the most senseless and brutal crimes of the century, is now turned towards finding some way to justify his existence and to help other prisoners. By devoting the rest of his lift to others, by working in a hospital. Leopold hopes to prove not only his remorse, but the value of rehabilitating criminals rather than punishing them. “I am determined to do my utmost to justify the faith shown in me." he told the parole board. “I am acutely conscious that more than my own future hangs in the balance. Thousands of prisoners, especially long-term prisoners, look to me. I will do my best not Io fail in that trust. "I am grateful first of all to God. for man can do only what God permits him to do.” Leopold has not idled away his 34 years in prison. During the war he volunteered as a “human guinea pig” in anti-malaria experiments. He has taught Braille to blind prisoners and sign language to deaf-mutes. He speaks 22 languages and has become an expert psychologist, statistician, and ornithologist. Weakness These achievements point to the tragedy that befell Leopold and the brilliant career that could have been his but for a fatal weakness in his character—and his friendship with Richard Loeb. Always a strange, over-studious boy, Nathan, son of a Chicago millionaire, found it hard to make friends. Entering Chicago University at 15. he became the youngest graduate in the university’s history. gaining a bachelor of science degree at the age of 18. He stayed on to study law. In his first year at the university. Leopold had met Loeb, also a millionaire's son and a brilliant student. A close relationship soon started between the boys, but their influence on each other was far from good. Both were obsessed with the idea of being “supermen.” Leopold wanted to become a slave to Loeb, whom he thought of as his “king.” They began to live a life of fantasy, with Loeb picturing himself as a master criminal. They committed several petty crimes. "I thought so much of the guy that I was willing to do anything—even murder—if he wanted it bad enough." Leopold said. “Superiority" It has never become clear which of them actually thought of the “perfect crime.” intended to demonstrate their "superiority" over ordinary men. Bobby Franks, the son of another millionaire end a friend of both their families, was picked as the victim without malice or emotion. Both later said they thought Bobby “a nice boy.” “The killing was just an experiment.” said Leopold. “It was just as easy to justify such a death as an entomologist killing a beetle on a pin.” But the “perfect crime" was far from that. Leopold dropped his glasses at the scene of the murder. The killers were traced and soon broke down and confessed. At their trial, held before a judge but no jury, they pleaded guilty. The only point at issue was whether or not they should die. Clarence Darrow, who was the the most brilliant lawyer of his day and had never lost a client to the gallows, was engaged to defend them. He pleaded that they could not help themselves because of their mental conditions. It would be even more horrible than their own crime, he argued, to hang two “irresponsible, weak, diseased" boys.

The judge, visibly moved by his words, sentenced them to life imprisonment for murder, plus 99 years for kidnapping.—(Central Press.)