June 22, 1924, Sunday

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Cook County Jail Lives

Leopold and Loeb enjoyed local vaudeville and other entertainment acts with the rest of the inmates, as they did every Sunday.

Humor

One newspaper editor threw in a little political humor today, tying in Leopold and Loeb with the upcoming Presidential election.

Blame Game

The editor for the Columbus Dispatch published a long editorial on this day, blaming the parents of Leopold and Loeb for their actions. He encouraged parents to share in their children’s interests and daily activities, and promised that if they did, they would never be surprised by a child’s sudden turn to criminality.

Two people also wrote in to newspapers and their letters were published on this day, one blaming World War One for the crime: “The wave of violent crime which is sweeping over the civilized world is the logical afterbirth of the war which violated all the humanities.”

And one blaming a lack of child labor for the murder: “If the two millionaires’ boys who murdered that little boy in Chicago had been employed at work they would not have killed him.”

Compare to Other Cases

One reporter stated that the Defense counsel for Leopold and Loeb was studying the 1914 case of Jean Gianini for clues on how to proceed in their own case. Gianini was a 16-year-old boy in Poland, who murdered his former schoolteacher Lida Beecher for apparently no reason. His lawyers argued that he was not insane, but a “high grade imbecile,” who could blend into society without notice. During the trial, lawyers stressed his strange childhood behaviors, family history of mental illness, the lack of motive for his crime and his current lack of care about his situation. Gianini’s team was successful, and he was sent to a mental hospital, rather than execution. The reporter speculated that this might be what the Leopold-Loeb team had in store for their clients.

Photos

Another fun example of early photo editing, this time depicting Leopold and Loeb in various poses talking to Doctors Hulbert and Bowman.

Sources

  • Columbus Dispatch, June 22, 1924
  • Democrat and Chronicle, June 22, 1924
  • Detroit Free Press, June 22, 1924
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 22, 1924

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