The Leopold and Loeb Case and its Sensationalism in Tabloids

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In 1924, Chicago natives Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb brutally murdered Bobby Franks, resulting in a trial that captivated the nation. Both Leopold and Loeb were wealthy, well-educated teenagers; their shocking actions represented a deviation from the traditional stereotypes and beliefs about crime and its perpetrators. The case attracted many journalists and became a media sensation, sparking discourse about the “dangers of modern youth” and how to prevent them.[1] The criminal case showed the influence of newspapers and other publications, which not only recorded the details of the event, but also aggrandized its significance. However, the murder, trial, and punishment of the two boys hold a different value today than they did in the 1920’s. The reinterpretation of the Leopold and Loeb case over the years reveals that although America’s views of criminality, normalcy, and psychiatry have evolved, its tendency to dramatize events remains unchanged.
For the American population, the trial of Leopold and Loeb served as an opportunity to better understand the behavior and habits of criminals. Psychiatrists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens alike all followed the case closely, hoping to gain insight into the nature and origins of crime. Reporters utilized pseudoscientific methods to analyze Leopold and Loeb: newspapers published drawings of the criminals’ faces “dissected by lines and arrows, which pretended to physiological analysis.”[2] Information regarding the murder and the killers became available for public consumption: in addition to other pieces of data, the sensitive details contained within the Hulbert-Bowman report on Leopold and Loeb spread to the public.[3] As a result, further interest in analyzing and underst...

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...n an culture obsessed with entertainment, dramatizations of stories often find more success than accurate reports of the facts.
The significance of the Leopold and Loeb case has undoubtedly changed since 1924. Interest in analyzing and studying the criminal nature of the two boys has decreased, and the events of the case no longer seem so sensational and unusual. Teenage criminals are more commonplace, and psychiatry utilizes less pseudoscience and more proven, rational methods. In contrast, though many aspects of the Leopold and Loeb trial have evolved over the years, the American love for dramatics has barely changed. Media exaggeration now appears in new forms, but the embellishment of stories has continued. In 1924, the Leopold and Loeb case served mainly as a reflection on society; today, it provides a way to understand the changing values of America over time.

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