Prison: Loeb's Murder

Prison[edit]
Leopold and Loeb
Leopold and Loeb were initially held at Joliet Prison. Although they were kept apart as much as
possible, the two managed to maintain their relationship. Leopold was later transferred
to Stateville Penitentiary, and Loeb was eventually transferred there as well. Once reunited, the
two expanded the current prison school system, adding a high school and junior college
curriculum.[41]
Loeb's murder[edit]
Initially, both Leopold and Loeb were receiving money from their families, but this was later cut to
five dollars per week. The money was used to purchase goods such as cigarettes from the prison
store. Other prisoners were not aware that Leopold and Loeb were no longer receiving larger
amounts of money. They were both seen as rich snobs, which made them targets for other
prisoners. One day in the prison yard, Leopold was threatened at knife point for money. After
trying to explain that he did not have any, he was saved when Loeb and some of his other friends
intervened.
The allowance cut had also caused problems for Loeb. Some of Loeb's money went to a former
cell-mate of his, James E. Day, as a bribe not to hurt him. After several accounts of abuse and
threats, Day was moved away from Loeb.
On January 28, 1936, Leopold and Loeb were working on assignment at the prison school. While
they were working, Day passed them and reportedly said "I'll see you later" (referring to Loeb).
Loeb was later attacked by Day with a straight razor (shaving blade) in a shower room. He was
taken directly to the prison hospital where doctors tried to save his life. Leopold went to the
hospital to find his friend barely conscious and slashed all over. Leopold offered to have his blood
tested for a transfusion but was denied by the doctors, who knew there was no hope. Loeb's last
words to Leopold were "I think I'm going to make it." Leopold then washed his friend's body as an
act of affection.
Day claimed afterward that Loeb had attempted to sexually assault him; however, it may have
been the other way around. Rumors suggested that Day had desired sexual favors from Loeb,
who refused him. Many doubted that Day's story was true. It was not likely that he acted in selfdefense. Day emerged unharmed from the attack, while Loeb sustained more than 50 wounds
from the attack, including numerous defensive wounds on his arms and hands. Loeb's throat had
also been slashed from behind, suggesting that he was attacked by surprise. Nevertheless, an
inquiry accepted Day's testimony. The prison authorities, perhaps embarrassed by publicity
sensationalizing alleged decadent behavior in the prison, ruled that Day's attack on Loeb was
self-defense.[6][41] According to one widely reported account, newsman Ed Lahey wrote
this lead for the Chicago Daily News: "Richard Loeb, despite his erudition, today ended his
sentence with a proposition."[42][43] Some papers went as far as to say that Loeb deserved what he
got, and appeared to praise James Day for his murder. Day was later tried and acquitted of
Loeb's murder.
Another possible motive for the murder was money. Because his money had been cut, Loeb
could no longer afford to bribe Day with gifts in return for safety.[44]
There is no evidence that Loeb was a sexual predator while in prison, but Day was later caught
at least once in a sexual act with a fellow inmate. [45] In his autobiography, Life Plus 99 Years,
Leopold called Day's claim that Loeb had attempted to sexually assault him ridiculous and
laughable. This is echoed in an interview with the Catholic chaplain at the prison, Father Eligius
Weir, who had been a personal confidant of Loeb. Weir stated that James Day had been the
sexual predator and had gone after Loeb because Loeb refused to have sexual relations with
him.[46]
Leopold dedicated much time to reclaim the name of Loeb, who had died an infamous child killer
and a named sexual predator. Leopold composed books for the prison school. On the cover of
these books he wrote in Latin "Ratione autem liberamur" which translates to "by reason,
however, we are set free."
Although Leopold continued with his work in prison after Loeb's death, he suffered
from depression. Leopold reportedly screamed for hours in his cell before being moved to the
prison psychologists. This was meant to help him, but according to Leopold it was a punishment
because Day was also among the patients.
Leopold's prison life[edit]
Leopold in Stateville Penitentiary, 1931
Leopold became a model prisoner. He reportedly mastered 12 languagesin addition to the 15

he already spoke[7]and made multiple significant contributions to improving conditions at
Stateville Penitentiary. These included reorganizing the prison library, revamping the schooling
system and teaching its students, and volunteer work in the prison hospital. In 1944, Leopold
volunteered for the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study; he was deliberately inoculated
with malaria pathogens and then subjected to multiple experimental malaria treatments. [47]
In the early 1950s author Meyer Levin, a University of Chicago classmate, requested Leopold's
cooperation in writing a novel based on the Franks murder. Leopold responded that he did not
wish his story told in fictionalized form, but offered Levin a chance to contribute to his own
memoir, which was in progress. Levin, unhappy with that suggestion, went ahead with his book
alone, despite Leopold's express objections. The novel, entitled Compulsion,[48] was published in
1956. Levin portrayed Leopold (under the pseudonym Judd Steiner) as a brilliant but deeply
disturbed teenager, psychologically driven to kill because of his troubled childhood and an
obsession with Loeb. Leopold later wrote that reading Levin's book made him "... physically
sick ... More than once I had to lay the book down and wait for the nausea to subside. I felt as I
suppose a man would feel if he were exposed stark-naked under a strong spotlight before a large
audience."[49]
Leopold's autobiography, Life Plus 99 Years, was published in 1958.[50] In beginning his account
with the immediate aftermath of the crime, he engendered widespread criticism for his deliberate
refusal (expressly stated in the book) to recount his childhood, or to describe any details of the
murder itself.[51] He was also accused of writing the book solely as a means of rehabilitating his
public image by ignoring the dark side of his past. [52]
In 1959 Leopold sought unsuccessfully to block production of the film version of Compulsion on
the grounds that Levin's book had invaded his privacy, defamed him, profited from his life story,
and intermingled fact and fiction to such an extent that they were indistinguishable. [53]
[54]
Eventually the Illinois Supreme Court ruled against him,[55] holding that Leopold, as the
confessed perpetrator of the "crime of the century", would have difficulty showing that any book
had injured his reputation.[52][53]
Leopold's post-prison years[edit]

After 33 years and numerous unsuccessful parole petitions, Leopold was released in March
1958.[6][7] In April he attempted to set up the Leopold Foundation, to be funded by royalties
from Life Plus 99 Years, "to aid emotionally disturbed, retarded, or delinquent youths".[6][7][56] The
State of Illinois voided his charter, however, on grounds that it violated the terms of his parole. [57]
Leopold moved to Santurce, Puerto Rico, to avoid media attention and married a widowed florist.
[6][7]
The Brethren Service Commission, a Church of the Brethren affiliated program, accepted him
as a medical technician at its hospital in Puerto Rico. He expressed his appreciation in an article:
"To me the Brethren Service Commission offered the job, the home, and the sponsorship without
which a man cannot be paroled. But it gave me so much more than that, the companionship, the
acceptance, the love which would have rendered a violation of parole almost impossible." [58] He
was known as "Nate" to neighbors and co-workers at Castaer General Hospital in Adjuntas,
Puerto Rico, where he worked as a laboratory and X-ray assistant.[53] Subsequently he earned a
master's degree at the University of Puerto Rico, then taught classes there; became a researcher
in the social service program of Puerto Rico's department of health; worked for an urban renewal
and housing agency; and did research on leprosy at the University of Puerto Rico's school of
medicine.[59] He was also active in the Natural History Society of Puerto Rico, traveling throughout
the island to observe its birdlife. In 1963 he published Checklist of Birds of Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands.[60] While he spoke of his intention to write a book entitled Snatch for a Halo, about
his life following prison, he never did so.[61]
Leopold died of a diabetes-related heart attack on August 29, 1971, at the age of 66.[6]
[7]
His corneas were donated.[6]

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Prison[edit]

Leopold and Loeb

Leopold's prison life[edit]

Leopold in Stateville Penitentiary, 1931

Leopold became a model prisoner. He reportedly mastered 12 languagesin addition to the 15

Leopold's post-prison years[edit]

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