The Loeb-Leopold case - The Clarence Darrow Collection

The Loeb-Leopold Case
coming with the outside world shut off, as in most
cases, and saying to this court and counsel, " I be-
lieve that these boys ought not to be at large, I
believe they are immature and irresponsible, and
I am willing to enter a plea of guilty and let you
sentence them to life imprisonment," how long do
you suppose your Honor would hesitate? Do you
suppose the State's Attorneys would raise their
voices in protest?
If a man could judge a fellow in coldness without
taking account of his own life, without taking ac-
count of what he knows of human life, without some
understanding, how long would we be a race of real
human beings? It has taken the world a long time
for man to get even where he is today. If the law
was administered without any feeling of sympathy
or humanity or kindliness, we would begin our long,
slow journey back to the jungle that was formerly
our home.
Three hundred and forty murder cases in ten
years with pleas of guilty in this county. One
hanging on a plea of guilty, and that a man forty
years of age. And yet they say we come here with
a preposterous plea for mercy. When did any plea
for mercy become preposterous in any tribunal in
all the universe?
This tragedy has not claimed all the attention it
has had, your Honor, on account of its atrocity.
What is it? There are two reasons, and only two
that I can see. First is the reputed extreme wealth
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