The Loeb-Leopold case - The Clarence Darrow Collection

The Loeb-Leopold Case
Well, Dick, the best of luck if I do not see you again
and thanks in advance for the wire, I am sure you will
be good enough to send. Hoping you will be able to
decide in the way I obviously want,
I am,
Babe.
It was not fabricated for this case, was it? It
was long before this happened. Can any one come
to the conclusion that that letter came from a nor-
mal mind?
I have indicated, your Honor, what the examina-
tion of the alienists for the State brought forth, and
it was the senses, the logical sequence, orientation,
the stream of thought and continuity of thought.
That is the best, the most positive statement that
came from the alienists for the State.
Now, the alienists for the defense. I will just
touch lightly on these things; your Honor will remember
them. Take Dickie Loeb first. First, they
found an abnormal phantasy life. The substance
of the phantasies was peculiar; it was the phantasy
of the commission of a perfect crime, and about
being abused in jail. The next one was the pro-
longation into adolescence of these infantile phan-
tasies. They learned that.
They learned also that he projected into the
world of reality his phantasy life by endeavoring to
conform conduct thereto, such as playing detective,
playing gang leader, playing committing burglary
as well as the actual commission of many crimes of
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