committing such a horrid act of violence. It was reported that by the end of Darrow’s closing argument, the majority of the courtroom was in tears. It had been a long hard battle for Darrow. He hoped that despite the oddity of the crime itself, the judge was persuaded to take into consideration the ages of both boys involved. Darrow urged the judge to make a judgment reflecting the most appropriate and principled decision possible. On September 10, 1924 the judge was ready to rule. Two issues determined his sentence—age and humanity. The judge sentenced both Leopold and Loeb to life in prison, recommending no parole. Clarence Darrow had won the case for his two young defendants. He was able to emphasize humanity over evidence, and influence the judge that a wrong cannot correct wrongdoing. The state of affairs surrounding the murder of Bobby Franks was presented by Darrow as secondary evidence. He primarily focused on the issues of morality, sympathy, and the inhumane nature of capital punishment. Darrow was able to shift the responsibility and guilt of the crime from Leopold and Loeb to the judge by emphasizing that he alone would bear the guilt and burden of the sentence. ...
