Easier to Prove
One Insane
Than Two
It has been argued here that because Richard Loeb told the doctors
that he had no ambition in life, that he hadn't selected or thought of
any profession, that is an indication he is mentally unbalanced; and because
the other defendant had a definite ambition in life, he is also mentally
unbalanced.
A happy philosophy of medicine, especially when you are testifying
in a guilty case, and trying to cheat the gallows. It is too bad that they
have two defendants here. It would be so much easier to prove one insane,
because anything you found in him could be a bad sign. But when you have
two, and they are not exactly alike, when one has broken arches and the
other has a high arch, why then, it has got to be a bad sign in one and
a bad sign in the other. And if one has to shave every day, that is a bad
sign; and if the other does not have to shave but twice a week that is
a bad sign.
It was a bad sign that Richard Loeb did not have any definite aim
or purpose in life, and it was also a bad sign because Leopold wanted to
study law and ornithology.