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.