The shocking true story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy college students who murdered a 14-year-old boy in 1924 to prove they were smart enough to get away with it.
Official Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/perfectcrime/ | #PerfectCrimePBS
When Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two well-educated college students from a wealthy suburb of Chicago, confessed to the brutal murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks, the story made headlines across the country. The unlikely killers not only admitted their guilt, but also bragged that they had committed the crime simply for the thrill of it. As the sensational case unfolded during the summer of 1924, with famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow and Cook County Prosecutor Robert Crowe debating the death penalty and scores of commentators weighing in from the sidelines, the question of motive would be turned over and over again.
What first seemed like a simple matter of evil gradually would give way to a complex assessment of the murderers' minds and a searing indictment of the forces that had shaped them, and set off a national debate about morality and capital punishment.
© 2016 WGBH Educational Foundation
00:00 Prologue
04:28 Nabbing the Killers
09:38 The Confessions
14:41 Gods and Monsters
16:31 An Unholy Alliance
21:52 Enter Darrow
24:43 Preparing the Case
29:02 A Sensational Turnabout
31:15 The Hearing
39:02 Closing Arguments
44:53 The Decision
48:34 Epilogue
#documentary #history #truecrimestories #truecrime
This program is made possible by viewers like you.
Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate
Subscribe to the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanExperiencePBS
Enjoy full episodes of your favorite AMERICAN EXPERIENCE shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR
FOLLOW AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanExperiencePBS/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AmExperiencePBS/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AmericanExperiencePBS/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@americanexperiencepbs