Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-08-19
AL|EN|ST' s OPINION
UNDER HEAVY FIRE
At FRANKS HEARING
Loeb and Leopold Defense
Claims Gains During
Days Battle

l.
H. Douglas Singer, fourth alienist
for the prosecution, that Richard
Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr., were
entirely normal when they kidnapped
and killed 14-year-old Robert Franks
last May 81, was subjected today |
to the expert vivisection Of the Wig /
, orously alert Clarence S. barrow,
chief counsel for the defense.
The hearing to determine whether
Judge John r. Caverly shall inflict
the death penalty on the youths on
their plea of guilty, or shall impose
| penitentiary sentences upon the
1 plea for mitigation of punishment
was enlivened by frequent clashes
of Mr.. Darrow with the witness, and |
again with Robert E. Grove, states I
attorney.
At adjournment, the defense
fclaimed these were net gains:
Admission by DR.. Singer that he |
had reached conclusions by obserVa-
ton, and not examination; that a
split personality, described by de-
| Tense alienists is existing in both |
| boys, might be evidence towards a /
! mental disorder that the present I
ages of both Loeb and Leopold is I
the critical time for developing /
mental Sickness and that a dream
life might influence personality.
Sticks to Normal Opinion
DR.. Singer did not deviate from
his general declaration that he had
found no evidence in his observe
! tons nor N the testimony of de-
Tense experts to sway him from his
conclusions that there was mo evil !
dence to indicate a diseased mind in /
either YOUTH and that they had /
displayed normal emotions and that /
their phantasy lives contained moth I
| ing abnormal.
The other leg of the triangular /
plea of the defense-functional dis
orders of the endocrine gland sys-
tems-was not touched upo@ today
| Mr.. barrow was gratified by get
| ting into the record a statement by
James Quinlan, of Joliet, at one
| time an official of the state peni-
tentiary but now a lawyer, that
$40 persons had pleaded guilty to
murder in Illinois in the last ten !
|
Thomas Fitzgerald, a man nearIy 7
forty years old, had been hanged,
Mr.. Darrow's point was to bring /
out that no youths of the ages of |
Leopold and Loeb had paid the ST.
preme penalty upon pleas of guilty, |
and that MIR. Grove, who had termed !
| the Franks case a perfect hanging |
case" sentenced Fitzgerald.
Once during today's short session |
Mr.. Grove charged that the defense
was trying to cheat the law Mr.. /
Darrow countered by accusing Mr.. I
Grove of having held Loeb and Leo
pold illegally while he forced cor
fessions from them, At another
point the two argued heatedly WHEN I
Mr. Grove referred to the youths
as Criminals"
Alienist Holds His Own
"You are not trying to fool me, /
are you, doctor?" presaged one of
Mr. Darrow's tits with the witness.
and you are not trying to avoid
us, are you?" heralded another. The |
doctor, retaining his calm under the
inquisition by Mr.. barrow, each |
time shot back invitations to try
and find out.
"What other names do they use
for split personality asked Mr. |
barrow.
'Phantasies, delusions, illusions,
mannerisms, etc; they are all evil I.
dences of a split personality" re-
piled DR.. Singer.
The "schizophrenic person" was a |
newcomer in the hearing He was
introduced by DR.. Singer in a book |
in which he had sought to define |
more definitely persons with split |
personalities, Mr.. barrow reading
| extensively from the work.
1t was in that connection that the |
! defense counsel obtained the adj |
mission from DR.. Singer that |
sclizophrenia, The inclination OF
parts of the personality to split off, |
is more likely to develop into insan
! ity in intelligent persons of the APP
| proXimate ages of Loeb and Leopold |
! than in others.
Will Return to Stand
oss-eXamination of DR.. Singer |
was unfinished when the hearing
was adjourned until 1890 a. m,
| Monday. 1t was indicated the de-
| Tense would end it's questioning by
Monday ncon. There is only one re.
naming witness, DR.. w. O. KrOhn,
of Chicago, a veteran expert witness
n murder trials and regarded as the
| prosecution lace" Attorneys esti-
mated that a day and a half would
suffice for hearing his testimony,
permitting arguments in the hearing
to be started possibly Wednesday
morning.
Loeb and Leopold found much
cause for merriment in the heated
exchanges between counsel and wit
ness today and their faces frequent
~ were wreathed in smiles, not I.
changing even when Mr.. Grove
spoke openly of the death penalty.
At other times they whispered to
each other, or addressed low voiced