Arrested Adolescence

The Secret Life of Nathan Leopold

By: Erik Rebain

Narrated by: Daniel Henning

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Nathan Leopold seemed to live a charmed life: a published, polyglot college graduate by the time he was nineteen and from a prominent, wealthy Chicago family. So, it was a shock to everyone when he and his lover, Richard Loeb, confessed to killing their fourteen-year-old neighbor Bobby Franks "for a thrill."

During the summer of 1924 the world watched in fascinated horror as the pair were defended by the famous Clarence Darrow in what many labeled "the trial of the century." There was a massive public outcry when the murderers were spared the death penalty, and once they were behind bars, most hoped they would never be heard from again.

Thirty-three years after the murder, it seemed that Nathan Leopold was a changed man. In prison he ran a high school and library, worked as a nurse, and helped find a cure for malaria. He was deemed rehabilitated and paroled to a tiny town in the mountains of Puerto Rico. There he got a degree in social work, raised funds to build a hospital, and advocated for the abolishment of prisons and capital punishment. When he died in 1971 there was an outpouring of support for the "gentle" "reformed" killer. Yet his life was not what it seemed.

©2023 Erik Rebain (P)2023 Tantor

Well researched and written

The story of Nathan Leopold is compelling and upsetting. He seemed to always feel entitled without remorse for the crime he committed. The author tells the story without bias but still points out the ironies of his life using an excellent narrative format. It’s an excellent true crime story that reveals the character of the criminal by telling the story of his life after the crime.