The Hulbert Bowman Report

Medical Report by Doctors Hulbert and Bowman

this page is under re-construction and will contain more material as soon as I can get it finished

Examination covered a period of 18 days, June 13 1924-June 30, 1924. A volume was produced for each defandant, one for Leopold, one for Loeb. The purpose of the Hulbert Bowman report was to determine whether a plea of Insanity was viable. An insane plea would still allow for a jury trial. The decision was made, after the culmination of the Hulbert Bowman report, to  change the plea from Not Guilty to "Guilty to Both Charges". The reason for this was not the Hulbert Bowman report directly, but the prospect of two seperate trials, each with a possible sentance of death. State's attorney Crowe would have the advantage of trying the boys first under one charge, then under the other. Darrow then made the decision to plead them guilty to both charges, thereby simultaneously removing the prospect of two trials, as well as removing the jury. As a result, the possibility of death rested squarely on the shoulders of Judge Caverly. The report exmined Loeb and Leopold's family history, their physical condition, their fantasies, their upbringings, their sex lives, and a myriad of other things. It became the basis upon which the other psychiatrists (alienists) would found their examinations.In July, the Hulbert Bowman report was "stolen" by newsreporters, from Clarence Darrow's office, and was then published. Not quite complete versions of the report can be found in Maureen McKernan's book "The Amazing Crime and Trial of Leopold and Loeb" (1957), as well as "The Loeb'Leopold Case" by Alvan Sellers. (1926) Both works are out of print. The McKernan one is however, far easier to locate used. The Sellers book was written in 1926 and is very rare. Both are edited to pass the censors of each time. (not much seems to have changed in 31 years)

It is worth noting that during the construction of the Hulbert Bowman report, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were housed in different sections of the jail and were still indeed, very angry with each other. They made up, but, according to Nathan Leopold in his autobiography, "Life plus Ninety Nine Years", this was not for six weeks after their arrest. (May 30)

"During our questioning by the police we had seen each other only on those occasions when the authorities wanted to confront us with the contradictions in our stories. Each of us was very angry with the other;Dick because he felt I had betrayed him in using the alibi after what he considered the allowable period; I, because of the lie he was telling about who had struck the fatal blow. And these occasions hardly lent themselves to trying to straighten out our differences. Even after we were put in the county jail the warden took pains to keep us seperated. Assigned to different floors, we hardly saw each other, and then under conditions making serious conversation impossible.

It was not until six weeks after our arrival at the jail, after our pleas of guilty, that Dick was moved down to my floor and we had the chance to talk." (1)

One more oft overlooked fact must be added as a preamble to the Hulbert Bowman report, and that is the attitude of Richard Loeb's brother.

Richard Loeb's father was ill with a heart condition and had gone to their estate in Michigan, accompanied by Loeb's mother. The case was handled, then, by Richard's  older brother Allan,  and his uncle Jacob.

The following is from an unpublished memo of the Chicago Sun Times. The memo was written by Ray Brennan and dated May 19, 1953.It is from an interview conducted that day by Brennan, of State's Attorney Crowe. (2)

"Robert E Crowe recalls that Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were reputed to have mutilated two men about two months before the murder of Bobby Franks.

He said that he and Clarence Darrow, defense lawyer, has an agreement not to bring out at the trial any filthy testimony not needed to convict.

Along that line, since the defandants had confessed and there was plenty of supporting evidence to convict, the testimony was sharply limited.

He and Darrow had an agreement not to hold back information or developments from each other, Crowe said.

During the trial, Crowe continued, Darrow came to him with a written report and recommendation made for the defense by two alienists.

The alienists, in their report, urged Darrow to refrain from bringing up any references to homosexuality and to dodge any mention of sex crimes-including emasculation or mutilation offences, according to Crowe."

Hal Higdon, in his book, Crime of the Century, tackles the question of Leopold and Loeb's mystery crimes, alluded to in the trial as A,B,C,D. He suggests that these were property crimes for which restitution could have to be made. (arson and burglary) Leopold and Loeb wouldn't care; their families would. To me, this implies that it was the family's concern that wanted the references to these crimes omited. And if we continue with that, then it was also the family that wanted the references to homosexuality not mentioned.

"He recalled that when Loeb had been proposed for membership in their fraternity, they had heard rumors about him and his friend Nathan Leopold. Someone who caught the pair in bed together had claimed they were homosexuals. The fraternity had called Allan Loeb in Chicago to inquire about the charge, and Richard's older brother showed such concern that he traveled to Ann Arbor to talk to the members." (3).