Clarence Darrow on Capital Punishment

I pulled this book from the shelf at the UCC library on a whim, and began reading it. This book begins with the text of a debate between Mr Darrow and the Honorable Alfred J. Tally of New York on the resolution "That Capital Punishment is a wise public policy." Though I am not convinced that capital punishment is without its application, I think it was clear that Mr Darrow carried the debate. The second portion of the book is Mr Darrow's rather extensive plea for mercy in the case of Leopold and Loeb, delivered over three days. There is no doubt but that he was a passionate advocate for his clients, and he was clearly effective. Neither of the two were executed; Richard Loeb was killed in prison by an inmate, and Nathan Leopold died at age 66 in Puerto Rico. This book left me pining for real public debate. To have two people get in front of an audience and argue both sides of a topic is in no way replaced by either the solo rants of pundits, or the round table rhetoric of Sunday morning panel discussions.