The Leopold and Loeb trial was probably the first time that Nietzsche had been called upon as a defence alibi. It was certainly not to be the last. ‘Nietzsche made me do it’ has become commonplace. Among the latest is Jared Lee Loughner, the man who opened fire at a Democratic Party political rally in Tucson, Arizona, in January 2011, killing six people, and injuring fourteen others including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He was said to be a nihilist who drew his inspiration from Nietzsche’s The Will to Power.
