C O NT E NT S

THE IN SA N E Po o n ,

T m: C R I M I N A L I NSA N E ,
&c .
, O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

I ND
A ct o f e ffec t s o f 4 6 4 7 5 0 5 6 ;
1 86 1 , e i vl , , , ,

r em a n d s I n s a n e fr o m Hosp i t a l s t o P r i s o n s ,

49 ; J ud g e Br e w s t e r s O p i n i o n o f, 6 1 —6
4;
’

r e pea l d em a n d ed 3 9 , .

A l m s H o u s e s S t1 fie r i n gs o f I n s a n e 1 n 7 1 5
, , ,

A pp ea ls fr o m I n spe c t or s of P en i t e n t i a r i es , 1 n
,

A ss o ci a t i o n o f C r i m i n al “
I sa
n n e ”
w i th fe l on s ,

88 , 9 1 .

l s I
C a i m o f n s a n e u on th e S t a t e , 1 3 p .

r
C h o n i c Ne g ec t o f n an e i n P oo h o u e ,l I s r s s 1 6;
J ai ls pro pe r pl a ces I sa e , 5 5 8 5?
"

s
ca u e s o f, 1 9 .
n ot
"
for th e n n ,

r l I ls
C u e d e t e n t i o n o f n s an e i n J ai , 3 3 3 7 .
8 9, 1 00 .

r I
Cu e of n s an e , 2 9 ; p r
e ce n t ag e , 1 2 .

C n v i c t I s a e 2 7 ; c d i t i on eed s 3 3 3 7
'

o n n ,
on ,
n ,

s e p a ra t e d e p a rtme t f m S t at e H osp i t a ls n or ,

s u gg es t ed 3 3 5 9 1 0 1 , , , .

C r i m i a l I a e 5 ; befo r e tr i a l 2 7
n ns n , ,

2 8 ; s h u l d n t be i j ai ls 29 ;
o o n ,

i S t a t e Pe i t e t i a r i e s 3 2 —3 7 6;
n
5 n n , ,

pr op s ed 9 6 o , .

Du t y f S t a t e t o a ll I s a e Po or 1 00 ; to In
o n n ,

s a e C r i m i a ls 3 1
n n , .

Da g e r u L u a t i c s pro p e r pr v i s i f r 1 0 1
n o s n , o on o , .

Da n v i ll e I s a e H o sp i t al spe c i a l de pa rt m e n t
,
n n ,

P e ve r rs i on
Pr i s on s 8 1 0 in , , .

Fac ts a b ou t pr e s e n t c r ue l n e g l ec t of I n s a n e
,

P o o r 1 5 1 9 ; a bo u t C r i m i n a l i n Pe n i t e n
,

n a ry 3 3 - 3 7 ,

H a rml e ss I n s an e 5 ; ca r e of, 2 5 3 8 c r u el , ,

i n d e fin i t e i m p r i s o n m e n t o f 4 6 , .

H a rm fu l I n s a n e 5 2 5 ; n o t a l w a y s Cr i m i n al , ,

H u m a n e L e gi sl a t i on m o th e r S t a t e s 64 , .

H u m a n e t r e a t m e n t o f I n s a n e C r i m i n als 9 3 ,

n u l l i fied b
y A ct o f 1 8 6 1 .

H a r d s h i ps o f P oor I n s a n e C ri m i n a ls ,
r em ed i e s pr o po s e
H o pe l e ss C o n d i t i o n
In s a n i ty a c au s e o f ,

I n s a n e s im pl y put ,

s t a te t o 4
“

, .

I n h um a n V i e w o f I
n s a n e Po o r W h a t ,
 TO T H E L E G IS L A T U R E .

A PL EA
FOR THE

NS A NE
IN T H E

P R IS O NS A ND P O O R H O U S E S -

P E NNS YL V A NIA .

fi
g

P H IL A DE L P H I A
A . C . B R YSO N Co .
, S T EA M -P OW ER PR I N T ER S , 60 7 CHES T N U T S T REE T ;
BO A R D O F P U B L IC C H A R IT I E S

P E NNS Y L V A NIA .

O F F ICERS .

P R E S I DEN T

GE O R GE L . H A RR I SO N ,

PH I L ADE L P H IA .

G ENER A L A G EN T A ND S ECR E TA R Y

DI L L E R LUTH ER, M . D .
,

R E A DI N G .

M E M BER S or T HE BOA R D
G EO . L H AR R I SO N
. . WM . B A K E W E LL .

G . DA W S O N C O L E M A N . A . C NOY E S
. .

H I E S T ER C LYM E R . GE O R G E BU L LO CK .

F R A NC S I W E LL S .

S TATI S TI C IA N

A .
J . O URT .
 THE INS A NE .

I N S ANI T Y in its relation to legislation and j urisprudence

, ,

as well as to mental moral and medical science to its char

, ,

a c t er i s t i c s and the mode of determining its presence as well ,

a s the method of treatment for its cure to the best means of ,

p rotecting society against its violent or mischievous assaults ,

a s well as to its claim s upon our human regard and sympa

t hy —is a subj ect of great di fficul t y but at the same t ime

, , ,

o f commensurate i nterest and importance .

I t is not easy to give a clear

DEFINI T ION OF IN S ANI T Y ,

a nd when we at tempt i t the danger is that we run into one

,

e xtreme or another and either allow none to be insane b u t

,

the raving maniac or make all insane who commit a n ything

,

f o olish or wrong B ut w e need n o t attemp t a defini t ion

.

here .

W henever the condition of the raving maniac is so far

a pproximated and the reason sofar disordered or dethroned
,
,

t hat the apprehension of the distinc t ion between right a n d

wrong is lost either wholly and in all re la t ions or partially
, ,

a n d in rela t ion to some particular s ubj ec t s then insanity s o ,

.

fa r exists as to demand to be specifically recognized in the

a dministration o f j u s t i c e
f in the means to be pr ovided fo r
m
,

t h e protection of society and i n determining the treat en t

,
,

d u e to those who are its subj ects .

The diagnosis of such cases we may leave to experts a n d ,

.

t h e determination of the facts to the proper o fficials j udges ,

or j uries W e have no t hing here to do with the question of

.

i nsanity as it is presented to the psychologist or to a peti t;

j ury o r to a co mmission de Zun a tz co i n q u i r en do or to a board
'

of medical examiners I n the cases t o which we propose t o

.

call attention we assume t h e fact of insanity to be estab

,

li s h ed and then looki n g at the insane ma n aft erwards

, , ,

WE IN "UI RE W H A T I s TO BE DONE ?
B ut we must protest a t the outset against a certain form
, ,

of mistaken feeling which we suspect may very generally

, , ,

e x i s t z — w e refer to the disposition to regard all persons ,

who being charged with crime are acquitted on the ground

, ,

of i nsanity as at least highly suspicious c h aracters to b e

, ,

classed with criminals witho ut reserve because it happen s ,

that the greatest criminals so often seek to evade the punish

ment due to their crimes by setting up
'

TH E PLE A OF IN S ANI T Y .

B ut this s w eeping generalization is no more reasonable

especially in the case Of the p oor who have no powerful ,

friends to wor k for them and cannot pay liberal fees for an
,

elaborate defen ce than it would be to regard all men a s

,

criminals and suspici ous characters who are ch arged with ,

any crime however clearly their innocence may be demon

,

s t r a t ed ; for t his plea of i n sanity is by no means t h e only , ,

plea which is ab used for the protectio n O f knavery an d

violence .

A s to the specious modern plea of

MO R A L IN S ANI T Y ,

either it must be absolutely rej ected or all administration of ,

penal j urisprudence must co nsi stently be abandoned A n y

, ,
.
"

insanity that can be recogniz ed i n law must include a de

, ,

rangement o r loss of the r a ti on a l faculties and by such de ,

”
ran gement or loss it must be measured A moral insanity .

which consists merely in an abnormal violence O f viciou s

propensities or O f some particular vicious p ro p ensity whil e
, ,

yet the light of reason remains unabridged and the consciou s ,

moral j udgment is clear and distinct , is only another ex

 5

p ressi on either for diabolical wickedness or for the ordinary ,

c ondition of human temptation .

B ut waiving all such discussions the subj ect which we

, ,

d esire to present to the practical consideration of t h e Legis

l a t ur e is this

W H A T PU B L IC PROVI S I ON S HO U L D BE M A DE F O R TH E CA R E

A ND T REA T MEN T O F TH E IN S A NE E S PECI A L L Y

“

O F TH E IN S A NE POO R ,

i ncluding th ose who have been convicted of crime or

c harged w i th its commission .

I n order to a clear exposition and apprehension of the

s ubj ect whic h we thus desire to presen t it will be advisable ,

an d even necessary to analyze it and to distribute the insane ,

into their several classes with reference to the end we have ,

i n view - to the public provision to be made for their safe

keeping care and treatment
,
W ith this vie w the insane .
,

may be dis t ributed into

TH REE DIFFEREN T C L A SS E S
-
.

1 . Those who have done no violence or public harm — the

o rdinary insane These again fall into two sub -classes
.
, ,

1 The harmless or those from w hom no har m is feared

.
,
.

2 The harmful — those with manifestly dangerous and de

.

s tructive propensities .

2 Those who have done harm — have committed crime

.

While sane but ( 1 ) have become insane before trial or con

,

v i c t i on ; or ( 2) have become i nsane after conviction — “

in
”
s ane convicts in the strict legal sense .

8 Those who having done harm having committed acts

.
,

o f violence or mischief have been acquitted of crime on t h e

,

g ro und O f insanity .

A nd first of the ,

IN S ANE WHO H AV E "DONE No H A RM .

A mong these the insanity may vary in cha racter and degree
,

from some simple special hallucination down to complete de

me n tia I t may i nclude bot h sexes and all ages ; may p r o
. .
 6

ceed from a variety of causes moral and physical may b e , ,

recent or may have become chronic may be mo r e o r les s

'

violent or dangerous may be curable in variou s degrees or

, ,

may be absolutely incurable These varieties may call for

.

various medical classifications and modifications of treat

m
ment ; all which we leave to m edical men to arrange and
deter ine The cl assification which more directly concern s
.

us v1 eW In g the subj ect I n its relation t o the demand for leg

,

i s la t i ve interp osition or State aid is ,

1 Those wh o have the mea n s of suppor t an d

.
,
1

Those who are dependent and desti t ute .

’

The first class can be cared for either at h ome by thei r ,

friends or at private asylums established for the p u r po sa

,

The only occas i on for legislative interposition in their behalf

is to see that they have prope r guardianship to s ec ure them
,

I n the possession and right use of their property A nd t h e .

only occasion for such interposition for the protecti o n O f th e

community in this regard is on the one hand to see that
, , ,

friends who un dertake their guardianship do not n eglect it

, ,

to the peril of the community or abuse it to t h e detriment of

,

the sufferer ; and on the other hand t o p rovide lest by the

, ,

criminal collusion or i n terested misj udgment O f relations and

physicians an y sane person sho uld under certain circu m
, ,

stances O f he l p lessness or ex p osure be condemned to the ,

living death of incarcera t ion in some private hospital for

,

the insane — a fate next in horror to that of being buried

alive A s to What legislation is required I n relation to thi s
.

class we have only to refer to the suggestions presented in

,

our last report .

But however important the claims of this class may be

upon the public consideration they are as nothing in com ,

parison with those of t h e other class O f the h armless insane ,

Vi z
'
TH E DE S TITU TE A N D DEPENDEN T ,

To these and their sad fate we beg once m ore r espectfully

,

but m ost earnestly to urge the serious and specia l atten

,
tion O f the Legislature I n o ur former reports we have n o t
.
,

overlo oked the claims of these helpless vic t ims O f the

sorest of human maladi es y b u t in the discharge of our otfi ,

c i a l duty we have repeatedly though hi t herto perhaps -

, , , , ,

wi t hout su fficient fullness and emphasis presented t hose ,

claims to t h e c o n s i der a t i o n of the Legis l ature and we n o w

‘

beg to refer to our

,

F ORMER ST A T EMEN TS A ND S U G GE ST ION S ON TH I S S U BJ E C T .

In our r ep or t fo r 1 87 0 M ore especially do we wish to de

n ou nc é t h e c ruel wrong s which the I nsane su ffer who are i n

mates O f almshouses These institutions are g enerally .

wholly unsuitab le for t h eir care or even detention] or if ,

suitable are presided over by persons who are entirely i g n o

,

rant of t h e needs of this class O f the sick and infirm and ,

whose administration is based on the crudes t ideas of

mental di sease ; it is limited to the discovery of t h e most
availabl e meth ods of preventi n g t hem from harming any
thing or any person b u t themselves W e could instance the .

most glar i fig abuses not as we believe intentionall y i n fli ct

, , ,

ed but the result of incapacity and ignorance The time

,
.
.

has gone by when a disturbed imagination or a disordered

intellect should be held to have converted its human victim
into a diste mpered brute whose h ome should be akin to the ,

sty or the stable and whose lightest restraint should be perpet

,

ual incarceration within the limits of a cell T h ese wrongs de .

mand prompt redress NO hospital for the insane sho ul d remain

.

without the constant supervision O f a medical superintend

ent The s tewards O f almshouses are never selected from
.
‘

”
any consideration of the needs of the insane .

The rep ort was also accompanied wi t h the following for

mal resolutions of the Board .

R es olved “
That the B oard or P ublic C harities having
, ,

witnessed the evils which r esult fro m the connection O f i n .

sane asylums with almshouses and believing that a wrong is ,

done to t h e i n s an e by classing them with paup ers hinderi ng

~

t h e public from estimating aright their clai ms to sympathy

 8

and remedial treatment disapprove O f such an alliance and, ,

believe that the best interests of this a fflicted class of the

people and the duty of the State concur in the establish
, ,

ment by the State within a reasonable time of su fficient ao

, ,

c o mmoda t i o n s for the maintenance and treatment of all the

”
insane who may n ot be cared for in private hospitals .

R esolved “
,
That in the j udgment of the B oard all sup er i n
, ,

t en de n t s of hospitals for the insane should be members of the

medical profession .
”

I n 1 8 7 1 the following from o ur General A gent was laid

, , ,

before the Legislature

“
I n s ome of our prisons cases of insanity are found
“ “

which ought to be transferred to hospitals established for the

maintenance and treat ment of this class of p ersons I n the .

course of my inspection of these i n stitutions as will be see n ,

by a reference to my report instances of this character have ,

been noticed I t occasionally happens that i nsane p ersons

.

have to be at least te mporarily co mmitted to a prison ; but

, ,

fe w cases can arise where this necessity exists for any great
length of ti me I f they have been arrested for a crime the
.
,

la w has made a mple provision for a proper disp osition of

them without a protracted confinement in a county j ail and
, ,

the sooner they are removed therefro m the better Whether ,

their incarceration is the result of crime or merely for the

purpose of safe -keeping A ll the better feelings Of humanity.

'
,

as well as a sound p h i la n t h r Oph y concur i n t h i s sentime nt

"
.
,
“
A mong the various defects in ou r poorhouses none are ,

more to be deplored than that which relates to the provision

m ade for the insane Scarcely one can be mentioned which
.

is not deficient in this particular The sexes like t h e ar .

,

rangements in the other departments are frequently allowed ,

to mingle together ; fe w have suitable accommodations for

t heir comfort and even in the best of them there is a lack
, ,

of su fficient attendance N ew buildings have been erected .

in several counties with a view to increased facilities for the

,

support of this class but even here in some c ases persons

, , ,

have been selected who -have no experience and but little

 9

q ualification for the duties to which they have been as

signed .

“
The attention which I have given t o this grave subj ect
induces m e to believe that all cases of an acute c haracter -

should be placed in one O f the public insti t utions which have

been established in the State C i t y or C ounty with a view to
, , ,

their treatment To place a recent case where no suitable

.

medical treatment or other proper attendance can be had is ,

either simp ly to leave it to na t ure or facilitate its passage

into a chronic condition To render an institution suitable
.

for the successful management of such cases nearly all the ,

means essential for Such a p urpose are wanting A proper .

construction O f the building where a favorable classification

,

of the inmates can be main t ained where all th e modern i m,

r o v e men t s for in d oor comforts and am usemen t s and o ut

p
d oor exercise and recreation and where competent medical
,

and other at t endance can always be p rocured are necessary ,

t o attain t h O bj ect in v ie w — a restoration to health

a n d a sound

F or the mos t part all that can be exp ected in our county
shouses is to secure such provision for the chronic and
i ncurable insane as will meet the demands of a C hristian
,

humanity To confine them in close and badly ventilated

.

apartments with scarcely any O f the comforts which a n en

,

l i ghte n ed philanthropy would suggest — a condition in which

they are too O ften fo und — manifests such a failure O f duty
,

as t h ring odium and shame upon the civilizatio n of the

a g
e $ .

a State institution w a s es t ablished in

of the W illard A sylum for the I nsane
for the recep t ion care and treatment of the chronic i n
,

sane poor who were then provided for in the several co unty
,

p oorhouses in the State This ins

. t itution is reported to be .

i n successful O peration W hether the plan of separating

.

t his class of insane from the more acute a n d hopeful cases ,

a n d keeping them in di fferent institutions is best adapted t o

t h e successful treatment of the insane pop u lation is a ques ,

 10

tion much discussed among experts of t h e p resent day The .

medical superin t endents O f o ur insane hospitals aft er a full ,

.

and able discussion O f the subj ect came to the conclusion , ,

that such a classificatio n would be de t rimental to the inter

es t s O f both classes W i t h such able au t hority against s uch
.

a measure I am not prepared to endorse the action of the

,

N ew Y ork Legislat ure but prefer to leave the subj ect for ,

further ex perience and the candid consideration O f philan

,

t h r op i s t s
”
) x

I n 1 8 7 2 the B oard says in its report :

,
W hat the condition “

of the insane is as a general rule in the po orhouses of the

, ,

S t ate we set forth clearly in our earlies t report and although

, ,

there has bee n since then a manifest improve ment in their

condition and treatment in several of the county establish ,

ments it i s impos sible from the circumstances which charac

, ,

t e r i z e the whole arrangement discipline and go vernment of , ,

such institutions that these invalids c a n be otherwise than

,

grossly neglected an d foully wronged ; fo r a t th e bes t they , ,

are merely confined in places of detention under the guar ,

di a n s h i p of a respectable overseer who is wholly ignorant ,

of t heir disease and of the means necessary for its alleviation

,

or its cure W e say a t the bes t W e hesitate to describe the

.
,
.

reverse O f the picture I t would e x i bi t a scene of as cheer .

less and uncomfo rted misery as the most bit t er misanthrope

could desire to look upon I t is hardly fair to claim t hat we .

have passed beyond the ignorance and barbarity of the mid

dle ages in o ur consideration and care of this class of u n fo r
,

t u n a t es so long as we su ffer the glaring abuses which are

,

prevalent in our midst to continue unredressed .

“
I t is inconceivable to every reflecting mind that abuses ,

can be heaped up on t h e defenceless victims O f this saddest

of disorders w h o should rather be the Obj ects of the most
,

sponta n eo us sympathy and the most willing kindness and

considerat i on The reasons that the chances of exposure are
.

too remo t e to be es t imated and as in the case O f the child , ,

and the brute that resistance is impossible no doubt give

, ,

impunity to the fo ul wrong doing which the insane frequently -

 11

su ffer . But the most fruitful ca u Se O f this evil is the i n c o m

p et en c
y of those who are set over them I t is an evil almost .

irremediable under the present system of appointments in

,

the county almsh o uses an d county j ails I t generally h a p .

pens that these are based solely upon political considerat ions ,

Some useful partizan must be rewarded or in some way

helped and he is given an O ffice the duties O f which he
, ,

feels in no wise called upon to discharge ; having earned

its perqui sites by political services before he rece i ved it ;
and feeling his p osition secure is quite nat u rally led to
, ,

neglect his trust by ignoring its most essential requirements

,
.

U n fit n e s s of the highest measure is t h e character O f such

appointments generally ; and the victims in t his case are a
class of defenceless invalids whose circumstances appeal ,

with especial deserving to the highest claims O f humanity and

j ustice .

“
This mode of appointment should be ab o lished rather ,

than exte nded and we earnestly invoke the action of your

,

honorable bo dies to r evoke all legislation which favors it .

The in s titutions established by the St ate and t h e co unties ,

a t so great a cost and supported from year t o year by large

,

expenditure of the public funds extracted O ften by onerous ,

taxa t ion should be managed after a p rincip le which will

,

secure those O bj ects to accomplish which they were respect

i vely founded .

A s to the statisti cs in regard to this class of u n fo r t u

,

nates this Board hereby renews the O ffer made last year
,
“
W e are p repared upon a call of either branch O f the
,

Legislature to report upon the whole subj ect stating the

, ,

number s and condition O f t hi s class how they ar e now ,

circumstanced what proportio n a re probably c h ronic and

, ,

Wha t curable cases what additional accommodations are

,

needed and if require d a scheme for realizing t h e demand

, , ,

which is made upon the State for the complete fulfilment of

”

”
this imperative duty .

B ut as to the number of these helple s s s n fie r er s these de ,

p enden t wards of the State we may say beforehand and , ,

 12

with out reference to statis t ics that if the n umber is some , ,

thousands their moral claim upon the State as a matter O f

, ,

s imple duty on her part is multiplied so many thousand

,

fold ; and if the number is small there is the less excuse for ,

shrinking from the performance O that du t y for making

f —

p roper and complete pro vision for the care and treatment of
them all .

I f these persons are to be allowed to live a mong us ; if

they are not to be left some to star ve and perish an d others
, ,

to spread their mischief far and wide it is for ,

TH E IN T ERE ST OF TH E ST A T E .

that public pro vision should be made for their detention and
maintenance ; and if they are to be detained and supported
a t the public expense it is fo r the interest
,
— the palpable ,

pecuniary interest of the State that they sh ould have app ro

,

r i a t e and comfortable accomm o datio ns kind supervision

p , ,

a n d the most patient and skillful curative treatment This .

may be demon st rated in a fe w words W e may t ake two .

facts as well ascertai n ed and we believe they are admitted

,

without a dissenting voice ( 1 ) that under proper care and

,

s killful treatment — as in o ur best hospita l s — about 7 5 per

cent of recent cases of insanity will be cured in the first

.

six or t welve months ; ( 2) in poorho uses not m ore than ,

7 per cent will be cured in the first year

. A ssuming these .

premises and maki n g t h e -expense O f each patient in the

,

hospital twice what it would be in the almshouse the gain ,

i n the first instance unde r hospital treatment is simply

, ,

enormous B ut this is not all There are likely to be more

. .

c ures aft er w ards under the skillful treatment than under the
'

o t her B ut s upp o se t h e r e were not and that all the remain

.
,

ing cases were incurable there would remain on one side

, , ,

9 3 incurables to be maintained for li fe and on t h e other 25 ; , .

,

p
,

a n d if the ra t io of ex ense were still do uble the result ,

woul d be in favor O f hospital treatme n t as $ 5 0 to $ 9 3 That .

is to say the latter method w ould be a contin ual saving to

,

the State fo r many s ubsequent years of m ore than 4 6 p er

 13

cent per annum N or is this all It must be remembered

. . .

that the greater part of

TH E IN S ANE P O O R O W E TH EIR P O V ER T Y TO TH EIR IN S ANI T Y ,

and not the n I nsani t y to their poverty ; and that i n losing ,

t h eir power to support the mselves they have lost also in a , ,

V ery dar ge propor t io n of cases the power to support families

,

more or less numerous who thus become dependent upon

,

the p ublic for their maintenance The restored maniac r e .

sumes not only the enj oy ment of a man s co nsciousness but ’

,

of a man s activi t y the power of s elf s up p o r t and not only

’
—

this but of supporting by his industry those dep en den t u p o n

,
‘

h i m ; and every man who by his enterprise skill and labor

, , , ,

suppor t s himself and his family c on t r i b ut es al s o to the sup

,

port of o t h e r me n and their families Such are the economi

‘

cal advan t ages accruing t o t h e State from a proper treat

ment of t h e i n s ape poor and their co nsequent res t oration to
,

mental health .

B ut these unfortunate persons have claims upon the State

high er far than mere considerations of economy They a r e .

her wards and she is bo und by the dicta t es of

,
‘

S IMP L E J U ST ICE AND I MPERA T IVE DU T Y

to secure to them that h umane watchful and patient care , , ,

and that skil lful treatment which will give the best pro
,

mise of their speedy res t oration I f she chose to put them .

out of t h e way like n o xio us beasts or to let them alone

, ,

to star ve and die she mi ght s ay that charity and philan

,

t h r opy were no part of her mission an d ask who made her ,

their keeper ? B ut when she has laid her hand upon them ‘

p ut them in places of restraint and de t en t i o n an d t aken ,

'

co ntrol and charge of them s he ha s ma de her s elf thei r keep er

, ,

and has bound herself so to treat t hem as shall mo st conduce ,

to their future well -being as well as to her own

,
.

A s to their act ual

C ONDI T ION IN O UR C O UN T Y P O OR H O U S E S OR P RI S ON S ,

we do not propo se to weary the patience or o ffend the sensi

b i li t i es of the honorable members of the Legislature by the
 14

renewed recital of the more than three times thrice told tale
of the woes and su fferings of this sorely stricken class of
our fellow -citizens That the story w ith all its touching
.
,

and terri ble details ranging from the intensely sad to the
,

unspeakab ly horrible should have been so often repeat ed

, ,

and yet the evil remain to so large a degree unremedied ,

instead of exciting o ur impatience should raise our shame , ,

and provoke us to immediate and energetic action The .

story c a n n ever grow old or worn as long as the subj ect ,

matter itself remains a fresh and living reality There is .

BU T ONE V OICE IN TH I S CA S E .

NO intelligent person has ever made a general visitation of

t h e prisons and a l mh o u s e s of this State without being
startled and almost over w helmed by the forlorn and hopeless
and som etimes horrible condition of their insane inmates .

Those who some years since made a simila r visitation in

the State of Ne w Y ork pronounced t heir condition de .

p l o r a b le
,
”
and that S t ate forthwith determined to apply an
e ffectual remedy The im p ressions made upon this B oard by
.

similar visitations in our own S tate have been lai d before the
Legislature in our reports from year to year The shocking .

and sickening revelations so graphically set forth in the me

,

morial of M iss Di x presented t o the Legislature of 1 8 4 5 are

, ,

not yet obsolete There have been some improvements since

.

made in some of these places I n the P hiladelphia A lms .

house since then there has been a great reform ; and in

, ,

several o t her counties well constr u cted hospitals for the sick
,

and insane have bee n built ; but with one or two excep t ions , ,

there is no sp ecial medical supervision o r paid attendance at

all B ut in m ost parts of the State that condition remains
.

n o w substantially the same as t hen I ndeed without .

,

A TOTAL R EVO L U T IO N O F TH E S Y ST E M
it is impossible grea t ly to improve it There may be grave .

faults in the management of these poorhouses so me of which ,

might be remedied and other s are probably incapable of

,
 15

remedy ; b u t the great fault the fund amental cause of the—

evil is in t h e system itself I f the administra t ion were made

,
.

as perfect as hu man infirmity allows if the best superinten d ,

ents or wardens and the m o s t faithful attendants were secured

, ,

while the evil might be mi t igated it would remain s ub st a n t i

,

ally the same un t il the system i t self is changed

,
The .

remedy is not reform but revolution .

W e take leave t o i n ser t here the report made in the course

'

of the presen t year by a member of this B oard of his per ,

s onal inspection of one of our county p oorh ouses .

W ith respect to the strictly pauper department of this

almshouse it bore a resemblance to oth er establishments
,
.

There was a scene of listless idleness and uselessness Without ,

an
y superintendi n g care M y at t ention was p a r t icularly di
.

r ec t e d by t h e general agent to the hospital for the i n sane wh i ch ,

was a separate building u pon the S ame ground with the other
,

departments of the almshouse I found these inmates su ffer

.

ing for the want of almost e very a t tention and consideration

w hich are n ecessary to make life even to the strong and ,

h ardy tolerable Th ey have su fficient food such as it is at

,
.
, ,

stated intervals and the cells they occupy are furnished gen
,

e r a lly with a rough bed and bed clothes These cells too
-
.
, ,

are toler a bly clea n for the cleansing of an establishment such

,

as this can be done w ithout m uch di fficulty because there is

, ,

always a sufficient number of paupers to do the work W here “

the insan e patients are considered violent or even disagree

able it often happens tha t their cells are either neglected or
, ,

forcible measures are resor t ed to for the purpose of over

coming their interference while their cells are being clea n ed
,

by the paupers Though t h e board had prev iously called

.

the attention of the directors of this institu t ion to the i m

perfect ventilation o f the insane hospital I found that even ,

the means available for correcting the cause of this com

plaint had been very imp erfectly attended to The c on se
, .

q u e n ce W a s that the a t mosphere of m ost of the cells had

become so vi t iated and o ffensive that any person accustomed
to the open an would necessarily have fainted upon remain
,
 16

ing within the apartment for a mo ment of time The In .

mates seemed to have become used to this noxious atmos

p h er e
,
and they did not complain of it O n the contr a ry .
,

the only complaint on their part was that made by an O ld

woman when her window was lowered a li tt le t o admit th e
,

fresh air .

TH E RE S P ON S I B I L I T Y FOR TH I S C H RONIC NE G L EC T OF

TH E S E C L A SS ES
begins with the public and ends with the hu mblest attendant .

of the institu t ion So lost to all sense of decency hav e th e

.

insane in this ho spi t al become by reason of the failure on

,

the part of those in authority t o encourage a proper app r e

c i a t i o n of self-respect among t h e inmates that their habits are
,

precisely like th ose of a brute C onsequen t ly many of them

.

are kept naked in their cells from which they are drawn
,

out each morning to be cleaned and their ro om s put in order

"

The filt h i es t part of t h e litter— for their bedding consists

wholly of straw — is then removed and i t s place supplied with a
similar q u antity of the fres h material ; when they are returned
to their disgusting dens there to pass an other period of
,

solitary wretchedness in a n atmosphere whose odor exce ed s

in offensiveness anything which the imagination ca n c On
,

c ei ve
. Through the gradual enfeebli n g of the higher at t r i
butes of their natures some of these people come to b e
,

regarded by the other inmates as mere animals and t h e ,

yo ung girls of the establishment lo ok upon these naked men

simply as they would look upon a horse or a hog I a m .

told that frequently two of the young female inmates of thi s

insane hospital are called upon to clean these men each morn
”
ing as they are drawn out fro m their cells .

The following statement of the condition of t h e ins ane in

another poorhouse is given on the well -sustained authority
,

of another member of the B oard .

I n F ebruary last a visit was paid this alm shouse and a n ,

i sane inmate was seen a yo ung women over twenty year s

n —
,

of age whose whole dress consisted o f a thin chemise with

‘

,
 17

short slee ves a Single skirt and a pair o f shoes W he n

, ,
.

brought before the visitors a borrowed cloak was t hrow n

over her shoulders She was blue wi t h cold and utterly .

filthy in p erson Her cell had the appearance of having

.

underg one a recent hasty washing but was pervaded w ith ,

an Odor loathsome in the extreme O n the day of this vi sit

the thermometer fell to 1 4 degrees .

“
I n M arch another visit was paid to the institution by
several gentlemen in a bo dy O nl y one portion of the build .

ing was visited which is supposed t o be devoted exclusively

,

to wome n I n one cel l was a young woman the one already

.
,

referred to Her cell was with out any furniture whatever

.
,

her bed consisted of o ne blanket her clothi n g a ragged ,

chemise O pen to her waist a n d one scanty skirt and a pair of ,

shoes She was indescribably unclean and al i ve with ver

.
,

min Her cell reeked with a sickeni n g odor t h e result of a

.
,

total absence of all conveniences for cleanliness She shivered .

wit h cold while in the presence of her visitors ; the ther

,

mo met er standing at the time several degrees below the

,

freezing point .

“
O pposite to the cell which we h ave ver y faintly described
, ,

was another The short day had already faded into dusk
.
,

and as the light was thrown through the lit t le aperture i n

the door it fell upon two wretched women both of whom
, ,

were absolutely without a single garment t o cover them .

O ne of the poor creatures sat cro uching in the corner with a

small blanket drawn across her shoulders while the other ,

was crawling on all fours on the floor witho u t even thi s ,

p oor apology for any remnant of human decency "There w a s

not a particle of furniture in the cell ; and there on t hi s ,

'
wintry M arch night in an atmosphere which t he wit n esse s,

declare t o have been utterly horrible were these t wo huma n ,

beings brough t down far below the level of our do mesti c

,

brutes .

I n an adj oining cell the visitors fo u nd a man lying on an -

old mattress the only S ign of fu rniture which they sa w i n

,

either of the rooms inspected They were informed that t h e .

[ ]
2
 18

inmate was a woman ; but upon one of the gentlemen calling

to him he sat up and it was seen that it was a man The
, ,
.

attendant with some confusion explained that he m ust have

been brought in while he was away .

“
W e found the female insane department I n a shocking
condition ; so bad that it would be impossible to gI ve a de
scription of the place on paper I n some cells there were .

two or more women confined ; some without any clothing ,

lying o n the floor without mattress carpet or any thing else

, , ,

except an old government blanket The place had a horrible .

putrid odor .

“
W e examined o n e woman who was quite young I was .

afraid to go near her as she seemed covered with vermin

,
.

W e were all much shocked by the visit and I think I shall ,

re member it as long as I live .

”

A nd the General A gent reports the following amongst

many similar instances of abuses and neglects in the same
establishments
“
I nsane totally neglected morally physically and medi , ,

cally ; less attention is given to them than wo uld be given ,

to the lowest animals ; four are incapable of self care con ,

fined i n filthy cells ; one a female has great neighborhood

, ,

notoriety from sad incidents connected with her history ;

,

known as an intelligent esteemed and attractive young lady

, ,

the daughter of a well -known inhabitant of the neighbor

hood she fell a victim to the arts of the seducer I nsanity
,
.

is alleged to have been caused by her disapp ointment This .

occurred twenty -one years ago The sad case is rendered .

still more painful by her present forlorn condition A bed .

of straw up on a damp dirty floor into which the external

, ,

light can find no entrance is the only furniture A seat a,

.
,

chair or a bench has apparently never been furnished ; the

,

consequence of which is that the muscles of the lower ex

t r emi t i es from the cra mped position in which she was al w ays
,

found have become permanently contracted ; so that the

,

only move ment of which she is capable is one similar to ,

”
that of a frog .
 19

An unusually large nu mber of i n sane ; ma n y of chronic

f orm b u t quite a number of strongly marked cases wh o
, ,

were confined and had been chained to the floor until re

,

leased by my direction A young girl of seventeen years of

.

a ge confined in a gloomy cell ; since removed by my r e quest

t o th e State Hospital where she is gradually being restored
,
.

Twenty -t wo insane twelve are kept in clo se confinement

, ,

Some in chains one always chained to t h e ceiling to prevent

h im from tearing his clothes ; some entirely nude ; at least
six with straw litters ; not one of the twelve was ever removed
i nto the O pen air A ll confined in apartments opp osite each
.

'

o ther a narrow c o r r i dor e x t e n di n g between them

,
The e ff ect .

o f this close proximity was to make the day and ni ght ,

hideous with the distressing shrieks and yells of the wre t ched
,
”
a n d mal -treated madmen .

E ight insane one of whom ha ndcu ffed one hobbled ; one

, ,

f emale confined to her room .

”

O ne hundred and thirty -five inmates four blind one palsied , , ,

s even idiots ; s even cells in the basement with insane in each , ,

”
i n a revolting conditi o n .

“
T w enty insane ; of these about eight were confined not to ,

t h eir uncomfortable cells only but restrained by iro n fetters , ,

l ong aft er the necessity had pass ed away These were re .

moved a t my instigation and the doors of their cells were

o pened to give them the benefit of the O pen air and exercise
, ,

w ith decided improvement in their condi t ion

”
.

There are two di fficulties in the way of checking

TH E S E A ND S IMI L AR A B O MINA T ION S

On e is the unwillingness of the D irectors of the poor to
make expenditures for the co mfort and well being of th e -

Classes committ ed to their charge They employ a s teward .

whose principal req ui site is that he shall be a go od farmer ,

a n d whose at t e ntion must be given mainly to the farm of the

institution which may be in extent from 1 00 to 4 00 acres

, , , .

A s a conse q uence the care an d supervision of the hu ma n

,
 20

“
be ings o ver whom t his steward is placed are lost sight of
, , ,

to a great degree in the apparently more important busines s

,

of t h e farm and are generally committed to the oversight of

,

the paupers themselves This is one evil The other is ap

. .

parent in the very unsuitable arrange ment and constructio n

in which the most helpless inmat es w e mean the insane
—

are placed I n these struct ures it is a rare thing to find the

.

sexes at all adequately separat ed and generally they have , , ,

no airing grounds or even yards to which the patients can

, ,

repair and refresh themselves during the day Therefore .

,

they must remain in seclusion within their cells fro m t h e ,

beginning to the end of the year existing in an atmosphere ,

of great impurity and constantly deteriorat i ng in their men

,

tal and physical condition .

I n order to make the work of the B oard e ffective a cer ,

tain amo unt of

EXECU T IVE P OWER
should be granted to it ; as has recently been conferred upon
the N ew Y ork B oard of P ublic C harities by the Legislatur e ,

of that State The public seem to be satisfied wi t h

.

H O U S E S O F DE T EN T ION
To get the vario us classes of unfortunates out of sight ,

seems to be the main O bj ect The con sequence is that as a

.
, ,

general rule the ,

PRI S ON I S B E TT ER TH AN TH E PO O R H O U S E ,

as a receptacle for the insane .

W e may lay it down as a pr i nc i p le at length become t o o ,

plain t o be controverted ; indeed as a point admitted on a ll

hands t hat p oorhouses are not and cannot be made fit place s
, ,

for the care and treatment of the insane That they may .

recei ve p roper treatment with any hope of recovery they ,

must be placed in hospitals or asylu ms especially constructed ,

and fitted up for their accommodation with cheerful scenes ,

within and cheerful sce nery a r o un d w i t h s k illed medical , ,

supervision and carefully selected and well trained attend

 21

a nts ; none of which conditions can be commanded in or in ,

c onnectio n with an ordinary co u nty poor h ouse I n con .

n ec t i o n w i th so large an establishment as the P hi ladel

phia A l msh ouse where are gathered nearly one half of all
,

t h e pauper pop ulation of the State a separate h o s p i t al o f the

,
.

required character may be provided and supported ; and we

c ommend the humane and earnest spirit which I s engaged I n

two o r three of the larger communities as for instance

-
, , ,

Berks and Lancaster C o nties i n making adequate provi

u —

sion for their insane B ut in con nection wi t h the s maller

.

a lmshouses of the several counties and still more in co n nec,

tion with the township arrangements for the care of the

"

poor such separa t e hos pital accommodations are out of the

,

question They will never be established and if they were

.
, , ,

they could not be maintaine d)

I t will naturally be asked here whether the State has not
,

already established one or more

G ENERA L H O S PI T A L S FOR TH E C A RE OF TH E IN S ANE ,
with a view of meeti n g this precise di fficulty ? She has ; and
e stablished them professedly for this very class of the
, ,

insane whose case we are now considering — for t h e insane

,

poor the insane who had been or are liable to be gathered

, ,

into the alm shouses or sent for safe -keeping to the prisons
, ,

in the several counties The State has established these

.

hospitals at no li t tle expense

BU T A VERY S MA L L PERC EN TA G E OF TH E
“
P O O R IN S A NE
A RE Now I N TH E M ;
the great m ass still remain in their former wretched forlorn ,

and hopeless quarters a spectacle of misery or a butt of de

,

rision ; and an element of disturba n ce and i rritation to the

rest of the inmates To the hospital at Harrisburg there
.

w ere committed by the public authorities and courts during

t h e year 1 8 7 2 si xty -one poor patients and one h undred and

,
“ ”
t hirty eight
- payin g patients were sent th ere by friends .

A nd of t he four hundred and eight remaining on D ec 3 1 .

,

1 8 7 2 there were one hundred and seventy -nine supported by

,
 22

”
public authorities and two -hundred and twenty -nine b y
”
friends of patients A gain of the one hundred and six
.
,

teen patients committed to this hospi t al duri n g the nin e

months ending Sept 3 0 1 8 7 3 eighty four were paying and
.
-
,
“
,
”

only thirty -two p u blic or indigent insan e patient s .

N o w it is m anifest fro m the mem o rial of M iss D ix i n ,

response to which the State Hospital was established and b v ,

the exp ress words of the law of 1 8 45 coeval with its estab ,

l i sh me n t that the original design of the hospital was wha t

,

that O any such hospital ought in all reason to be to pro

f —
, , ,

v ide for

TH E IN S ANE P O OR .

The law section 25 declares that i n order O f admission the

, , ,
“ ” ”
poor shall have precedence of the rich ( defined through
“
,

o ut the act paying patients ) and while the finances of t h e ”

State do not permit ample provision for all cases of insanity ,

recent cases shall have precedence over cases of long stand

ing I f u nder this law the whole cap acity of the hospi t al
.
, ,
“ ”
were devoted t o th e p oor no obj ection perhaps could be
, , ,

made to sending away the incurable after a reasonable period ,

of trial to make room for recent cases ; al t hough it does not

,

appear that such was the inte n tio n of the law which seem s ,

to have merely laid down a rule to govern the order of

“ ”

admission to vacancies as they should be found to exist .

B u t how should it happen that a maj ority of the inmate s

“ ”
of this State institution should be paying pati ents ?
How happens it that during the year 1 8 7 2 sixty -nine p er ,

cent of the patients admitted were payi n g patients and only

.
,

thirty one per cent p ublic patients an d of those admitted

- .
,

during the nine months ending Sept 3 0 1 8 7 3 the paying .

, ,

p atients should increase to seventy -two per cent with a .

corresponding reduction of public patients to twenty -eight

per cent A gain that at the close of the year 1 8 7 2 this
.
,

hospital should be occupied with fift y -five per cent of pay .

ing patients and at the end of S ept 3 0 1 8 7 3 with fifty s i x

,
.
, ,

per cent of the same class ?

.
 23

I s it said that the incurables are sent away to make room

for recent cases B ut up on what au t hority ? A nd besi des
.
, ,

if those sent to the hospital by their friends are recent and

.

curable cases in a larger proportion than the others how

, ,

comes it that a smaller percentage of these are d i scharged

during th e year ? O r if they are incurable in a larger pro ,

portion than t hose committed by the public authorit ies why ,

are they not sent away in still greater proportion than the
others instead of bei n g discharged in still less prop ortion ?
,

O r ra t her w h y are they not all sent away ; or rather kept

, ,

away as long as any of the others remain unprovided for ?

,

W e understand that as a general rule those committed to , ,

“
this hospital by the county authorities if not speedily ,
”

curable are sent back to the helpless and hopeless life -doom
,

of the poorhouses O n the other hand it is evident that

.

“ ”
paying patients may stay a s long apparently as th eir
comfort and the convenience of their friends require a n d ,

their means su ffice for the i r support N ow we cannot but .

regard all this as a gross p u blic wrong The State has .

erected hospitals ,

“
NO T F O R TH E RIC H ,
B U T F O R TH E P O OR ;
or for the rich only when the poor should all be provided
,

for There is no need even if it were right that the State

.
, ,

should erect hospitals at t h e public expense and out of the pub

lic taxes for the accommodation of the rich ; they can or they
,

will provide hospitals for themselves including persons o f ,

moderate means as well as of considerable wealth W e .

maintain that the entire capacity of the State hospital s

should be appropriated t o the poor patients before any such ,

are refused admissi on or sent away under any pretext what

ever The hospital at D ixmont though a p r i va te charitable
.
,

corporation and only aided by the State comes m uch nearer

, ,

t o our i dea of the duty and the intention of the S t ate in this
regard than that at Harrisburg A t the former there re
,
.
,

mained at the close of the year 1 8 7 2 only 1 1 7 private ,

‘

patients out of a total of 4 4 6 ; and on Sept only .

 24

“
per cent of . paying patients or ,
1 08 o ut of a total
of 45 2 .

A nd again of the
, ,
patients received into the State
116
Hospital at Harrisburg d uring the nine months ending Sep
, ,

tember 8 4 of the m or nearly three -fourths were

“
paying patients ; while for the same period out of 1 7 3
”
, ,

patients admitted to the hospital at D ixmont only 7 2 or ,

”
about two fift h s were paying patients I n other words
-
.

per cent more p r i va te patients were received into the

.

“ ”
S tate Hospital for the insane poor at Harrisburg t h an , ,

into the p rivate hospital for the insane ( aided by the State)
a t D ix mont .

I t may be said and p erhaps with truth that in many

’

, ,

ca ses ,
the friends of insane patients who can furnish the ,

s m aller sum required at the State Hospital for their supp ort ,

would not be able to meet the heavier charges of a private

asylum ; and that therefore such insan e patients must be
’

, ,

thus admitted at the hospital or sent to the p oorhouse This .

idea seems highly plausible and might at fi rst receive favor ,

from inconsid erate persons B ut u pon re flection it clearly .

appears unsound in theory ; and upo n experience it p roves

highly obj ectionable I f these patients are p oor why should
.
,

precisely this class of poor patients have precedence of those

w h o are still poorer ? A nd if t hey are rich - as by the terms
of the statute all paying patients are then the la w ex
“ ”
,

pressly gives the p oor the precedence o ver the m Besides .

all these
MIDD L E MEA S URE S OF GIVIN G PU B L I C A ID T O T H E PO OR ,

ar efound in practice to be dangerous and liable to great abuses ,

o n the part both of the recipie n ts and t h e al moners of the

p ublic bounty This case has. proved itself in our j udgment , ,

n o exception to the general rule .

I t may be suggested that it has been thought well to have

s ome p a i n patients in order to give
y g
RE S PEC T A B I L I T Y T O TH E IN ST I T U T I O N .

W e can scarcely listen to the s uggestion with pat i ence ,

or
 25

a nswer it with calmness I f all the poor were already pro

.

v i ded for and acco mm odated the suggestion might pass ; a l

,

though w e should n ot make it W e should never propose

.

that the S tate should tax herself to furn i sh hospi t al a cco m ~

moda t i o n s to the rich in any case whether by way of g r a t u, .

ity or of profitable speculation B ut that is not t h e case . .

The p oor are not all enj oying the care and treatmen t of t h e
hospitals ; a n d shall they by th e hundred and the thousand
continue to lang uish into idiocy or rave o ut their miserable
,

lives in the cells of prisons with malefactors and felons or in ,

the more fo ul and wretched and hopeless receptacles of county

p oorhouses in order that the hospital which receives a few
, ,

s core of them may be respectable and its superintendent and

, ,

o fficers m a n o t find themselves in charge of an institution

y
of m ere paupers
B ut finally it may be said as a part i al explana t ion of the
, , ,

great comparative rapidity with which the p oor who are

com mi t ted to the hospi t al are sent away that a large part of ,

them — those co mmi t ted by the co urts — are

P ER S O N S C H AR G E D WI TH CRIME
who have been acquitted on the ground of insanity U nder .

the present l a w this explanation must to a certain exte nt be , ,

accepted ; but as these persons do not fall under t h e general ,

c lass of the insane n ow u nder consideration viz those who ,

have done no harm and are free from any charge of crime
, ,

their case is reserved for consideration in the sequel .

I n t h e class of harmless I nsane we incl ude it will be re , ,

membered all those who are legally charged with no ac t s of

,

mischief violence or crime ; as well therefore those from

, , , ,

w h om such acts may be apprehended as those who from , , ,

their apparently gentle and ino ffensive habits are the obj ects ,

of no such fear W hether there be any of the insane so en

.

t i r ely harmless that t hey can be trus t ed with ab solute con

,

fide n ce needing no speci al watch or res t raint some have

, ,

doubted and we need not decide or discuss t h e question ; for

, ,

in our clear j udgment there is no good reason why th ose who

,
 26

may need greater d egrees of watchful care and restraint ;

should not be treated in the same establi shments with those
who may need less e specially as the distinctio n is merely one
,

o f varying degrees E ven tho s e who exhibit the greatest de

.

v el o p me n t s of insane cunning for mischief or are subj ect to ,

the fiercest paroxysms of violence or even of homicidal i m,

i I lse may be kept with proper classifications and internal

p ,

arrangements in the same institution wi t h patients of the

,

greatest gentleness and quietness of t emper and demeanor .

A t all events the proper hospital with its m ore skillful s u

, ,

p e r i n t en de n ce and its m ore varied and thorough a

pp l i
a n c es is
, ,
of all others p recisely the place for the former
,

class ; for in poorhouses they can scarcely be kept at all ex ,

cept as wild beasts ; and prisons are not places to which j u s

tice or humanity can doom the innocent and helpless mad
ma n however violent or dangero us Y et are not such poor
,
.

de fenceless u n fort unates if adj udged t o o dangero us to go a t

,

large and pronounced not curable habitually sent to rave

, ,

and rot in the foul dens of a poorho use or in the dungeons ,

of a prison ther e to be classed with robbers and murderers ?

,

The importance of having t he S t at e Hospitals for the In

sane subj ected in this and i n other respects to the
, ,

S UPERVI S ION OF S O ME P A R T Y NO T CONNE C T ED WI T H

TH EIR IM M E DIA T E MANA G EMEN T ,
so that the rights of the poor may be more surely steadily , ,

and systematically p rotected we reserve for fuller considera

,

tion further on But we cannot omit to O bserve here that

.
,

the State hospitals fo r the insane poor were not devised

originally at the suggestion of exp er ts ; but upon the pains
taking investigations and earnest petitions of M iss D ix and
other benevolent persons ; and it is highly reasonable that
their management particularly as regards the receiving and
,

discharge of patients should be placed under t h e visita torial

‘

power of disin t erested par t ies concerned only in securing the

,

good to be derived from the m for the de fenceless insane poor .

I t i s not to be supposed ho w ever that , under any manage

, ,
 27

ment su fficient provision has yet b een made in our State

,

hospitals for
A LL TH E IN S ANE POOR IN TH E CO MMONWE A LTH .

Such provision ought to be made with all p o s sible de

s p a t ch To propose to make it is no wild or visionary or
.

extravagant scheme I t can be made in P ennsylvania as .

well as in N ew Y ork A nd we h ave already shown that if .

,

we are to take care of the insane p oor at all at t h e p ublic ex

pense the most economical method irrespective of th e
, ,

demands of humanity is to gath er them I nto well -managed ,

hospitals instead of leaving them to linger out a miserable

,

existence hopeless of restoration in prisons and poorhouses

, ,
.

W e proceed now t o consider the case of the two other

classes of the insane .

II Those who while sane have committed acts of vio

.
, ,

lence or crime but have ei t her ,

1 Become i nsane before arraignment and so have never

.
,

been tried ; or ,

2 Have become insane after conviction insane convicts

.
—
.

3 Those who were i n sane at the time of com mitting such

.

acts and who therefore have been acquitted of crime on the

, , ,

ground of their insanity These fall into various s u bdi vi .

sions to be mentioned hereafte r .

These two classes ( 1 ) those who stand charged or convict

ed of committi n g acts of violence or mischief w hi le s a n e ;
and ( 2) those who al t hough charged with crime for the c om
, ,

mission O f such acts have been ac quit t ed on the ground of i n

,

sanity at the time of their commission w e place together not t o , ,

identify or confound them under any such denomination as

“ ”
criminal insane but rather in order the more emphatically
,

to contradistinguish them .

W e begin with t h e case of the first of these classes ; and

the ques t ion is what disposition is to be made of the insane
, ,

who stand charged with or have been convicted of crime , , .

 28

A nd first of th ose wh o may with some propriety be called

, ,
“
criminal insane i 6 those who are charged wi t h the c o m
,
”
. ,
.

mission of crime while sane but wh o have become insane ,

before arraignment ; and who consequently have never been , ,

convicted or tried Their case is a somewhat delica t e one

.

in a legal as well as a m oral poi n t of view A ccordi n g to .

legal principles it would seem that their detentio n cannot be

,

regarded as a punishment for they are ,

NO T T O BE PRE S UME D G UI LT Y ,

because they are charged with c r i me n o r until they are ,

.

found guilty upon trial and proof ; but in their present con
dition they are not capable of pleadi n g and of course cannot , , ,

be p ut u pon their trial B oth as accused and as dangerous

.

p ersons t hey may properly be kept u nder detention and

,

restraint ; but neither in fact nor in feeling are they to be ,

c lassed with felons or looked u pon as tainted with crime ,

or as su fferi n g a penalty The fact of their present lunacy

.

may be ascertai n ed and established withou t the intervent io n

of a j ury by t h e court itself or by a commission appointed
, ,

for the purpose ; but their having committed the criminal

acts laid to their charge and having committed them in a
,

sound state of mind can be ascertained and determined only

,

by the intervention and verdict of a j ury ; and any investi

a t i o n or inquiry in that direction instituted without such
g ,

intervention and without a hearing of the defendant must

, ,

necessarily be merely ea: p a r te A nd it is but the natural .

course of things when a poor friendless ma n in his

, , ,

squalor and raggedness is arraigned before a court under

, ,

the charge of some atrocious crime accompanied with the ,

confident allegation that whatever may be his present mental

,

condition he was sane up to and at the time of the com

,

missi on o f t h e acts charged agai n st him — i t is but the n atural

course of things that such a ma n is easily believed and
,

presu med to be guilty ; and as society must at all events be ,

protected from his violence whether sane or insane he is, ,

consigned side by side with the convicts and felons to the

, , ,

safe keeping of a prison cell .

 29

B ut surely this o u ght not to be s o— i n all reason it o ught

not to be so The State owes it to her own self-respect to
.
,

her ow n sense of j ustice if not to her sentiments of human

,

ity not to consign to the odium a n d punishment of crime

, ,

one of her citizens whose guilt has never been duly as ce rtained .

W hat then shall be done with suc h persons ? That is a se

rio n s question and we shall endeavor to answer it B ut for
,
.
,

the pr esent we only say what is clear in the face of t h e

, ,

matter that they ought

,

NO T TO B E P L AC E D IN PRI S ON ,

or in any department of a prison ; and t h ey o u gh t to b e

placed where they not only will be e ffectua lly restrained
from doing har m but wh ere they will have the best curative
,

treatment and t h e best prospect of being restored fro m t hei r

,

fearful malady .

TH E CA S E O F IN S A NE CONVI C TS ,

that is of those wh o become insane after convictio n and

, ,

while undergoin gthe punishment of crime is di fferent fro m ,

the foregoing in several important particulars F or these .

the question of guilt is presumed to ha ve been duly a sce r

t ai n ed and that t h ey are su ffering a j ust punishment
,
B ut .

in the mi dst of it the mind loses its balance and they b e

.
, ,

come lunatics Supposing this point to be ascertained and

.

admitted and the feigning of madness is pretty easily de

—

t ec ed
t — then they are no longer resp onsible beings ; they are
no longer proper s u bj ects of priso n discipline I t is utterly .

unreasonable and u nj ust as well as inhuman to co n tinue

, ,

T O INF L IC T P UNI SH MEN T ON A MANI A C ,

who neither knows th e reason nor the end nor the idea of , ,

rightful punish ment I t is as absurd as t o inflict indignitie s

.

or violence upon the dead body of a criminal ; it is even

more malignant for the dead body has no sense of pain b ut
, ,

the maniac has .

Besid es the State owes it to these helpless beings who

, , ,

w hile und er her enforced control and guardianship have ,

 30

been smitten down with the most terrible of maladies — owes

i t to them as a mere matter of right to give the m the most ,

s killful and p romising curative treatm ent in her power to ,

save them if p ossible from confirmed and permanent

.
,

mania o r u n b eci li t y To su ffer a convict t o become from

.
,

neglect an incurable lunatic is worse u nspeakably worse

, ,

than to dismiss him at the expiration of his sentence bereft

, ,

of sight o r hearing or crippled by loss of limbs or under , ,

som e ch ronic bodily disease in consequence of a reckles s ,

.

neglect of the p roper medical care and treatment at the

proper time These irremediable losses and disabilities
.
‘

formed
NO P A R T O F H I S S EN T ENCE .

The State is boun d so far as she reaso n ably can to di s , ,

charge the convict at the close of his term of punishment

, ,

in at least as good a condition — mental moral and physical , ,

as that in which she received him A n d, for failing i n .

this it will not do to seek an excuse in the small nu mber or

,
'

the unworthy character of those who may suffer the w rong .

The S tate the very fountain of j ustice she who takes it

, ,

upon herself to punish wrongs is bound t o do no w ro n g to ,

even one and that one the meanest and most undeserving of
,

h er citizens I f there are but few convicts who need surgi

.

c al or medical treatment whether for bodily or mental

'

diseases so much the less excuse is there at least on the

, ,

ground of economy for neglecting them ,

.

N or is this all E ven of those who are strictly insane

.

convicts in the legal sense and it is of those only we are ,

n ow treating— i e of those wh o have been convicted of

. .

c rime as having been sane both at the time of the c o m

,

mission and the conviction but being found insane a fter ,

wards — even of these it wo u ld be easy to show that by far

the larger number were probably
IN S A NE B EF ORE CONVIC T ION A ND E VEN ,
A T TH E T IME O F
TH E CO MMI SS I O N
of the alleged o ffence I t is the rich and respectable offen der .
,

who has friends and money who can fee lawyers who can , ,
 31

p rocure and array a crowd of wi t nesses in his behalf who ,

can protract his trial clog the wheels of j u stice and make
, ,

interest by his audacity — i t i s he who too oft en escapes

from merited punishment under a mis t aken verdict of i n
sanity B ut
.

TH E P O OR FRIEND L E SS M A N ,
who has been seized in some terrible a c t of atrocity though ,

committed under the imp ulse of actual insanity is swift ly ,

arraigned ; and h aving nobody O f any consideration or i n

fl u en ce who p ersonally cares for him to sta nd by him or
‘

, ,

advise him ; without testimony and from his very unsound , ,

ness of mind p erhaps neither caring or knowing how t o

, ,

procure it the evidence agains t him ample and clear his de

, ,

fence provided by the court being merely professional and

perfunctory and of course under such circumstances both
, , , ,

hasty and imperfect ,

H E I S F O R TH WI TH CONVIC T E D A ND S EN T ENCED T O TH E
PENI T EN T IARY OR TH E G A LL OW S .

That this is no fancy picture b ut a familiar matter of fact is , ,

established by an abundance of p roof The uniform testi .

m ony of those who have charge of j ails and penitentiaries is , ,

that almost all the So -called insane convicts under their

C harge were

IN S ANE W H EN B RO U G HT T O PRI S ON ,

and so were almost certai nly insane when tried and probably ,

so whe n they committed the o ffences for which they were

c o nvicted .

D r C ompton in charge of the S tate Lunatic A sylum of

.
,
“
M ississippi says : M y own experience with insane criminals
,

leads m e to feel rather charitable towards them I have .

had only three and there have been circumstances connected

,

with each of these cases which lead m e to think they were ,

insane before co mmitting the cri me .

O f the eighteen prisoner s reported insane in the E aster n

 32

“
P enitentiary i n 1 8 5 2, the I n spectors declare t h at
three h ad
been placed in the penitentiary for safe keeping only and ,

N OT F O R CRIME ,

and had already been confined in its cell s one nearly three , ,

one over three and one over seven years

,
E leven of the
remaining fifteen w ere more or less insane when they wer e
received into t h e penitentiary two of the others became s o ,

a few months after one a year an d one about four year s

, ,

after his reception I t will thus be seen that a large pro

.

portion wer e insane in a greater or less degree when firs t

sentenced to the penitentiary ; and all but one or two of t h e
rest developed it shortly after The O bservation and ex .

er i en ce of the I nspectors have co nvinced the m that t h e

p
commission of cri m e is more frequently connected wit h
mental disease t h an courts and j uries ( fa r less the public ) " ,

suspect — hence the necessity of a prompt re moval of all ,

who are found to be thus a fflicted to a place where prope r ,

treatment may resto re them to menta l heal t h and as a con , ,

”
sequence to moral rectitude
,
N or did this state of a ffair s
.

cease at a later period I n their report for 1 8 6 2 the In sp ec

.
,
“
tors repeat t hat There a r e yearly received into this P eni
s en t i a r
y insane co nvicts insane or of,
diseased mental .

“ ”
condition on their admission
,
A n d again in 1 8 63 : . Th e ,

I nspectors again a s k the Legis lature to require the S tate

Lunatic A sylum to take insane convicts or to make an ap ,

propriatio n for their medical trea t ment in the P enitentiary .

W hen so many convicts are known to be insane on receptio n

”
into this prison this course is wise humane an d necessary
, ,
.

“
There are now abou t twenty of these insane criminals
in the two penitentiaries ; all of whom according to the ,

reports of the wardens were insane or imbecile when r e

,

c ei ved there . W e insert here the report of M r Townsend .

,

warden of the E astern P enitentiary made on this subj ect ,

in O c t ober last : and also that of C apt Wrigh t warde n of

, ,
.
,

the Western P enitentiary made on N ovember 24 t h,

.
 RE POR T OF WARDEN T O W N S END .

E S P ENI T EN T I A RY , October
. .
24 , 1 8 73 .

To GE O L HARRI S ON E S "
. .
,
.
,

P resident of the Board of State C harities .

D ear Sir sent you a list some time ago of eleven

,
—I

p ersons confined in this penitentiary who were more or less

insane Since that time one has died and one was par doned
. ,

by t h e G overnor of t h e State leaving now I n confinement , ,

nine The o ne who was pardoned is now an inmate of an

.

insane asyl u m The nine who re main were all noted on our
.

physician s book as i n s a n e or men ta lly u n s ou n d at the

’ ‘
,
’ ‘ ’

ime of admission O ne was sent here t w t -thr ee and

t . en
y y ea r s

t en mon ths ago charged with assault a n d battery to kill and

, ,

sentenced n ot for a term of years but for sa fe keeping ; he ,

is a harmless imbecile O ne was sent here from Luzerne .

county for ten years on a charge of burglary and larceny

,
.

The obj ect seemed to be to rid the neighborhood of a ,

t rouble some fellow O ne sent from N orthampton county

.

for ten years on c h arge of rape O ne from B radford county .

,

charged w ith child murder holding his own child under ,

water to see the e ffect of it th us proving the insanity O f the

, ,

act ; his sentence is twelve years A woman from Luzerne .

county for sh o ot i n g h er hu sband sentenced to eleven years

, , ,

and eleven month s She is very crazy and not a fit subj ect
.
,

for penitentiary discipline .

O ne w o man on several charges of larceny sente n ced to ,

nine years This w oman has been an inmate of an insane

.

asylum O ne from Luzerne Co for inj ury to rail road

. .
,
‘ ’

He piled lumber on the road to see how i t would be scat

t er ed by the engine ( a crazy man s trick ) On e fro m P hila
’
.

delphia for a ggr ay ed assau lt and battery sentenced to seven

, ,

years ; very weak minded on admission and easily provoked ,

to violence O ne from P hiladelphia for wife murder sen

.
, ,

tence ten years ; insane on admission These individuals .

have received such care and attention as we were enabled to

3
[ ]
 34

give them but we have no accommodations for insane

,

patients — n o rooms larger than the ordinary cells They .

have had such medical care as o ur resident physician was

able to give them but we have no suitable nurses nor place
, ,

fo r any I consider it very improper very unkind very

.
, ,

cruel to send insane persons to a j ail or penitentiary I t is

, .

almost certain to fasten the malady upon them until it b e ,

comes irremediable A hospital with hospital appliances

.
, ,

is the only place for these poor stricken ones .

I think that a hospital for the insane should not be c on

n ect ed in any way with a prison but be entire ly separate , ,

and under separate administration .

C ould not a part of t h e D anville A sylum be thus used ?

Hoping these interrogatories are sufficiently answered I ,

remain v ery truly and respectfully thy friend

, , ,

EDWARD T O W N S END ,
Wa r den .
”

RE PO R T OF W ARDE N WRI GHT .

“
ALL E G H ENY P A ,
.
,
November 24 1 8 7 3 ,
.

GEO L H ARRI S ON E S "

. .
, ,

“
P resident B oard of P ublic C harities ,

D ear S i r —In your letter of 1 7 th O f O ctober you re

.
,

q uest that I give yo u my views o n the subj ec t of the treat

ment of the criminal insane confined in penitentiaries and

j ails
.

“
The subj ect has often been referred to in the A nnual
R ep orts of this penitentiary and the I nspectors in their ,

report for 1 8 44 say I f in t h e present pecuniary embarrass

, ,
‘
,

ment of the C ommonwealth you cannot erect and endow a ,

S tate A sylum for the insane we must urge upon you the
'

propriety and necessity of authorizing us to establish ,

within the prison walls a hospital for the reception of t h e

, ,
 35

l imited number of demented convicts which may unhappily

c ome under our supervision The occurrence is rare t hat
.

t hey become so after they enter the penitentiary but in , ,

m any instances they are sent here after the comm i ssion of
,

c rime because there is no other barrier to pro t e

,
ct Society

f rom their demoniac dep redations There is a convict of

.

t his character now immured in one of our cells for such is ,

t h e sentence of the law He came here in this lamentable

.

c ondi t ion .I n the report for 1 8 5 7 it is said convicts are

’
,
‘

O ften sent here whose prop er destination should be the State

L unatic Hospi t al W h y they are sent here whe t her for the
.
,

p urpose of supposed relief to the treasury of the county

f rom which they come ; from culpable ignorance of the law
r egulating the State Luna t ic A sylum or from the suggestion ,

fl a t tering to us that we will take go od care of them and that

, ,

s ociety at large will be exemp t from the da n gers incident

t o a too close proximity t o madmen ; it is a practice al i ke

c ontrary to the p olicy of the la w and t h e dictates of ,
’
humanity .

“
I have t h us far made up as briefly as practicable from
, ,

o u r own reports evidence that insanity has proven no bar to

c onviction and confinement in the penitentiary and do not ,

d oubt further evidence could be given showing that harmless

imbecile prisoners have been received and discharged with
,

o u t further record than such as was given to other prisoners

,
.

A s having a direct bearing up on the views exp ressed in

a former report that prisons are often used as asylums the
, ,

following extract from the report of the W arden of the

E astern P eni t entiary for the year 1 8 7 1 bears pertinent testi ,

m ony men are fr equently sent to this penitentiary who

,
‘

a r e n o t fit subj ects for its discipline D uring the year four

.

men were received who were quite insane whe n admitted ;

o n e in unsound mind ; and four of weak intellect O ne of .

t hese insane prisoner s died of tetanus resul t ing from inj uries ,

inflicted upon himself shor t ly after his reception and another ,

c ommitted suicide in one month after he c ame here O f the .

n i ne hundred and eleven confined in 1 8 7 1 twelve were i n ,

 36

sane when admitted ; four of unsound mind ; two feebl e

minded and thirty s i x of weak intellect bordering on idiocy
-
, .
’

"

I n the annual rep ort of the E astern P enitentiary for 1 8 7 2

it is stated that two hundred and twenty -six convicts wer e
received during the year of whom one was of unsound ,

mind four were weak m i nded fifteen were dull and t w o

, ,

doubtful making nearly ten per cent of impaired intellect

,
. .

O f the two hundred and seven t een convicts discharged on e ,

insane died two were weak -minded and thirteen were dull
, , ,

being nearly seven and a half per cent of the discharged .

,

impaired in intellect .

“
U nder the provisions of th e A ct of 1 8 5 2 four prisoner s , _

were removed in D ecember 1 8 5 9 of whom the physician of , ,

t h e prison states I t w ould be absurd to assert that no case

,

of insanity ever occurred in this prison but to S how t h e , ,

probable effect of the discipline in these cases I will refer t o ,

their condition on admission —N o 1 41 9 general good health .

,

but appears to be of unsound mind ; circ umstances had led

to the belie f o f insanity before he was brou ght to the prison
, .

N o 1 4 8 5 general good health N o 1 98 7 good health b u t

. . .
,

owing to his inability to speak E nglish his mental condi ,

tion was not recognized but I now have no doubt he w a s ,

insane when admitted N o 2094 insane O ne of the above

. . .
’

noted prisoners N o 1 48 5 was ret u rned to the prison exactl y

,
.
,

three month s after his transfer to the hospital of whom i t ,

is afterwards entered that he died in the prison insane i n , ,

January 1 8 6 2 after an imprisonment of ten years and nin e

, ,

months The physician notes i n his o fficial report upo n

.
,
‘

his return here he was still decidedly insane

, [ D ixmon t .
’

Hospital was not then O pen ] .

“
The physician s record of insane p r i s on e r s as given t o
’

your B oard and printed on page 1 4 of report for 1 8 7 0 in ,

brief shows that one prisoner died in 1 8 6 2 ( previously

, ,

noted as received in good health in and seven other s

were received from 1 8 6 3 to 1 8 68 five were sent to D ixmont ,

by order of the Governo r and two were di scharged insane ,

.

A ll were insane or of feeble intellect when admitted .

 The physician notices eight cases of the various forms
o f insanity under treatment i n 1 8 7 1 who are sta t ed t o have ,

been received insane ; four were transferred from the E astern

P enitentiary ; one had been in several insane asylums ; one
when received was a mental and physical Wreck ( since dead
o n e h a d been held in j ail a long time owing to uncertain t y ,

is s t ill confined a complete imbecile ; one had been mentally

,

a s to hi s mental health He w a s sent to D ixmont where he

'

i mpaired fo r several years N one of the cases originated in

.

t his prison The report for 1 8 7 2 contains further mention

.

o f the four cases remaining over from the preceding year .

“
The records of j ails and other i n sti t utions within the
C ommonwealth if culled from the official reports to your
,

B oard would furnish abundant evidence of the need for a

,

c hange in the present method of treatment of the criminal

insane .

I doubt not you will recommend some important changes ,

a n d whether you favor t h e erec t ion of a S t ate A sylu m for

the C r i mi mal I nsane or endeavor to meet the p resent ex

‘
,
’
,

i ge n cy by p r o c u r I n g the se t t i ng apart of a wing in one or

,

more of the exis t ing State Luna t ic Hospi t a ls I trust you ,

will arrive at a satisfactory sol ution of this important ques

tion and submit a plan wise in its details and ennobling in
,

i t s humanity V ery respectfully

.
,

“
ED WARD S W RI GHT .
~

Wa r den .
”

W e pass n o w t o the consideratio n of the third class of

insane persons viz of those who having commi t ted acts of
,
.
,

v i o lence or mischief are acqui t ted of crime on the ground

,

o f insani t y .

Here we p resume that those perso n s who commit such

a c t s under a parti al aberration of mind or a monomania , ,

o r a sudden impulse which did not destroy or disable the

,

p ower of ra t ional m oral j udgment

, ; or under a temporary
 38

delirous excitement resulting from their o w n deliberate a c

,

tion an d the cause of which was under their own control a s

, ,

in a fit of intoxication are ,

NO T T O BE R E G A RDED A S P R O P E RL Y IN S A NE ,

and should not be acquitted of cri me on that ground B ut .

acts committed in a state of proper insanity that is to say , ,

W H EN TH E W H O L E R A T ION A L FA CU LT Y I S S O DER A N G ED ,

that the m oral j udgment the power of discriminatio n b e

,

tween ri ght and wrong is by the v i sitation of P rovidence

, , ,

utterly blotted out o r partially paralyzed ; such acts how ,

e ver destructive or atrocious can n ot witho ut great i mp r o

, ,

r i et and even absurdity be denominated crimes and

p y , ;
those who so commit t hem cannot be classed amo n g crimi
,
“ ”
n al s . A n insane criminal as an expression intended to de
,

scribe a person as havi n g committed a crime while in a stat e

of insanity is a contradiction in terms
,
.

How the facts are to be ascertained in these cases or what .

are the p roper evidences i s not a p oint w h ich concerns us a t

,

p resent suc h questions belo n g t o courts j uries and experts ; ,

but if the facts have been ascertained and adj udica t ed ; if

there is admitted to have existed i n the p erson arraigned ,

such a general mental derangement as obliterated the moral

j udgment or any other mania which i n volved the loss o r
,

s ubversion of the moral j udg ment and control in relatio n to ,

those acts to which the impulse or propensi t y p oints ,

whether such be j udged and found curable or incurable and ,

whether the lunatic be adj udged dangerous or ha rmless

the n
S UC H AC TS C A NNO T BE RE CKONE D CRI ME S ,

an dthe person wh o has commi t ted them cannot with o ut ,

gross inj ustice and inhumanity be regarded or treated a s a ,

criminal A nd such is presumed to be the case of all those

. ,

who are acquitted of crime on the ground of insanity Y et .

under our laws a n d the administration of j usti ce ( I) in this

 39

C ommonwealth umbers of these innocent and pitiable suf

,
n

fer er s a r e so regarded and treated — especially those who are ,

tainted with the sin of poverty as well as the crime of i n ,

sanity This is a t the present moment one of the

.
, ,

F O U L E ST B L O TS UP ON TH E E S CU T C H E ON OF OUR ST A T E ,

a blot which instead of being in process of gradual e fface

, ,

ment has been made darker and deeper by o ur more recent

,

legislation A ll the improvement and tendency to impro ve

.

ment in this respect which resulted and promised to result ,

from the j ust and merciful laws of 1 8 4 5 and 1 8 5 2 have been ,

retracted and reversed by t h e law of 1 8 6 1 .

The cases of insanity to which we now refer may be vari

ou s ly classifie d but the law fixes its attent i on chiefly on
,

that form of mania which is more or less dangerou s an d , ,

requires more or less restraint for t h e protection of the com

munity as well as for the safety of the patient
,
.

A nd that the case may be brought clearly and in one v iew

under the eye of the members of t h e Legislature we may be ,

excused for here reciting somewhat at large the present pro

visions of our laws on this subj ect a s they stand in the stat ,

ute book .

PROCEEDIN GS A G AIN ST CRIMINA L L UNA T IC S .

AC T OF 1 8 3 6 .

[A t ime t hi
th e t s A ct w a s p a ss ed t here w as n o ae H
St t os p i t al for th e i a e
ns n , an d f or
w a n t of s uch i t i t u t i
ns on s t hey w ere e s n t t o th e p e i t e t iarie
n n s and j ai l s. ]

SEC T ION 5 8 I n e very case in which it shall be given in

. .

evidence upon the trial of any person charged with any crime
or misdemeanor that such person was insane at the time of
the com
,

mission of such offence and such person shall be ao ,

quitted the j ury shall be required to find specially whether

,

such perso n was insane at the time of the c o mmI S S I O n of

such o ffence and to declare whether such person was acquit
,

ted by t he m O u the ground of s uch insanity and if they ,

shall so find and dec l are the court before whom the trial w a s ,
 40

had shall have p ower to order such person to be kept i n

,

strict c ustody in such place and in such manner as to t h e

,

said court shall see m fit a t the expense of the county ,

i n whic h the trial was had so long as such p erson shall con ,

tinne to be of u nsound mind .

S EC 5 9 .The same proceedings may be had if any p er

.
,

s on indicted for an offence shall upon arraignment be found , ,

to be a lunatic by a j ury la w fully impanelled for the p ur ,

pose ; or if upon the trial of any person so indicted su ch ,

person shall appear to t h e j ury charged with such indi ct ,

ment to be a lunatic ; in which case the court shall direct

, ,

s u c h fin di n g to be recorded and may proceed as aforesaid

‘

.
,

S E C 6 0 I n every case in which any p erson charged

. .
,

with any o ffence shall be brought before the court to be

, ,

discharged for wa n t of prosecution ; and sh all by the oath ,

or a ffirmation of one or more credible persons appear to be ,

insane the cour t shall order the p rosecuting attorney to

,

send before the grandj ury a written allegation of such insanity

, ,

i n the nature of a bill of indictment and thereupon the , ,

s aid grand j ury shall make inquiry into the case as in cases ,

of crime and make presentment of their fi n ding to said

,

court ; and if said grand j ury shall a ffirm said written allega
tion they s h all endorse the same thereon and thereupon
, , , ,

the court shall order a j ury to be impanelled to try the i n

sa n ity of such person B ut before a trial thereof be ordered
.
,

the court shall direct notice thereof to be given to the next

of kin of such p erson by publication or otherwise as the case
, ,

may require A nd if the j ury shall find such person to be

.

i n sane the like proceedings may be had as aforesaid

,
.

S EC 6 1 . P r ovi ded That if the kindred o r friends of any

.
,

person who may have been acquitted as aforesaid on the

, , ,

ground of i n sanity or in default of such the gua r dians

, , ,

overseers or supervisors of any county township or p lace

, , , ,

shall give security in such amount as shall be satis facto ry to

t h e court with conditio n that such lunatic Shall be restrain
,

ed fro m the c o mmi s si on jo f any o ffen ce by seclusion or ot h er

wise i n such case it shall be lawful for the court to make an
‘

,
 41

o rder for the enlargement of such lunatic and his deli v ,

er
y to his kindred or friends ; or as the case may be to such , ,

g uardian overseers
,
or supervisors , .

AC T APRI L 1 4 TH , 1 8 4 5 .

SE C 8 The admission of insane patients from the sev

. .
,

e ral counties of the C o mm onwealth shall be in the ratio of ,

t heir insane p O p u la t i on : P rovided that each county shall

be entitled to send at least one insane patient .

SE C 9 I n dige n t persons and paupers shall be charged

. .

a ctual cost & c payable by counties

,
.
,
.

S E C 1 0 The court s of this C ommonwealth shall have

. .

power to commit to said asylum any person who having , , ,

been charged w ith an offence punishable by imprisonment

o r death who shall have been found to have been insane in
,

the manner now provided by law at the time the o ffence was ,

c ommitted and who still continues insane and the expenses

, ,
.

o f said per s on if in indigent circums t ances shall be paid by

,

t he co unty & c ,
.

Sec 1 2 The several constit uted au t horities having care

. .

and charge of the poor of the res p ective c ounties districts , ,

a n d townships shall have au t hority to send to the a s ylum

, ,

such insane paupers under their charge as they may deem ,

p roper subj ects and they shall be severally chargeable with

,

the expenses of the care and maintenance and removal to , ,

a n d from the asylum of such paupers ,

.

SEC 1 4 That if any person shall apply to any court of

. .

record withi n this C ommonwealth having j urisdiction of ,

o ffences which are p unishable by imprisonment for the

, ,

term of ninety days or longer for the commitment to said ,

asylum of any insane person wi t hin the county in whi ch such

c ourt h a s j urisdiction it shall be the du t y of said court to
,

inquire into the fact of insanity in the manner provided by

law ; and if such court shall be satisfied that such p erson ,

i s by reason of insani t y unsafe to be at l arge or is suffer

, , ,

ing any unnecessary duress or hardship such co u r t s h a l l , ,

'

,
 42

on the applicatio n aforesaid co mmit such insane person t o

,

said asylum .

SEC 1 5 I n the order of admission the indigent insan e

. .
,

of this C om monwealth shall have always p recedence of t h e

,

rich ( in another place paying pati ents and

“
recen t
cases shall have precedence of those of long sta n ding .

A C T O F MA Y 4 TH , 1 8 5 2 .

W henever in the O pinion of the I nspectors of the E astern

P enitentiary any of the prisoners therein
,
de c on fin ed, sh a ll
_

v e l op such marked insanity as to render their continued ,

confinement in said penitentiary improper and their removal ,

to the S tate Lunatic Hospital necessary to their restorat i on ,

it shall be the duty of the sai d I nspectors to submit such

cases to a B oard comp osed of the D istrict A ttorney of the
county of P hiladelphia the principal physician of the P e nn
,

sylvania Hospital for the I nsane at P hiladelphia and th e , ,

principal physician of the F riends I nsane A sylum at F rank ’

,

ford i n P hiladelphia C ounty and in case a maj ori ty of the m

, ,

cannot at any time when required attend a competent phy

, , ,

s i c i an or physicians to be appointed by the C ourt of "

,
uar
ter Sessions of the C ounty of P hiladelphia in the place of ,

such as cannot attend upon whose certificate of insan i ty or

,

the certificate of any t w o trans mitted to the governor and ,

if by him approved he shall direct that said insane prison

,

ers shall be by s aid I nspectors removed to the State Luna

, , ,

tic Hospital there to be kept and properly provi ded f o r at

,

the cost and charge of the county from which they were
sent t o the penitentiary and if at any time during the p e
, ,

r i od for which any such insane prisoners shall have been

sentenced to co n finement in the E astern P enitentiary they

.
,

shall in t h e O pinion of the trustees of the said Lunatic Hos

p i tal be so far restored as to render their return to said pen
i t e n t i a r y sa fe and proper then the said trustees shall caus e
,

the said prisoner to be returned to said E astern P e n i t en t i a

r d ue n o t ice to be give n to the clerk of the C ourt of "uar
y
,
 43

ter Session s of the county from which such prisoners wer e

sent to the penitentiary of all such removal s or transfers
,
.

AC T OF APRI L S TE ,
1 8 61 .

SEC 1 W hen application shall be made under t h e 1 4 th

. .

section of the A ct of A pril 1 4 1 8 45 to which this is sup

, ,

p l e m e n tar
y to,
any court of this C ommonwealth for the com
mi t men t of a ny person to the P ennsylvania State Lunatic
Hospital it shall be lawful for such court either to inquire
,

into the fact of insani t y in a summary way & c ; and in ,

.

all cases it shall be lawful for the several courts t ouse their
,

discretion in sending insane persons to said hospital o r ,

cause them to be confined elsewhere as the said court may ,

deem the case to be c u rable or otherwise .

SEC 2. . N o person shall hereafter be sent to the said

Lunatic Hospital under the 1 0t h sect i on of A ct 1 4 A pri l
, , ,

1 8 4 5 or any other law of this C omm onwealth w h o shall

, ,

have been charged with homicide or having endeavored or ,

attempted to commit the same or t o commit any arson rap e

, , ,

robbery or burglary an d have been acquitted of any su ch o f

,

fences on the ground of i n sanity or been proceeded against

,

under the 5 9 t h or 60t h sections of the A ct of 1 8 3 6 [ see above] ,

where the court trying the same shall be satisfied that it

will be dangerous for such lunatic to be at large on account ,

of having c ommitted or a t t empted to commit either of the

crimes aforesaid but such persons shall be confined in a pen
,

i t en t i ar y or the prison of the proper county .

SEC 3 I n every case where a lunatic h a s been or shall

. .

be committed to said h ospital after an acqui t tal of any

,

crime on th e gro u nd of insanity or after an investigation in

,

court u nder the 5 9t h 6 0t h sections of the A ct 1 3 Ju n e 1 8 3 6 , ,

or on account of its being adj udged dangerous for such luna

tic to be at l arge ; and in all cases whe r e any lunat ic has
been or shall be remo ved from either of the penitentiaries
, ,

or any prison of this C ommonwealth under the order of a ,

j udge or of any court it sh a ll be lawfu l for the trustees of

 44 .

s aid hospital with the aid of the superintending physici a n ,

to inquire carefully into the situation of the lunatic and i f ,

a maj ority of the B oard including the physician shall be , ,

s atisfied that that there i s no reaso n able prospect of a cure

of the insanity being a ffected by a retentio n of the luna t ic

,

in the h ospital they sh al l at th e expense of the proper -city

or county ca u se him or h er to be removed to the prison o f
, ,

the proper county or t h e penitentiary from which he or s h e

was sent .

Thus it appears that before before the erection of 1 8 45 , —

a State Lunatic Hospital ( 1 ) persons tried and acquitted of
,

crime on the ground of insanity ( 2) persons indicted for an ,

o ffence and found to be insane when brought up for trial ,

a n d 3 ) persons charged with some o ffe n ce and brought b e

(
fore the court to be discharged for want of prosecution but
, ,

being found in a stat e of l unacy provided they had no

—
,

friends were to be sent to the penitentiary the co unty j ail

—
, ,

or if the county authorities should give the required

,

guarantees to the county p oorhouse — as the court should

,

j udge m ost proper .

By the A ct of 1 8 45 and the establish ment of the S tate

L unatic Hospital this state of things was at once and i n
‘

prospect greatly improved This alleviation was obtained .

u pon the M emorials of M iss D IX and other philanthropic

ci t izens backed by the following representatio n fro m the

,

j udges of the criminal courts

The M emorial of M iss D IX to the Legislature dated ,

F ebruary 3 d 1 8 45 co ntains the following certificate fro m

, ,

members of the J udiciary in relation to the imprisonment

”
of insane criminals M iss D IX prefacing its introduction
“
,

with this paragraph

“
N ext aft er p ri vate families and poorh ouses t h e insane ,

will be found in the j ails and penitentiaries O n this subj ec t .

the O pinion of some of y our j urists has bee n so explicitly

declared that I feel it but j us t ice to the cause to give this
, ,
”
expression of thei r sen t im ents place here .
 45

“
PH I L A DE L P H IA Ma r ch ,
5 , 1 839 .

The want O f an asylum for the insane poor ofte n

occasions painful embarrassments to the courts w hen the ,

defence in th e crimin al charge is insanity fully sustain ed by

proof A lthough the j ury may ce rtify that their acquittal
.

is on that ground and thus empower the court to order the

,

prisoner into close custody get tha t cus tody ca n be i n n o other

,

la ce tha n the common r i son s places illy qualified for such a

p p ,

subj ect O f incarceration W e cannot doubt that the ends

.

O f j ustice would be greatly p romoted if such an asylum a s ,

the petitioners contemplated were established with proper

regulations and the courts were authorized to commit to it
, ,

all persons ac quitted O f crimes o n the ground O f insanity

’

.
”

( Signed ) E D W ARD K IN G ,

ARC H I B A L D R A ND A LL ,

J RIC HT E R J ONE S
.
,

J u dges of the Cou r t of "

u a r ter S ess i ons

J AME S T ODD ,

J B OUVIE R
.
,

R T C ONRAD
.
. .
,

J u d es o
g f the Cr i mi n a l S ess i on s
CA L VIN B L Y TH E ,

J u dge o f th e Tw elf th J u di ci a l Di s tr i ct .

M iss DI" adds “

I t is believed that all the j udges O f the
,

courts O f -
the C ommonwealth O f P ennsylvania havi n g
”

,
”
criminal j urisdiction would coincide in the above opinion
,
.

B ut by the A ct O f 1 8 61 now in force the benefits which

, ,

had been secured which it was hoped would be secured

—
,

and which the j udiciary thus earnestly desired might be

secured have been substantially annulled and frustrated
,

for as t o the subsequent A ct of A pril

,
— a n A ct

intended to g uard the commitment to and secure a proper ,

discharge from private hospitals —i t will be seen immedi ately , ,

that they simply provide for the mode O f procedure in one

particular case viz : in di s cha r gi n g a person who has been
,
 46

a cquitted Of crime on the ground O f insanity at the ti me of ,

its commission b ut who is alleged now to be sane I t p ro

, .

“ ”
vides for his confinement and then prescribes h o w the ,

question O f his sanity shall before his discharge be adj udi , ,

c a t ed.I t is in fact legislation for the sane and not for the
, ,
“ ’ ”
insane [ See Judge B rewster s O pin i on further on ]
. .

U nder the first section of this A ct ( of 1 8 6 1 ) a person a ,

man or woman though free from the taint or charge of any

,

crime whatever having committed no act O f violence or

,

mischief a p oor pitiable harmless lunatic

—
, , ,

M A Y BE S EN T TO A JAI L F OR INDEFINI T E IN CARCER A T ION ;

and if upon s ummary exa mination such person is thought

, ,

to be more probably incurable i t is more than s uggested to ,

be t h e D U T Y Of the court to send him to prison A nd if .

,

once sent there his case is re mediless unless he can get

, ,

through the pro vision Of S ect 3 and we shall see what p r O .

,

b ab i li t y there is O f that .

U nder the second section no p erson charged with c om ,

mitting or at t empting to commit certain heinous cri mes and ,

acquitted Of the charge on the ground of insanity shall i f , ,

the court j udge it dangerous to be at large be sent to the ,

hospital at all but he ,

SH AL L BE CONFINE D I N TH E P ENI T EN T I A RY O R TH E P RI S ON
O F TH E PROPER CO UN T Y ;
that is to say the only O ption left to the court is either a t
, ,

once to discharge such a person and let him go at large o r ,

to commit him to a h opeless imprison ment — hopeless w e ,

say unless he can run the g auntlet Of Sect 3

,
. .

U nder this third sectio n — and this is the key to the right
u nderstanding O f the present state O f our whole legislation

on this subj ect any lunatic who ( 1 ) up on trial has been

—
, ,

acquitted
O F A NY C RIME W H A T EVER ,

an d ho w ever slight or ( 2) who has been i ndicted for a n y

, ,

en ce and upon being brought up for trial has been found

fi
o
, ,
 47

i nsane , Or ,who when brought up to be discharged for

( )
3 ,

y va n t O f prosecution is found insane

,
or ( )
4 who though
, , ,

n ever cha r ed with any crime or any act O f violence or harm

g ,

h a s been adj udged dangerous if allowed to go at large — any

, ,

lunatic of either O f these four cla sses who has th ereupon , ,

been sent by the order of any court to a State hospital ,

f o r th e insane -as well as any l unatic ( 5 ) who by the order

,

O f the Governor or by any provisio n O f law has been r e ,

moved from any penitentiary or j ail to the said hospital ,

may upon the j udgment O f the trustees and superintending

,

physician of said hospital that there is no reaso n able

, ,

p rospect Of a cure O f his insanity be by them and by , , ,

their sole and uncontrolled authority consigned to a help ,

l ess and hopeless

I MPRI S O NMEN T IN TH E PENI T EN T IARY OR TH E C O UN T Y J AI L .

( P er h aps we ought to remark by the that th e last words

w ay

O f the section
“
from which he or she was sent may seem
, ,
”

to confine the exercise of the p ower O f the hospital a u t h or i

t ies to the fifth class of perso n s before described ; but as in ,

t hat case the four other classes would have been enumerated
in the section without any enactment in regard to them it ,

i s presumed the A ct sho uld be interpreted as extending the

s ame p ower O f removing the parties from the hospital t o

prison to all t hose four classes of cases also and so we b e

,

l ie ve it has al w ays been interpreted B ut perhap s it is to

.
,

t h e credit of those wh o drew the A ct that that there should

,

be marks of ha s te in its comp osition ) I t is clear however

.
, ,

that this act contains no authority for sending any patients ,

however incurab le to the coun t y poorhouses ; they can be

,

s ent back only to the prison or the penitentiary .

W e must ask your indulgence gentlemen O f the Legisla

,

ture if we find ourselves compelled t o speak harshly or

, ,

even disrespectfully O f the law O f the land W e are a d

, .

dressing legislators and n ot a j ury B ut what a la w is t his "

.

I s it possible that the members O f o ur subsequent legisla

 48

tures — is it possible that y ou gentlemen have been fully

, ,

aware O f its extraordinary of its atrocious provisions "

,

a law which we are constrained to say in the terrible cool

, ,

ness O f its barbaro us enactments i n i t s disregard not only

'

O f all t h e claims of h u manity and j ustice but O f the si mples t ,

civil rights O f every citizen is so far as we can find with

, , ,

out a parallel in the legislation O f any other State O f thi s

U nion or of any C hris t ia n or civilized comm unity in t h e
, '

world By this law not on ly a r e persons men and women

.
,
—
.

who are admitted and solemnly adj udged to be innocent o f

all crime — men and women who have never even bee n
, ,

charged with any act O f violence or harm lia ble to b e —

,

hopelessly incarcerated incarcerated professedly for life ;

—

for they are prono unced b bl i bl — and this i

( p r o a
y n cu r a e s ,

their only crime ) incarcerated in the comm on j ail or t h e

, O
‘

penitentiary — i ncarcerated in the society O f felons —i n car

, ,

cerated where t hey can have no proper c a re or treatment

not only this — but such persons liable to be so incarcerated ,

not u pon the verdict O f a j ury Of their fellow citizens or t h e ,

examinat i on an d sentence of any co u r t Of j ustice but upo n ,

the dictum — the sole peremptory uncontrolled and i r r ever

, ,

ible dictum — O f whom ?

S

TH E DI C T U M O F TH ET R U ST EE S A ND S UPERIN T ENDIN G P HY S I
CIA N O F A ST A T E H O S PI T A L

a tribunal u nknown elsewhere to the constitutio n and

, ,

laws of the State ; whose rescri pt overrides and reverses t h e

solemn sentences O f all the criminal courts O f the C om mon
wealth ; a n d holds in re spect to them the character of a
, ,

j udgment O f a Supreme C ourt of E rrors and A ppeals ; and

the ap p ea l to t h is court is made by the co urt i t s elfz— a n d
even this is not all ; but t h e court is the par t y interested
t o be rid O f t h e care and burden of the poor speechless and
defenceless victims whose cases are to be passed u pon "
,

C an anything be added to the extraordinary character O f

.

such a law ? Shall it be allowed any lOn ger to disgrace o u r

 49

s tatute book and tarnish the fair fame O f o ur belo ved and
,

honored State ?
N 0 man no one O f us gentlemen can be sure that he will
, , ,

not become a helpless lunatic to -morrow B ut do es ev er y .

_

c itizen Of P ennsylvania know that he is liable without any ,

fault O f his own to be sent at any t ime to the common j ail

,

for life long detention by the sole and irrevokable autho rity
,

a n d sentence of the superintendent and trustees O f a State

Lunatic Hospital ? A nd that in spite O f and reversal of the , ,

contrary j udgment and sentence O f any and every court O f

j ustice which may have p assed or which by law can pass
, ,

up o n his case .

W e beg here to disclaim once fo r all intending any per , ,

s onal reference to or reflec t ion upon the estimable gentlemen

who have the charge O f the State Hospitals for the insane .

We doubt not they are honorable and conscient i ous men ;

but they are men The constitu t io n of such a court O f
.

review must we think be admitted to be

, ,

AN
:

A NO M A L Y IN OUR L E G I SL A T I O N ,

and no less an anomaly that interested parties ho wever h on ,

o r ab le and trustworthy should be empowered to decide in

,

their own case A nd perhaps it is worth Observing that while

.
,

a lunatic may be thus summarily removed from the hospital

to the prison by the S imple fiat O f the hospital a uthorities
,

a lone,
a lunatic could not S O readily be removed from the
penitentiary to the hospital F or this purp ose the law O f .

1 8 5 2 presented a complex process I n order that a lunatic .

might be removed from the penitentiary to the hospital the ,

law provided that not only the inspectors O f the penitentiary

— honorable and conscientious men— should j udge the con

tin n ed confinement O f such lunatic in the penitentiary t o be

improper and his removal to the State Lunatic A sylum
,

necessary to his restoration but the case must also be s u b ,

mi t t ed to a board composed of the D istric t A t t orney and

either two superintendents O f insane asylums or a c ompe
tent physician or p h ysicians to be appointed by the C ourt O f
4
[ ]
 50

"uarter S essions . N or was their certificate

appro val Of

su fficient to secure the Obj ect : but that certificate must be

transmitted to the Governor and if he approved he might , , ,

order the removal S O careful was the law in that case t o

.

guard the process against abuse .

B ut we may be asked why we Sh on ld cavil at what may

be considered a theoretic anomaly wh i le it accomp lishes t h e ,

best results and is the shortest and best way of accomplish

,

ing the m We answer by asking in return ,

W H A T H AVE B EEN TH E RE S U LTS ?

Have the courts by them been encouraged to send lunatic s
, ,

to the hospital or on the contrary h ave the y found that

, , ,

this is too Often a rou ndabout way of sending them to prison ?

B ut why is it that for m ore than twe n ty years the law h as
existed for sending certian l unatics from the peniten t iarie s
to the hospital and yet the experiment O f doing so has been
,

tried in the E astern D istrict of the State but once indeed

—

has not bee n tried at all in that district for full twenty ,

years past ? I s it said that the lunatics S O transmitted very

soon made their escape ? B ut if the hospital is b y law to
receive such lunatics some part O f it ought manifestly to be
,

so constructed and arranged as to be suitable for their safe

keeping ; as has been done without di fficulty or O ppositio n
in the hospitals Of severa l o ther States Have the hospital .

authorities sought to provide such construction and arrange

ments in order that the ends of the law might not be de
,

feated ? O r have they not rather sought and O b t a i n ed t h e

,
.

counter provisions O f the law Of 1 8 6 1 auth orizing them to

'

send all such lunatics back to prison ? Since which time it

has been hardly th ought worth while to commit any such to '

their care I n deed it has been triumphantly said on appar

.
,

ently good auth ority ( see Journal O f I nsanity O ct 1 8 7 3

, ,
.
,

page 21 4) that after the first experiment i 6 before the law

, ,
. .

O f 1 8 6 1 as well as since the B oard O f Trustees O f the State

‘

, ,

Lunatic Hospital at Harrisburg declined receiving any more

”
cases. That is to say the Board of Trustees decided the,

q uestion by their s ole and ultimate authority - commission

 51

or no com mission law or no la w W e do not vouch for

— .

the fact b ut it has been publicly so stated without dissent

, , ,

in the presence O f the Superintendent O f the Lunatic A sylum .

W e p resum e the refusal if made w a s a mere declaration and

, ,

n o t an act but the statement however interpreted,is highly ,

suggestive The A ct O f 1 85 2 is still the la w O f the land — a

.

law whose ends are em i ne n tly poli t ic j ust and humane but , ,

can the authorities O f the State Hospital be counted upon as

ready cordially to concur in carrying out the provisions O f
t h at law for the accomplishment Of those ends ?
,

The vie w s O f the j udges O f our criminal courts and of the

Supreme C ourt O f the State upon present legisla t ion in r e
,

gard to the insane poor and the insane criminal will appear in
t heir petitions to t h e Legislature which we here introduce ,

To TH E LE GI SL A T URE OF TH E STA TE OF P ENN S Y L VA NI A .

The j udges O f the criminal courts being greatly embar

r as s e d u nder the law O f 1 8 3 6 in the di sposal of persons ,

charged with cri me who were acquitted on the ground Of

,

insanity being obliged to commit them to close custody ;

,
‘ ’

the j ails and pen itentiaries being alone O pen to them me ,

mor i ali z ed the Legislature in 1 8 3 9 in behalf O f the establi sh ,

ment O f a hospital for the insane poor and denounced the

‘
,
’

commitment Of the irresponsible insane to the prisons O f the

S tate . By such influence and other humane and r i ghtful
e ffort the Legi slat u r e i n 1 8 45 established the S t ate Lunatic
’

, , ,

Hospital at Harrisburg under a law which gave proper pro

,

t ect i on to the rights O f the poor and the criminal insane

‘ ’ ‘ ’
.

This legislation satisfied the j udges who bore the respon si

bi li t y of disposing of such persons and was also a clear ex ,

ponent Of the public mind on the subj ect .

“
By more recent legislation namely by the A ct Of A pril ,

8 t h 1 8 6 1 the courts having j urisdiction O f such cases are for

, , , ,

bidden to send them to the State hospitals however i r r es p on ,

sible for crime unless S peedily curable if they a r e deemed

,
‘
,
’

da n ger ou s p er s on s to be a t la r ge ; and in every cas e w h er e a

lunatic may have been sent to the State Hospital after a n ,
.

a cq u i tta l o r i me on the f
r ou n d o i i the a thorities
f a n
y c g n s a n ty u ,
 52

Of such hospital ma y sen d s u ch p er son s lo a p en i ten t i a r y or

a i l at the expense O f the county where he belongs unless
j , ,

they deem the case speedily curable Substantially the same .

’

provisions are contained in the A ct O f A pril 1 8 63 relating , ,

to the western part O f the State The undersigned regarding .

,

the provisions O f the A cts of 1 8 61 and 1 8 6 3 above cited as , ,

an O bstruction to the ends O f j ustice ; and being greatly em ,

b ar r assed i n our administration of such causes respect fully ,

beg that the legislation be repealed or such amendments ,

made as will relieve from unj ust an d injur i ous I mpri sonment
,

with felons the irresponsible class referred to and which will

, ,
’
also protect the insane poor in their rights and enable the
‘
,

courts to comply with the laws without violating a sense O f ,

right or a sentiment Of humanity .

“
The A ct O f A pril 1 8 6 3 in relation to the co mmitment
, ,

O f the insane to the W estern P ennsylvania Hospital provides

for the return Of insane criminals and persons acquitted on

the ground Of insanity to the j ail or penitentiary if deemed
,
”
incurable .

J O S A LL I S ON .
,

J A S R L UD L O W . .
,

W M S PE IRCE . .
,

TH O S A FIN L E TT E R . .
,

E D W ARD M PA "S ON
'

.
,

J u dges of Cou r t of "u a r ter S es si on s P hi la del hi a

p ,

F H C O LL IE R . .
,

J AME S P S TERRE TT .
,

E DWIN H S T OWE .

J u dges of Cou r t of "u a r ter S es s i on s o

f A lleghen y
concur in the above recommendation ,

GE O S HA R S W O OD,
.

H ENRY w W I LL IAM S .
,

J O H N M READ .
,

Nov . 28 th, 1 8 7 3 .

J u dges o f S up r eme Cou r t .

 53

W turn
e to another description O f t h e insane - to those "

wh o without any charge or suggestion of cri me have ei t her , ,

as dangerous o r simply as helpless l u n at ics been placed in ,

the county p oorhouses These m ay by law be committed

.

by the co u nty authorities to the State h ospitals for t he i n

sane How many O f them have been so committed ? D oes
—

the management O f these hospitals encourage and stimulate

the authorities to send them there ?
T H EY NE ED ENC O URA G E MEN T A ND ST IMU L U S
“

for as experience too constantly shows those auth orities are

, ,

extremely liable to be led by the considera t ions of a false and

S h ort -sight e d eco n omy to endeavor to make a cheaper provi
,

sion for the care and maintenance O f their insan e ,

than that furnished by the hospital A re th o se whom t he y .

actually commit sent back to them again with a charge for

, ,

t h e expense Of both transfers ? If SO ,

BY TH E A U TH O RI T Y OF W HAT L A w A RE TH EY S EN T B A CK ?
W hat law p r oy i des that the authorities O f the h ospitals may
send any O f their patients or allow any Of their patients , ,

however violent or incurable to be taken to a coun ty poor ,

house ? Y et the simple fact is that while there are some

five h undred O f the insane poor in our hospita ls sent from , ,

t h e county a lmh o u s es there are m ore than twice that

,

number
R A VIN G OR L AN G UI SH IN G IN O UR C O UN T Y PO OR H O U S E S ,

an incarceration much better fitted to make a sane man mad ,

t han a madman sane A nd O f the two if there is less dis

.
,

grace there is also in a maj ority Of cases less chance for

, , ,

comfort and no better chance for recovery in the p oor

, ,

ho use than in the prison S O that it may be said upo n a

.

deli berate calculation to be better as regards comfort and a

, ,

prospect O f restoration ,

F OR A N IN S ANE PER S ON T O BE C O NVI CT ED O F CRI M E '

and sentenced to the penitentiary for a definite time than , ,

as an innocent lunatic to be imprisoned in the p oorh ouse

,
.
 54

B ut we may a dd that the great a n d ir r e mediable defect i n

,

both the priso n and the p oorhouse but especially in the ,

latter is the want O f proper attendance and O f skillful medi

, ,

cal care These p oor creatures are not expected -to recover
. .

They are given over to utter hopelessness .

A nd now ,

W H A T Is TO BE DON E ?
To this ques t ion we would address ourselves with the full
appreciation O f the many and formidable di ffi culties with "

which the subj ect is encompassed B ut we believe t hat .

there is no thoughtful person who has made himself pra o,

tically acquainted with the facts that does not fully concur,

i n the j udgment that no poorhouse ca n be a proper receptacle

for the insane W e shall enter into no argument therefore
.
, ,

to show that
A LL TH E IN S A NE P O O R
now gathered in the county p oorhouses S hould as soon as ,

p ossible be provided for in State lunat i c hospital s and

, ,

transferred to t h em to be there suppor t ed as the la w may

,

direct unless any particular county has population enough

, ,

and insane poor enough to render it advisable and feasible to

,

establish and maintain a separate hospital for itself with the ,

full appointments and provisions for the best and most S kill
ful care and medical treatment Of the inmates with a view ,

both to their comfort and their care as well as to the safety ,

O f the community .

A s to the other less numerous class who have been c om ,

mi t t ed by the courts ( or by the hospital authorities) to the

j ails or the penitentiaries ; including ( 1 ) those who having ,

been charged with the most heinous felonies have been a c ,

quitted on the ground Of insanity ( 2) those who on the same

.

, ,

gro und have been acquitted O f any O ffence whatever and

,

however slight ( 3 ) those who have been indicted for any

,

O ffence and upon being brought up for trial have be en

, ,

found insane ; ( 4 ) t hose who when brought up t o be dis

, ,

charged for w a n t of prosecutio n have been found i n sane ;

'

,
 55

( )
5 those who though never charged with any act O f crime
, ,

or harm whatever have been j udged da n gerous if allowed to

,

go at large ; as well as ( 6) those w ho having been convicted ,

O f crime committed while they were presumed to be sane

, ,

-i n
have S ince become lunatics regard to all these it seems
, ,

now to be universally conceded that ,

TH E J AI L OR TH E PENI T EN T IARY I S NO T TH E PR O PER P L ACE

F OR TH E KEEPIN G O R CARE O F S UC H L UNA T IC S .

The practical question the n is w hat other provision is to .

be made for them

The A ct Of M ay 4 1 8 5 2 had as we have seen provided
, , , ,

that any of the prisoners confined in the E aster n P eniten

t i a r y being found insane ( thus insane convicts as well but
, , ,
'

not insane convicts only ) might by a cer t ain process be , ,

removed t o the State Lunatic A syl um I n their report O f .

t h e year following the I nspectors of t h e P enitentiary inform

,

us that O f eighteen p ersons prop o sed by them as candidates

,

f o r removal eigh t had been S O transferred by order O f the

,

G overnor and t hey add :

,
“
The I nspectors cannot omit t his O pp ortunity O f again
c alling upon the General A sse mb ly S hould the means p r O ,

v i ded for this O bj ect be found in any way inadequate either ,

in the terms O f t h e law authorizing the removal or in the ,

p rovision for the safe -keeping in the lunatic hospital not to ,

halt in t h e good work until it is carried into full effect .

Let it no longer rest u pon the fair fame O f P ennsylvania ,

who claims to be foremost in the ork O f penitentiary r e

w
f orms that insane men are imprisoned in the cells O f her
,

p eniten t iary fo r long years or for life Surely in this

.

enlightened C hris t ian age and country the cells O f the peni ,

t e n t i ar y should cease to be the abode of human beings with

o u t moral perceptions or respo n sibili ties to fit them for the

salutary efl ect s O f either penitentiary punishments or moral

reform The inspectors have gone more full y into thi s s u b
.
,

j e c t than they otherwise would have done from the fact that ,

a state hospital has been been put into O peration by the Legis
 56

lat u r e for this enlightened and benevolent purpose I ts estab .

”
ment has been long needed .

I n their report for the next year ( 1 85 4) the I nspectors re

“
mark that the eight persons before alluded to were the first ,

s o removed since the opening O f the prison twenty - fiv e years

ago as until last year no institution existed in P ennsylvania
, ,

as in other Sta tes for the reception and treatment of persons

, ,

who though insane required punitive restraint NO other

, ,
.

cases have since occurred requirin g removal from the peni

t en t i ar y The Stat e L unatic Hospital is an establi shment O f
.

the highest utility — its purpose approved by the most eu

,
~

lightened benevolence and sound policy E very humane .

mind cannot but h O p e that it it wi ll be fostered and en cour

aged for the accomplishment O f benefits to an increasing clas s
”
O f unfortunate people They then proceed to a class who
,

”
are sometimes included among the criminal insane in the ,

following terms A s yet no complete provisions have bee n

made for the reception and treatment of those insane who ar e
sentenced to restraint Of their liberty because the fact O f their
l
,

unsound mind r en der s them irresp onsible for the crimes

‘

'

char ged against them There are now four prisoners in the
.

penitentiary thus confined ; their dangerous character arising ,

from homicidal mani a rendering them unsafe unless unde r

, ,

a cautious restraint A s they are in the penitentiary not as

.
.

convicts but here retained because Of no other place of equal

,

security it is di ffi cult properly to treat them for the confirmed

,

malady under which they labor The time will come when .

in the State Hospital provision can be made for this class of

,

insane .

N early twenty years have elapsed and these poor wretched , ,

beings are still in j ails and almshouses .

The inspectors making the report in 1 85 3 were John Bacon , ,

R ichard V aux Hugh C ampbell Singleton A M ercer an d

, ,
.

C harles Brown ; in 1 8 5 4 M essrs Bacon V aux M ercer A n

,
.
, , ,

drew M iller and C harles M cKi bb en .

Then came the law O f 1 8 6 1 w hi ch empowers the trustees

and physician O f the State Lunatic Hospital to send insan e
 57

persons commit t ed to the hospital by the courts or removed

to it from the penitentiary back to the penitentiary fr om ,

which they were sent or to a prison to whi c h they were not

,

committed by the courts when t here appeared no reasonable

,

prospect O f a cure The result is that it is found a useles s

.

expenditure of pains and money in many cases for the courts , ,

to send to the hospitals insane men acquit t ed of crime and ,

always for the penitentiary to remove thither its prisoners o r

insan e convicts while authority resides in the hospital to
,

forthwith send them back again I n anticipation O f this r e .

sult the inspectors O f the E astern P enitentiary in their r e

, ,

port O f the following year “

respectfully suggest to the
Legislature that provision by law be made r equ i r i n g th e S ta te
L u n a ti c A s y lum to ta k e i n s a n e p er s on s con vi cted of cr i me i n to tha t
i n s ti tu ti on. A nd in 1 8 63 the inspectors again ask the Leg
”
,
“
,

i sl at ur e to require the State Lunatic A sylum to take insane ‘

convicts The inspectors in 1 8 6 2 and 1 8 63 were R ichard

V aux Samuel Jones M D A lexander Henry Tho mas H
, ,
. .
, ,
.

P o w ers and F urman Sheppard .

I t is plain that these gentlemen as well as the I nspectors ,

O f 1 8 5 3 and 1 8 5 4 j udged it to be the wisest a n d most desir

,

able plan in this as in other States that provision should b e

, ,

made for the criminal insane and even for insane convic t s
IN C O NNE C T ION WI TH TH E ST A T E H O S PI T A L RA TH ER TH AN
WI TH TH E ST A T E PENI T EN T IARY .

W e append here without comment as the documents tell

,

their own story very clearly the communica t ions to th i s ,

Board from the I nspectors O f the E astern and W estern P eni

t en t i a r i e s requesting its intervention with the Legislature
for the modification or re peal O f the O bnoxious laws agains t
t h e rights O f the insane which now disgrace our statut e
,

books .

November 26 th , 1 8 7 3 .

TO TH E B O ARD OF P U B L IC C H ARI T IE S
The I nspectors O f the S t ate P enitentiary for the E astern
D istrict of P ennsylvania have heretofore i n their reports
 58

called the atte n tion O f the Legislature to the deplorable con

dition O f the insane com mitted to the custody O f that I nsti
t u t i o n and h a ve suggested legislation which would relieve
,

u s from the pressure O f a du t y which we could not fulfil i n

providing for them proper care and medical treatment — and ,

which also wo u ld provide for these defe n celess and for the , ,

most part irresp onsible persons a more rightful and suitable

, , ,

abode t h an a p rison W e now most respectfully appeal to

.

th e c i s la t u r e through your B oard to so amend the legis

, ,

lation of t h e A ct O f A pril 8 1 8 6 1 as will give effect to the , ,

former repr esentations O f the I nspectors and place the Class ,

O f the poor insane and the criminal insane i n the

‘ ’ ‘

more j ust and favorable p osition which they occupied under

the l a w O f A pril 1 4 1 8 45 whic h established the State L un
, ,

a tic A sylum at Harrisburg

”
.

RIC H ARD VAU " ,

TH OMA S H PO W E R S , .

A LE " H E NRY , .

C H AR LE S TH O MS ON J ONE S ,
J O H N M MARI S . .

TO TH E B O ARD OF P U B L IC C H ARI T IE S
The I nspectors O f the W estern P enitentiary desire to call ,

the attentio n Of the Legi slature through your B oard to , ,

t h e n ecessity O f further and fuller provision by law for the ,

care and protection O f the indigent and criminal insane .

“
I n many O f the annual rep orts of this P enitentiary atten ,

tion has been directed to the fact that insane persons have ,

been convicted of crime and sen t to priso n The followi n g .

,

from our report for 1 8 6 7 briefly states the facts in the case and
, ,

i n its conclusions we trus t will receive your earnest co

, ,

O peration .

“
W e would ask the att ention of t h e Legislature to the
great necessity there I S for such legislati on as will secure to
t h e insane convict a place i n some State institution where h e
may be properly cared for By special amended enactments .

O f t h e l a w o n t h is s ubj ec t no insa n e co n vict w h o has been

, ,
 59

com mitted to prison on the higher grades O f cri me can be ,

transferred to the hospital at D ixmont unless by the ,

‘
,

verdict O f the j ury in the case there i s reason to believe that

a cure O f such insa n ity may be speedily e ffected .
’

“
I f this institution is intended only for the benefit O f the
c u r a bly I nsane what I s to become O f t h e ill fated wretch wh o
,
“
has no helper and whose reason is declared to be clean
,

go n e forever .
’

“
W e hold that it is the duty Of the State to make some
speedy provision for his relief either by the modification O f
,

existing laws or the enactment O f such statutes as will

,
”
g uaran t ee to him a humane and C h ristian protectio n .

T H NEVIN
,
.
,

R O B E R T H DAVI S , .

J O H N DE AN ,

G E OR G E A K E LL Y .
,

O RM SB Y P H I LL IP S ,

In sp ector s .

I n like manner the Secretary O f the M assachusetts B oard

"

O f State C hari t ies , in his report for 1 8 7 1 recommends and , ,

in that for 1 8 7 2 renews the recommendation that a special ,

receptacle or institutio n be p rovided for insa n e convicts and ,

for insane persons who in a state of insanity ha ve committed

, , ,

or are disposed to commi t violent acts for which he gives

his reasons at large a n d t h en adds it is submitted that the
“
,
'

construction O f such a receptacle may perhaps be wisely

made a part of the plan for a new hospital at W orcester I t .

can be made a separate building surrounded by a wall s u f , ,

fici e n t ly removed from other buil dings to avoid any u n

pleasant assoc i ations and yet n ear enough to have the bene
,

fit O f the general superintend ence of that institution ‘

.
”

T h at is to say as th e Secretary i mmediately adds the

’

, ,

proj ect O f a n ew and ( totally ) separate i n stitu t ion for the

class referred to is sure to s t art some vex ed question with
, ,

which it would not be well to embarrass the desired i m

“ ”
provement The convic t i nsane woul d give to it its dis
.
 60

t i n ct i ve
character ; and then any p roposition to admit to i t
“ ”
others n o t convic t insane who could be better provided
, ,

for in it than elsewh ere would be resis t ed as a ffixing t o

, , ,

them the rep ute O f a criminal c lass N or is it likely that it .

would with its peculiar character as well as its s maller

, ,

numbers be provided i n the long run with a corp s O f

, , ,

O fficers equal in S kill to those whose services are commanded

by the other h ospitals F or these and other reasons it is

.
,

better that provision s h ould be made for the insane who ,

have commi t ted or are pr e disposed to homicidal or violent

acts in buildings or apartments properly arranged and p r O
, ,

v i ded with means O f security ,

IN CONNE C T I ON WI TH S O ME ONE O F TH E L UNA T IC H O S PI T A LS .

S O much from the secretary The B oard itself in its .

,
“
first report had said There is still another class the crim i
, , ,
‘

’
nal insane for whom special provision should be made
,
.

F ormerly they were kept at the prisons confined in cells ; ,

but m ore recently they have been placed in the State hospi
tals I t is generally thought that this class O f the insane
.

should not be allowed to mingle with those who are

free from crime but should have apartments b uilt ex
,

pressly for their accomm odation The m ost appropriate .

plan for an asylum designed for this class O f insane persons

, ,

wo uld p robably be
AT ONE O F TH E ST A T E H O S PI T A L S .

The same subj ect was again re ferred to in their 5 t h 6t h

reports ; and again it is added if a proper buil ding for i n ,
“

”
sane convicts and others predisposed to violent acts should
be provided i n con n ect i on w i th on e of the S ta te L u n a ti c Hosp i ta ls ,

power should be given to this B oard to transfer from the ,

other hospitals to the one where such provision is m ade ,

persons O f the class referred to “

F ro m the other ho spi .

” "
tals O bserve not
,
— from the prisons ,
in M assach u setts
there are no insane criminals nor i n sane convicts in t h e
“ “
,
” ”

prisons .
 61

W e have referred to the inj urious and wrongful e ff ects O f

the A ct of 1 8 6 1 and we have seen the earnest counter
,

recommendations O f the I nspectors Of the E astern P eniten

t i a r y and other j ust and honorable auth orities W e h ave .
,

ourselves already pointed out

,

TH E DI S A ST ROU S C O N S E "UENCE S OF TH A T AC T ;
and now to confirm our position we beg leave to insert here
, ,

the results Of the experience and research and the carefully ,

drawn statements O f Judge B rewster on this point con

, , ,

v e ed to u s in a letter dated O ctober 1 0 1 8 7 3

y ,
.

“
NO . 21 4W E ST W A SH IN G T ON S "U A RE .

“
PH I L A DE L P H I A October 1 0 1 8 7 3
, , ,
.

“
To HON . GE O . L HARRI S ON
.
,

“
P r es i den t f
o the B oa r d f
o P u bli c Cha r i ti es ,
“
D EAR SIR
Y our communication Of A ugust 1 4, in refer
e nce to insane criminals was duly received and a ck n o w l
‘ ’

edged .

W ith your per mission the exami nation O f the authorities

which you desired was postponed until a recent date .

“
I have considered with s ome care the question you pro
p ound and the s everal A cts Of A ssembly to which you r e
,

ferred me I was induced to do this not only because O f the

.

respect due to your letter— but also because O f the peculiar

interest which ever attaches t o the subj ect of the treatment O f
persons a fflicted with the peculiar and distressing cala mity
O f insanity .

“
Y our fa vor refers me to a passage which is to be found in
a communication addressed by your B oard to the public .

A s you invite a statement of my opinion as to its accuracy ,

it is proper that I should quote it at length — i t is in t hese

words
“
The sad and anomalous condition O f insane criminals ‘ ’

‘
under the provision s of the A ct O f 1 8 3 6 relating to this
‘
class did not satisfy the p ublic mind little as the p ubli c
,
 62

‘
mind takes cognizance O f such matters and it found in ,

M iss D ix suc h an exponent of its w ishes as led to the leg ,

‘
i s la t i on of 1 8 4 5 which established the State Lunatic Hos
,
‘
pital at Harrisburg at which provision was made for t h e
,
‘
reception O f this class O f the insane in community with ,
‘
the other patients S O largely did this feature interest t h e
.

‘
public that it was the common thought that this I n s t i t u
‘
tion was created for th e special care O f this class Th e .

‘
A ct O f 1 8 6 1 practically nullified this legislation and sinc e
‘
then a great wrong has been imposed upon them which
, ,
‘
this B oard is endeavoring to remo ve V ery many of .

‘
them are consigned to the public j ails W hile wholly 1 r .

‘
responsible in t h e eyes O f the la w they are deal t wi t h b y
.

,
‘
the law as convicted criminals W e maintain that unde r
,
.

the law of t h e wisdo m and humanity O f our able and

‘

excellent j udges are n o t competent to make any other dis s

‘
position O f
“
You ask me to give my professional O pinion upon the ‘

‘
accuracy Of t h e statement j ust quoted ’
.

“
Save for y our request which implies that some one h as
,

ventured to doubt the correctnesss O f your narrative I s h ould ,

not have supposed it possible that it needed confirmation .

“
M y first impression was decidedly in favor O f its entire
truth and my subsequent exa mination of the law has con ~

firmed my original conviction .

“
By the A ct of June 1 3 1 8 3 6 it was provided that upon
, ,

the a cquittal O f a defendant in a criminal case upon the ‘

’
ground O f insanity the court S hould have the power to
,
‘

order such person to be kept in strict custody in such place

‘
and in s u ch manner as should seem fit S O long
’
‘
as such person should continue to be of unsound mind .

( A ct O f June 1 3 1 8 3 6
,
5 8 P L 1,
8 3 6 page 6 03,
. .
,
.

“
The like proceedings were authorized if the defendant
were upon arraignment found to be a lunatic and even wher e
he was about to be discharged for want O f prosecution .

“
P rior to 1 8 4 1 there was no place in which such u n for t u
nate persons could be kept in strict Custody except prisons
‘
,
.
 63

and pen i t en t ai r i es The private asylums were evidently not

.

contemplated by the law and were probably under no O bliga ,

tion to receive any person sent to them by the courts .

“
M arch 4 1 8 4 1 Governor P ort er approved an A ct to
, ,
‘

‘
establish an asylum for the insane O f this C ommonwealth .
’

This statute reflects great credit upon the gentleman who

drafted it and upon the Legislature and the Governor who pas
,
“
sed and approved Of it I t established a public asylum for .

‘
the reception and relief O f the insane Of thi s C ommonwealth .
’

The Governor was to appoint three commi ssioners to pur

chase a site and to erect a building for the accommodation
O f 3 00 patients and necessary O ffices at an exp ense not ex ,

ceedi n g
“
The 8th section Of said A ct was designed to remedy t h e
evil y ou refer to as existing unde r the statute of 1 8 3 6 I t .

provided
That the proper courts O f this C ommonwealth shall
‘

‘
have power to commit to said asylum any person w h o ,
‘
ha ving been charged wi t h an O ffence p un ishable by i m
‘
pri sonment or death shall have been declared by the ver ,

‘
dict O f a j ury or otherwise to the satisfaction Of the court , ,
‘
to have been insane at the time the O ffence was committed
and who still continues insane .
’

“
The prior A ct O f 1 7 5 1 had contained no such provision .

The A ct O f 1 8 4 1 removed the blot upon our system O f con

fining insane persons as criminals .

“
S O far as I have been able to discover there was n o ,

change in this system for many years I t evidently met with .

the support Of the people By A ct approved by Governor ,

Shunk A pril 1 4 1 8 45 a hospit al was established at Harris

, , ,

burg ( P L 1 8 4 5 p
. . .

“
The l 0t h section Of this statute repeats the humane pro
.

vision O f the A ct O f 1 8 4 1 .

M arch 1 8 1 8 4 8 Governor Shunk app oved the A ct incor

, ,

or at i n the P ittsburg Hospital P L p By a

p g ( 1 8 48 . . .
,
.

supplement to this charter approved by Governor P ollock ,

May 8 1 8 5 5 ( P L I 8 5 5 p 5 1 2) the provisions of the A ct of

,
. . .

1 8 4 1 were extended to that institution .

 64

P rovisions for the removal of insane persons from p r iso ns

and p en i t en t ar i es to insane asylums were repeated by t h e
A cts O f M ay 4 t h 1 8 5 2 ( P L 1 8 5 2 p
,
and M arch 24t h
. .
,
.
,

1 8 5 8 ( P L 1 8 5 8 pa ge
. .
,

S O the l aw stood fro m 1 8 4 1 to 1 8 6 1 D uring th ose .

twenty years the courts and all classes Of citizens were

,

satisfied with the propriety j ustice and necessity O f these ,

la w s .

“
A pril a statute was approved which prohibited
the commitment to the P ennsylvania State Lunatic A sylu m
O f any person charged with c e rtain crimes therein e n u me r

ated I t h owever contained a humane proviso which left

.
, ,

the p ower of commitment with the courts where they were

satisfied th at there was reason to believe t hat a cure Of the‘

’
insanity might be speedily e ffected ( P L 1 8 6 1 page . .
,

B ut a subsequent section authorizes the trustee s and the super

intending physician to reverse the order O f the court for if ,

they are satisfied that t h ePe is no reasonable prospect Of a

‘

’
‘
cure they may in all cases cause the patient to be r e
‘

‘
moved to the prison O f the proper county or the penitentiary
’
‘
from which he or she was sent .

“
I t is therefore unfortunately true as stated by you that
, , ,

the A ct O f 1 8 61 practically n ulli fies the h umane legislation O f

former years and that since 1 8 6 1 a great wrong has been i m
,

posed upon a class O f unfortunate persons who although not

responsible to the law are yet subj ect to confinement in prisons
,

and penitentiaries as felons These views are not a ffected in .

any wise by the A ct of A pril 20 1 8 6 9 ( P L 7 8 ) for the O ffi , ,

. .

cers O f the S tate asylums are not embraced within its provi
,

sions The A ct O f 1 8 61 stands unrepealed

. .

I am very respectfully yours

, ,

F CARRO LL B RE W S T E R
. .

I n a large number O f our sister S t at es provi c on s t i t u t i on al

"

sion has been made to secure appropriate legisla tion in behalf of

the insane ; but in order to bring the whole subj ect more fully b e
fore t h e Legi slat u r e in all its bearings or at least in a great
'

, , , ,
 65

v ariety O f points Of view we take leave to introduce here the

,

l egisla t ive provisions O f a numbe r O f States as to i nsane per

s ons charg e d or convicte d O f crime ; premising that we have
,

examined the constit utions and laws together O f t hirty -three

, ,

S tates ( all that we have been able to reach ) in relation to the ,

insane and in all cases their rights have been tenderly pro
,

t ect ed— and the legislation in behalf of the class to which we

are now di recting your attention with the single ex ception Of
,

P ennsylvania is invariably Of the most humane character

,
.

L E GI SL A T ION OF O TH ER ST A T E S IN RE L A T ION
T O IN SANE CRIMINA LS .

ARKAN S A S .

A person that becomes insane or lunatic after the commis

Sion O f a crime or misdemeanor shall not be tried for the
,

O ffence during the insanity or lunacy .

If after verdict Of gui l ty and before j udgment pronoun ced

, ,

such person becomes i nsane or lunatic then no judgment shall ,

be given while the insanity or lunacy S hall continue .

If after j udgment and before execution O f the sentence such

,

convi ct becomes insane or lunatic if the punishment be capital

,

or corporal the execution thereof shall h e stayed until the

,

recovery Of such convict fr om such insanity or lun acy .

C O NNEC TICU T .

That section two hundred and fort y three O f th e A ct -

concerning crimes and misdemeanors be amended by erasing

from the fourth line thereof the words the common j ail
“

and ins ert ing in li eu thereof the wo rds the General Hospital “

for the insane of the State O f C onnecticut .

G E O R GIA .

I t shall be the duty the physician to the peni tenti ary O f

Of

thi s State when he di scovers that any one of the convicts in

,

said peni tentiary has become lun atic or i nsane to certify the ,

same to the principal keeper Of said penitentiary and it shall ,

5
[ ]
 66

be the duty O f said principal keeper upon the receipt Of such

,

certificate to trans fer said convict to the lunatic asylum of

,

this State and shall send together with such convict a copy
,

O f said certificate together with the da

, y on which t h e ter m
of service O f such convict will expire in said penitentiary an d ,

the county fro m which he was sentenced .

L O UI S I A N A .

W henever any person arrested to answer for any crime or

misdemeanor before any court Of

this State S hall be acquitted ,

thereof by the jury or S hall not be indicted by the grand

,

jury by reason O f the insanity or mental derangement of such

,

person and the discharge or goi n g at large O f such person

, ,

shall be deem ed by the court t o be dangerous to the safety Of

the citizens or t o th e peace Of the State the cou rt is authorized
, '

and empowered to commit such person to the State I nsan e

Hospital or any similar institution in any parish within t h e
jurisdiction of the court : There to be detained u ntil he i s
restored to his right mind or otherwise delivered by du e
course of law .

MAINE .

W hen any person is indicted for a criminal ence or i s O ff ,

committed to j ail on a charge thereof by a j ustice O f the peace

or j udge O f a police or municipal court any j udge O f the court
,

before Which he is to be tried When a plea of insanity is made

in court or he is notified that it will be made may in vacation
, ,

or term time order such person into the care O f the su p er i n

tendent of the insane hospital to be detained and O bserved by
,

him till the further order O f the court that the truth or falsity
,

O f the plea may be ascertained .

W hen the grand j ury omits to find an indictment against

any person arrested by legal process to answer for any O ffence
by reason O f his insani t y they shall certify that fact to the
,

court ; and when a traverse j ury for the same reason acquits
any person indicted they shall s tate that fact to the court
,
 67

When they return their verdi ct ; and the court by a pre cep t
stati ng the fact O f insanity may commit him to prison or to
,

the insane hospit al till restored to hi s right mind or delivered

according to l a w ; bu t he s ha ll on ly r ema i n i n p r i s on t i ll p r ovi
s i on ca n be ma de f or hi m a t t he hosp i ta l a n d then r emoved
ther et o .

W hen an inmate Of
the State prison becomes insane the ,

warden shall notify the Governor O f the fact an d he with the ,

advice Of counsel shall appoint a commission O f two or more

,

skillful physicians to investigate the case a n d if such inmate ,

is found insane by their investigation he shall be sent to the ,

insane hospital until he becomes Of sound mind ; and if this

takes place before the expiration Of his sentence he shall be ,

returned to prison ; bu t if after he shall be discharged free

, .

The expenses Of the commission removal and support shall, ,

be paid by the State .

MINNE S O T A AND WI S CON S IN .

When any p erson indicted or informed against for an

,
Of

fence shall O n trial be acquitted by the j ury by reason Of i n

, ,

sanity the jury i n giving their verdict O f not gui lty shall
,

state that is was given for such cause and thereupon if the
.
,

discharge or going at large O f such insane person shall be

considered by the court manifestly dangerous to the peace and
safety Of the community the court may order him to be com
,

mi t t ed to prison or may give him into the care O f his friends

, ,

if they shall give bonds with surety to the satisfaction of the ,

court conditioned that he shall be well and securely kept ;

,

otherwise h e S hall be discharged .

O RE G O N .

I f the defence be t h e insa n ity O f the defendant the j ury ,

must be instructed if they find him not guilty on that ground ,

to state that fact in their verdict and the court must there,

upon i f it deems his being at large dange rous to the public

,

pea ce or safety order him to be committed to any lu natic

,
 68
‘

asylum authorized by the State to receive and keep such per

sons until he become sane o r be otherwise discharged there
,

from by a uthority O f law General laws O regon page

, .
,

4 69 1 70 .

NEW J ER S EY AND NEW Y O RK .

W hen a person shall have escaped indictment or have been

acquitted O f a criminal charge upon trial on the ground Of ,

insanity u pon the plea pleaded Of insanity or otherwise the

, ,

court being certified by the j ury or otherwise O f the fact ,

shall carefully inquire and ascertain whether his insanity in

any degree continues and if it does shall order him into safe
, ,

custody and to be sent to the asylum

,
.

I f any person in confinement under indictment or under ,

sentence O f imprisonment or for want O f bail for good beha

,

vior shall appear to be insane the j u dge O f the circui t ,

court O f the cou n ty where he is confined shall institute a

careful investigation call two respectable witnesses physicians
,
“

and other credible witnesses invite the pr oseciI t or Of the pleas,

to aid in the examination and if he shall deem it necessary , ,

call a j ury and for that purpose is fully empowered to compel

,

the attendance Of witnesses and j urors and if it be s at i sfact o ,

rily proved that he is insan e said j udge may discharge him ,

fro m imprisonment and order his safe custody and removal

, ,

to the asylum where he S hall remain until restored to his

,

right mind and then if the said judge S hall have so directe d
"

, ,

the superintendent shall inform the said j udge and the county
clerk and prosecutor Of the pleas thereof wher eupon he S hall ,

be remanded to prison and criminal proceedings be resumed

, ,

or otherwise be discharged .

P ersons charged with misdemeanors and acquitted on the , ,

ground of insanity may be kept in custody and sent to the

,

asylum in the same way as persons charged with crimes .

NEW YOR K .

A n A ct to organize the State Lu natic A sylum for in sane

convicts passed A pril 8th , 1 85 8
‘

.
,
 SEC 1 The building now being erected on the prison
. .

grounds at A uburn for an asylum for insane convict s shall be

, ,

known and designated as the Stat e Lunatic A sylum for insane

”
convicts .

[ A fter defining the metho d of adm i nistration the statute

,
‘

proceeds
SEC 8 W henever t h e physicians of either of the S t ate pr i s
. .

oners of this State shall certify to the insp ectors that any convict
,

is insane they S hall make immediately a full examination into the

,

condition Of such convict and shall cause such convict to be ex

,

a mi n e d by one O f the physicians Of the State Lunatic A sylum at

U tica and if satisfied that the said convict is insane or that

, ,

there is probable cause to believe such Convict to be insane ,

they shall order the agent and warden O f the prison where
such convict confined forthwith to c o nvey such convict
,

to the Stat e Lunatic A sylum for insane convicts and to de ,

liver the said convict to the superinten dent thereof who is ,

hereby required to receive said convict into the said asylum ,

and retain him there S O long as he shall continue to be insane ,

and no convict who has been c o mmitted to said asylum as

insane shall be discharged from said asylum by reason Of the
,

e x i r at i on b f the term for which he was sentenced unless t h e

p ,

relatives Of such convict shall produce to said superintend

ent satisfactory evidence O f their ability t o maintain such con
vict and S hall execute and deliver to said superintendent an
,

agreement in writing that such convict shall not be a charge

upon any public charity if such convict shall continue to be
,

i nsane at the expiration O f the time for which such convict

was sent nced

e
.

A CT O F M A Y 21 , 1 8 7 3 .

NO person , associati on or corporation shall establish or

keep any asylum in stitution house of retreat for the ca r e
, , ,

custody or treatment of the insane or persons O f unsound

,

mind witho ut first O btaining a license therefor from the Board

,

O f State C harities ; r ovi ded that this section shall not apply
p ,

to any State asylum or institution or to any asylum or insti

,
 70

t u t i on
established or conducted by any county or by any city
municipal corporation .

e the license of any asylum or

provisions Of this A ct for ,

reasons deemed satisfactory to said board ; but such revoca

tion shall be in writing and filed and notice given in writing ,

to the person association or corporation to whom such license

,

was given .

A CT OF J UNE 7 ,
1 873 .

I f any inmate of y uc h almshouse when ad m

an itted is s , ,

insane or thereafter becomes insa n e or O f unsound mind and

, , ,

the accom modations in said almshouse are not adequate and

proper in the O pinion O f the said Secretary Of the S tate Board
,

O f C harities for his treatment and care

,
the said S ecretary ,

may cause his removal to the appropriate State A sylum for

th e I nsane and he shall be received by the O ffi cer in charge
‘

O f such asylum a n d maintained therein until duly disch arged .

O H IO .

I f any person in prison shall , after the commission Of an

O ffence and before conviction become insane
,
an ex ,

a mi n i n court m y be called in the manner provided in the

‘

g a

A ct entitled and if such court S hall find that such

.

p erson became insane after the commission of the crime or ‘

misdemeanor of w h i ch h e stands or charged indicted and is ,

still insane the said court shall proceed and the prisoner
,

s hall for the time being and until restored to reason be dealt ,

w ith in like manner as other lunatics are required to be after

inquest had p r ovi ded however that if said lunatic be dis

, , ,

charged the bond given for his support and safe -keeping
,

shall also be conditioned that said luna t ic S hall when restored

t o reason answer to said crime or misdemeanor and abide the

order O f t h e co urt in the premises ; and any such lunatic

may when restored to reason be prosec ut ed for any O ffence
, ,

c ommitted by him previous to s u ch insanity .

I f any person a ft er being convicted O f any crime or mis

,

demeanor and before the execution in whole or in part O f the

,
 71

s entence O f the court become insane it shall be the duty O f

, ,

the Governor of the State to inquire into the facts and he ,

may pardon such lunatic and commute or suspend for the

,

t ime being the execution in such manner and for such a ,

period as he may think proper and may by h i s w arr ant to the

,

Sheri ff of the proper coun ty or W arden O f the O hio P eni ten

,

t i a r y O rder such lunatic to be conveyed to the asylum and

,

there kept until restored to his reason I f the sentence O f .

any such lunatic is suspended by the Governor the sen ,

tence Of the court shall be executed upon hi m after s u Ch

p eriod O f suspension hat h expired unless otherwise directed
,

by the Governor .

R H O DE I SL AND .

I f upon exami nation a judge is satisfied that the person

t hus imprisoned is insane or idi otic he shall have the power ,

to order the removal O f such prisoner from the State prison

or j ail aforesaid to be detai n ed in the S t ate A sylum fo r the
,

I nsane if he can be there received or if not in the Butler

, ,

H ospital .

Such order Of removal shall be for and during the term

O f said prisoner s sentence and be di rected to the Sheri ff O f
’
,

the county in which such prisoner stands committed .

A ny person removed as aforesaid upon restoration to reason

,

may by an order Of either Of the j udges of the Supreme C ourt

,

I n his discretion be remanded to the place O f his original con

fin emen t to ser ve out the remainder O f his term O f service
,
.

MA SS AC H U S E TTS .

The physician of the State P rison as chairman with the ,

Superintendents O f the S t ate Lunatic Hospital shall consti ,

t ute a commission for the examination O f convict s in said

pr ison alleged to be insane Each commissioner S hall receive
.

f or his services in such capacity his travellin g expenses and

t hree dollars a day for each day he is S O employed .

The C ommission shall investigate the case and if in the ,

O pinion O f t h e ma ori t y of them the convict has become i n

j ,
 72

sane and his removal would be expedient they shall so re ,

"

p ort with their reasons to a j udge O f the Superior C ourt

, , ,

who shall forthwith issue his warrant under the seal O f that
court directed to the W arden authorizing him to remov e
, ,

t h e convict to one of the S tate lunatic h ospitals the re to be ,

kept till in the O pinion O f the Superintendent and Tr ustees .

t hereof he may be recommitted consistently wi th his health

,
.

W hen a convict in the prison appears to be insane the ,

W arden or I nspector shall give notice to the chairman Of sai d

commission who shall forthwith notify the members thereof
,

to meet at the prison .

NE w H AMP SH IRE ,

The Governor With the advice O f the C ouncil may re move

, ,

to the A sylum to be there kept at the expense O f the State

, ,

any person confined in the State prison who is insane .

S O U TH CARO L INA .

A ny j udge of
the circuit court is aut horized to send to the ;

lunatic asylum every person charged wi th the commission Of

'

any criminal O ffence who shall up on the trial before him "

prove to be n on comp os men ti s and the said j udge is authori ze d

,

to make all necessary orders to carry into e ffect this power .

T ENNE SS EE .

That section 5 488 O f the code O f Tennessee be so amende d

as to read whenever the phys ician reports to the keeper O f the
,

penitentiary that any convi ct is insane and ought on that ,

account to be removed to the lun atic asylum the keeper shall ,

cause such insane convi ct to be removed accordingly there to ,

"

remain until discharged by the physician Of said lunatic

asylum .

T EXA S AND IOWA .

I f any person charged with or convi cted O f any criminal

,

O ffence be found to be insane in the court before which he is

SO charged or convicte d said cou rt S hall or der him to be con
,

v ey e d to and retained in the State Lunatic A sylum and he

.

shall be received and retained until removed by the order of ,

the court by which he was commit ed to the asylum .

I f any person after being conv icted of any crime or mis

demeanor and before the execution in whole or part O f the
,

sentence of the court becomes insane it shall be the duty of

, ,

the Go vernor Of the State to inquire into the facts and he may ,

pardon such lunat ic or co m mute or suspend for the time being

the execution in s u ch manner and for such a period as he
, ,

may think proper an d may by his warrant to the Sheri ff O f

,

the proper county or W ar den Of t h e I owa penitentiary order

, ,

su ch lunatic to be conveye d to the hospital and there kept

until restored to reason .

A s before sai d the State

,
Of N ew Y ork has made provision
for the care in hospitals O f all her insane poor F or this S h e .

is to be commended ; in this to be imitated B ut the hospital .

or asyl u m referred to in the foregoing s t atutes as t h at to ,

"

“
which insane convicts and o t hers are to be sent is a lun a
”
,

tic asylum established by a statute Of 1 8 5 8 ,

ON TH E PRI S O N G R O UND S
at A u burn expressly for this obj ect In this her p urp os e is most
,
.
,

laudable ; but the propriety O f her cou r s e is most questionable

'
,

as will more fully appear in the sequel .

This Board had the honor last year O f causing to be pre , ,

“
pared and laid before the Senate the draught O f a bill to ,

provid e for the care and keeping O f the criminal insane Of this
commonwealth —incl uding those who may be acquitted of
,

crime on the ground O f insanity A nd the proposition was .

”
,

in general terms that a departm ent a wing or a di stinct

, ,
.

building surro unded by a w all Of the hospi t al now under ,

construction at D anville should be S O plan ned arranged

, , ,

completed and organized as to make it fit suitable and con ,

v en i en t for the care keeping and treat m ent O f the class es O f

,
 74

i nsane persons referred to . I t may be proper to say that

the Board had
C H IEF L Y IN VIEW TH E MORE NUMER O U S C L A SS ,

t hose who were in prisons with criminals without ever hav ,

ing been convicted O f crime ; and that they made their

recommendation so far as regards the les s numerous class , ,
“ ”
the strictly convict insane on the assumption which , ,

we have shown may fairly be made that the vast ma ,

ri t of s ch convicts were really insane or at least i n the

j o
y u , , ,

incipient or latent stages of insanity at the time the acts ,

c harged against them a s crimes were c ommi t t edfi They

‘
,

were cases of this sort or this was the aspect Of the cases we ,

had in mind and for which we sought relief ; the others the , ,

ten per cent or so we regarded as S imply exceptions which .

, , ,

at all events should not vitiate the rule W e proposed but ,

.

di d not urge the bill ; and through mis underst an ding and in , ,

consequence O f O p position from interested parties it was lost ,

.

A t the la t e meeting in Baltimore O f the A ssociation O f

M edical Superi nt endents O f Hospitals for the I nsane it was ,

O penly stated by a member from P ennsylvania that that

“

measure was defeated ( I suppose) by the e fforts Of certain

”
members O f this association and the statement was not con ,

t r a di ct e d ( See Journal of I nsanity O ct 1 8

. 7 3 page ,
.
,

This meeti n g of medical superintendents was a notable one .

e p r t i re l a t i t t h i a e c— vic t i t h Ea t er P e i t e t iar y F eb ruary 24

R o n on o e ns n on s n e s n n n on
1 87 3 by EDW D T W N ND W arde umber t hi da t e 1 2 ,
AR O SE n n s
W W C fi rmed l u a t ic admi i
, .
, ,

on n on s s on

I m b eci l e i mi d admi i
. . .

M L n n on s s on
u d mi d admi i
. . .

T R U n so n n on s s on
u d mi d
. . .

A N U d mi n so n n on a s s on
I m b eci l e admi i
. . .

I B H on s s on
Decided ly imbeci l e whe admi t t ed
. . .
.

G V n
V er y wea k -mi ded i ce i a e
. . .

M V B S d mi i n on a s e on s n ns n
D ra S I a e admi i d remai
.
. .
, .
.

o ns n on s s on a n ns s o.
M ary 8 I a e admi i d had b ee ma t e f i a e a y l um
.

ns n on s s on a n n a n In o an ns n s
M M G V ery feeb l e -m i ded admi i
. .

c n on ss o n .
W ea k -mi ded b rderi g l u acy whe admi t t ed
. .

E L n o n on n n
I a e admi i
.
, ,

P L . . ns n on s s on .

e p r t f EDW D S W H W arde f W e t er P e i t e t iar y

R o o AR R IG T, n o s n n n on th e s ame u bj ect
s
made t t h ame t ime Num b er f i a e c vic t i P e i t e t iary 8
.
, ,
a es o ns n on s n n n
P ri er N 3 3 24 me t a l hea l t h im p aired a d mi i
.
, .

s on o .
, n ,
on s s on .

at u
3 7 20,
3 7 5 0,
3 95 8
t ‘ t ‘
4006
4 008 ,
401 9, i a e ns n on admi i s s on
i a e admi i
.

4 03 0, ns n on s s on .
 75

B elievi ng that the case Of the prop o sed law j ust referred to ,

had not been full y understood and wishing to have t he subj ect ,

freely and thoroughly ventilated we addressed to t h e P resi ,

d ent O f this associat ion the foll owi ng communication : ,

P h i la de lp h i a , Ma y 28 i h, 1 8 7 3 .

D R J S BU TL ER
. . .
,

P r es i den t f
o Con ven t i on of M edi ca l S up er i n ten den t s f or t he In s a n e .

“
D ear sir The morni ng papers inform me that the impor
,
—

tant humanitarian body over which you preside h as as ,

sembled for the consideration of the interes t s O f the insane

in convention at Baltimore O n other like occasions the
.
,

commissioners O f this board have been honored wi t h an i n vi

t a t i on —t o be r epresented O f course in presence merely
, ,
but ,

s t ill we are glad to be apprised O f your meeting by publ ic

announcemen t and ventu re to address you on a subject O f

,

great interest to this Board an d one which we think has , , ,

e scaped any authoritative ac t ion of your body .

“
W e refer to the subj ec t O f t h e care of the criminal i n ‘

s ane .
’
W e are led t O refer this mat t er t o you f or a cti on b e ,

cause of an unsuccessful e ffort made by this Board t o have a

precedent established by the Legisla t ure O f the St ate O f P enn
s ylvania to construct a departmen t for this class u on t h
, p e

g r o u n ds of t h e H os
p i t a l f or t he I ns a n e a t Dan vi lle P en n a ,
’
.
,

for the reception and treatment Of ( for t h e most part ) t h e

irresponsible insane wh o are n ow incarcerated in t h e peniten
,

t i ar i es and j ails O f this C ommonwealth .

“
I t is true that we did not press this matter upon the Legis
l at u r e believing that the S imple propositi on should be s u ffi
,

c ient for favorable acti o n ; but as the higher advice O f r ep r e

s en t at i ve s from t his Stat e in y o ur C onvention prevailed to

defeat the measure which we propo sed we feel j ustified in ,

asking y o u to take such definite action as will have like i n fl u

ence in protectin g the class who are commi t ted in this State , , ,

a t least I am glad o say not in all other Stat es ) to t h e mis

( ,
t
’
eries Of a felon s doom .

“
I n noticing this subject I beg your permission to ve n ture
 76

on a few O b s ervations on the subj ect and in doing so I ex ,

press the mind O f every member O f this B o ard .

I t is a fact patent to all of us that multitudes O f i r r es p on,

rible criminal insane are now in the prisons O f many of t h e

Sta t es and i t is equally true that the influence O f the body
, .

kno w n as t h e A ssocia t ion O f M edical Superintendents O f

A merican I nstitu t ions for t h e I n s an e has exercised a most ,
.

potent and salut ary influence in shaping the legislation O f ,

the several Sta t es in behalf O f this a fflic t ed class O f their

,

citizens .

Believi n g that your influence wi ll avail to check the enor

mous wrong which the class we refer t o su ffer we ask your ,

intervention in their behalf and urge you t o set forth a di s

,

tinct and defini t e policy which shall satisfy its demands .

“
W e know that in Great Britain there are two asylums for
,

the specially criminal insane one at Broadmoor not far from , .

London a distinct institu t ion with accommodations for from

,

five t o six hundred in mates and on e at P ert h Scotland , ,

under penal j u r i s di s di ct i o n but in charge O f a special super

,

i n t en den t .

W e know that on t h e con t in ent O f E urope there is no special

“

provision for the criminal in sane ; it being held by the most

distinguished alienist physicians and so proclaimed in many
works on psychological subj ects that ins anity shou ld level all ,

distinctions ; and as D r M anning reports that the great gulf

,
.
,
‘

which separates the con vi ct from the honest man is bridged

over by insanity that when sick in body t h e p risoner should ,

be kept within his prison and treated for his malady but ,

when sick in mind the prison should be O pened and the badge
,
”
O f the convict be forgo t ten .

I n this view the well known human i tarian M iss Di x

, , ,

conc urred .

W e also kno w t hat in these U nited States there is an asy

“

lum for insane convicts at Auburn N ew Y ork intended , ,

origi n all y fo r t h e reception of such as became insane when

convict s but more recen t ly fo r t hose also who have be en
, , ,

acquit t ed on the ground of insani t y W e know Of no other .

 77

s pecial provision made for this class unle ss it be in j ails , .

I n the State of P ennsylvania there are no t we think over , ,

t en per cent of the number who are now co nfined in the

.

p enitentiaries and j ails who on the repo rt of the wardens,

and ’

prison -keepers w ere not insane when sentenced and of thi s

, ,

s mall percentage some O f course were mentally imbecile or

, , , ,

i n the incipient stage of ins anity when the cr i m e was com ,

mi t t ed The law hol ds them to be irresponsible and still

.
‘
,
’
, ,

t hey are held as felons by the act of the la w A s has been .

well said th e courts fail to detect the disability for want of

‘

a proper defenc e or because the me n t al disease is still latent

’
.

The j ails thus receive these forlor n wards of the State ‘ ’

forsaken by man not we believe by God ,

W e could, ,
.

e numerate instances O f marked cruelty in individual cases

.
,

but we point only to the injustice w hich must inevitably

o ppress them when subj ec t ed to the treatment of prisoners
,

in the State and co unty j ails : Thei r lightest afli i c t i on being

perpetual incarc era tion wit hin th e limits of a cell without the ,

s lightes t consideration of their su fferings or their needs .

This is the cas e Cert ainly in P ennsylvania

“

.
, ,
“
There w ill be n o dispute as to the impo licy as well
a s the wrong -doing of such p roceedings These irre ‘ ’ ‘
.

’
s ponsible citizens are as is O ften said wards of the State ‘ ’
, ,
.

Surely no O fficial of the S tate no priva t e citizen who is the , ,

head of a family would overlo o k the claims O f his own chil

,

dren They would extend th e solace and the help all the more
.

for their i n fir mi t ies .

“
I n the year 1 8 7 1 the M assachusetts Board O f P ublic
C harities addressed co mm unications to the Superintendents
o f the lunatic hospitals O f that S tate requesting t h eir vie w s
,

o n certain points Th at which concerns this Board is the in

.

quiry as to the p r ovi s i on which should be made for the class

t o whom we refer
- I t i s highly honorable in our j udgment
.
, ,

t o the intelligence as well as to the humanity of each of these

distinguished gentlemen that neither reco mmended that a ,
'

hospital for the criminal insane should be an appendage or

‘ ’

a n appurtenance of a prison or built at all on prison grounds ,

.
 78

O n the contrary although one of them to relieve the urgency

, ,

of the case admits that he has recommended the fitting up

,

of a lunatic ward in the State P rison to be p laced under the ,

special care of the prison physician still he declares there , ,

‘

Would be but little O bj ection aside from sentiment to the , ,

treatment of lunatic convicts in a properly constructed hos

pital for the insane where they would not mingle indis
‘

cr i mi n a t ely wi t h t h e other classes O f pati ents ’

A nothe r .

says I would not advocate making it an adj unct of the Stat e

,
‘

P rison or any penal instit ution The last after recommendin g

,
.
’
,

that a distinct institution b e established for th e recep t ion of

this class says with the knowledge that they are provi ded for
, , ,

[ in M as s ] in the State lunatic hospi t als if t h e S u

p er i n t en ,
‘

den t and Trustees of any State lunatic hospital and the .

,
:

general agent of the Board of S t ate C harities concur in t h e ,

O pinion that a patient of said hospital ought to be removed

to said b uilding he should be so removed This is the alter

,
.

native to care and treatment in a general hospi t al for the

insane : in P e n nsylvania [it would be] from a priso n to a ,
; .

hospital .

“
A s the result Of the investigations of this intelligent ;

C ommission and the views forcibly presented by the

,

alienist physicians of t h eir own State viz D rs Godding, ,

.
,
. .

E arle and Bemis this cautious Board has recommended i n

, ,

their present report j ust i ssued the es ta bli s hmen t of a hosp i ta l

, ,

cr i mi n a l i n s a n e h
’
or the o be p la ced n ea r en ou gh on e o f
f
‘
t ,
t e

other S ta te hosp i ta ls f or the i n s a n e to be u n der t he s a me a d

mi n i s tr a ti on .

This B oard concurs in the principle which underlies thi s

recommendation as well as in its practical wisdom ; for as t o, ,

t h e la t t e r it cannot be expected that any one State will incur the

,

expense of an independent establishment for this class and

the cost of its proper oversi g ht and maintenance A s has .

been already stated there is but one in E ngland whose ,

population approximates to our own [that of the U nited ,

State s ] A s to the former there i s no mor a l gr ou n d upon ,

 79

which the separation of the two classes can be based I t i s .

simply the ground of disagreeableness to those who conduct ,

the institution to a small propor t ion O f the patients and t o

, ,

some O f their friends I t is sentiment and this we admit

.
‘

should be religiously regard ed in the considerat ion of every

p rovision for the insan e Let it n ot be overlooked in behal f
.

of the class we are now consideri n g "W e say sen timent only ,

for the s Ch eme p roposed to our Legislature provided for a

separate and secure building separately enclosed with suit ,

able walls bu t to be un der the s up er vi s i on of the S up er i n ten den t

,

e Gen er a l Hosp i ta l on the same p remises

”
of t h ,
.

“
Believi n g that our views have been clearly conveyed in
this communica t ion and excusing its crudeness by t h e
, ,

Obvious necessity O f has t e I beg most respectfully to com

,

mit the subj ect t o your thoughtful determination and action ;

and I trust that they may be S O enlightened as to reflect ,

honor upon your body and yo urselves i n di v i du aly — not

merely for the present b ut for all time ,
.

I a m mos t respectfully yours

'

GE O L
. . H ARRI S ON ,
”
P r es i den t .

W hen the association entered upon the consideration of

this letter the following resolutions were Off ered
,
“
W H EREA S The proper disposal of that class Of the i h
,

sane whose criminal acts require their seclusion and c onfi n e

,

ment is a matter on W
,
hich this association is requested t o
express an O pini on ,

1 R es olved Therefore as the O pinion Of this associa t ion

.
, , ,

that neither j ails and penitent iaries nor ordinary hospi t als ,

for the insane are proper receptacles for this class O f persons ;
but that they should be cared for in establi s hments designed
expressly and solely for t h em .

2 R es olved That under no ci r cu n s t an ces should insane

.
,
‘

’
convicts be associated with other insane per sons believin g ,
 80

that such an association is not ca lculated to improve the con

dition O f the latter and that the best interests O f the form er
,

require a special manage ment and architectural arrangements ,

O f a peculiar kind both very di fferent fro m such as are

,

adapted to the needs of other classes of the insane .

“
3 R es olved also that the ex ample of the State of N ew
.
, ,

Y ork which has thus provided for its criminal insane as

,
‘
,
’

they are usually called be commen ded to imitation by other ,

”
Sta tes ei t her singly or collectively
,

W e take the liberty of reproducing here some Of the most

note worthy utterances w h ich this discussion called forth in
-

the association as they ar e p u bli sh ed in the j on r n al of i n

,

s anity before cited

,
.

D r Shew Superintendent of the General Hospital for the

.
,

I nsane M iddle t own C onn

,
I f the resolutions refer to per
,
.
,
“

so n s who commit acts whi ch would be considered criminal

were they not insane I cannot concur in all the resolutions
,
.

M any of the patients received in our hospital commit those

acts and are sent to the hospital because they are dangerous
,

to society ; — dangerous as insane persons I t seems to me that .

t here can be but one O pinion and that is that insane criminals ,

should be separated entirely from patients in hospitals F irst .

,

because of the dangerous influence upon other patients ;

secondly because of the O d ium which it brings on the insti
,

t u t i on and the unpleasant feeling whi ch the friends of the

,

patients have in supposing or believing that their loved ,

ones are associating daily a n d hourly with criminal persons .

”

“
I n practical experience I have not found that insane ‘

convicts are particularly obj ectionable in themselves — not so

’

much as D r Shurtle ff and D r C ur w en have

.
[ D r Cu r w en . .
”
.

“
has not given his remarks in the O fficial publicatio n ] Three
years ago the Legislature O f C onne ct i cut passed a la w r eq ui r
i n g the Trustees O f the Hospital at M iddletown to receive all
insane convicts after a proper examination which w a s ,

specified and a commission appointed W e had no s eparat e

,
.
‘
 81

provision and were obliged to r eceive them in the hospital

,

proper ,

AND P L ACE TH E M IN A SS O CIA TI O N

with the other patients Since that time twelve insane con .

victs have been transferred from W et h er s field to Middletown ;

two of that number have escaped ; one O f them feigned i n
s anity ; arrangements had been made to transfer h i m to W eth

e r s fiel d but he escaped the very night before the transfer was
,

t o be made O f the ten others seven have been among the

.
,

most valuable farm laborers harmless industri ous and , ,

peaceable and yet positively insane ; much less dangero u s

,

than many O f the chro ni c pa t ients O ne of the numbe r has .

b een very valuable the past few years in sharpeni ng the ,

t ools used by t h e stone cutters in the erection of the t w o -

wings saving the cost of one skill ed mechanic I t was his

,
.

t rade and occupation before being sent to prison ,

.

N O NE O F TH E S EVEN W H O HAVE B EEN E MP L O YE D EVER

‘

A TT EMP T ED TO E S CAPE .

[ Wh y then w a s i t, tha t i n t he ca s e of t he ei
g h t i n s a n e con vi cts

s en t to t he H a r r i s bu r g In s ti t u ti on five ma n a ged ,
to
“
They are generall y liked by the patients and are not more ,

t roublesome than others The friends of the patients [ pay ‘

.

’
ing patients doubtless ] O bj ect to the association and in my
, ,

report last year I call ed the attention of the Legislatur e to

,

that fact and asked that an appropriat ion be made for a sep
,

a rate buil di n g di st i nct from the main hospital a co t tage S i m

, ,

ply to provide for the insane convicts

,
D ur ing the .

present year we h Op e to have a buildi ng for the a ccommoda

,

t i on of t w en ty p er s on s in whi ch we will provide for a ll the i n

,

san e convic t s There have been only th ree transferred from

.

W et h er s field each year .

”

D r Shew then assuming that the population an d r e

.
, ,

so urces O f so me of the States and the number Of their i n ,

sane convicts may be such as to warrant the construction in

,

each of an entirely separate hospital for their accommoda

,

tion with all the best appointments for t heir proper care
,

6
[ ]
 82

and treatment p roceeds to express in that case his prefer

,
—
, ,

ence for having such a hospital intended exclusively for t h e ,

insane convicts proper erected on the grou n ds of the State ,

P rison rather than on those of a general hospital ; but

,

otherwise and for other States he clearly prefers such an

, ,

arrangement as he has described at M iddletown .

D r C o mpton of M ississippi
.

“
The third resolution I think I would a mend because that ,

condemns the action of my o w n State in this matter I t de .

clares that under no circumstances should insane convicts be

permitted to associate with other insane persons believing ,

that such associatio n is not calculated to be nefit the insane '

&c . I would be very decidedly against the first part of t h e

resolution that under no circumstances should they be
, ,
‘

associated I w ou ld ta ke them i n to my a sy lu m r a ther tha n let

.
’
,

them r ema i n i n the p en i ten ti a r y or j a i l I n the a bs en ce of th e .

p pr o er p r ovi s i on s I w ou ld t a k e them
,
o f
ut o t h e p en i t en ti a r
y a n d
a i ls a n d p u t them i n to my a s y lu m
”
j ,
.

D r E arle p f N orthampton M ass

, ,

I would put the convict insane in a separate institution ,

independent of all o t her institutions .

I W OULD PUT IN TH E S AME P L ACE ,

those who have been tried for crime and acquitted on t h e

ground of insanity ; then those incendiary and homicidal
patients who never had been tried for crime I would make
,
.

the provision that they should be removed to that i n s t i t u

tion but not unless it was decided by the Superintendent of
,

the hospital and the Board of State C harities and its agents ;
,

all these authorities must concur before a man who had com ac

mi tt ed a criminal act and had not been convicted of crime , ,

should be removed [not from the com mon hospital to th e

penitentiary or prison but ] from the common hospital t o ,

this institut ion This applied o nly to the incendiary and

.

'

homicidal class because ,

OUR MO ST DAN GER O U S P A TIEN TS ARE NO T C ONVI C TS .

,

and have never been tried for crime and acquitted on the
”
ground of insanity .
 83

D r Gundry of A thens O hio

, ,

I n endorsing the action of the State of N ew Y ork we go ,

furt her than my amendment would contemplate because we ,

endorse this course They have done very well in providing

.

a hospital for insane convicts but with those insane convicts ,

they send persons who are compelled to mingle with them ,

whose acts of v iolence were committed in th eir diseased con

dition I t is urged that this is a ma t ter of expediency b e
.
,

cause the hospitals are not able to contain them for various
reasons .

IF T
TH E H O S P I A L S A R E NO T P R O PE RLY CON ST RUC T ED MAKE
T HE M so.

I f special arrangement are required for violent patients ,

”
have those special arrangements made The doctor then .

goes on to speak w ith more kindness than respect of Boards ,

of State C harities but with this we have nothing to do

,
.

D r Smit h of F ulton M issour i

.
, ,

I must also obj ec t to that part of on e of the resolutions

—
,

which endorses the N ew Y ork law Those conversant with .

this law infor m us that one of its provisions requires that

all acquitted o n the gro und of insanity shall in the disere , ,

t ion of the j udge be sent to the sa me institution desi gned

,

for convicts .
[ A
”
nd he might have added,
standing as a de ,

a r t men t of the State P riso n ] Such a provision as this I

p
cannot endorse E n dor s i n g thi s la w w ou ld be eq u i va
.

len t to en dor si n g the p u n i s hmen t of the i n s a n e beca us e of the ,

a cq u i tta l of cr i me the penalty of assigning them to a position

most repulsive to their feelings and those of their friends ,

and one that would not only retard but often prev ent r e
co ver
y
”
[ W
. ha t would the D octor have said of sending
them a s w e do not to a common hospital but to a co mmon
, , ,

prison We have p a ti en ts i n our i n s ti tu ti on w ho p r i or to a d , ,

mi ssi on commi tted ter r i ble deeds , a n d n o dou bt ther e a r e s uch i n

, , ,

mos t hosp i ta ls f or the i n s a n e W e have fathers who killed .

their wives and children and a mother wh o killed her hus

band all under the influence of delusions in regard to di ffer
,
 84

ent members of their fam i lies These patients have been a s .

orderly quiet and p leasant as any in our building ; have

,

shown n o tendency to violence and exerted no inj uriou s ,

”
influence over others .

The resolutions were amended and finally passed as fol

lows ; and were transmitted to us as t h e response of the
A ssociation .

“
WH ERE A S The P resident of the B oard of C hari t ies of
,

P ennsylvania has requested that this A ssociation should ex

p ress its opinion in regard to the proper disposition of insane
convicts therefore
, ,
“
R es olved 1 That neither the cells of penitent i ar i es and
,
.

j ails nor the wards of or dinary hospitals for the insane are
,

proper places for the custody and treatment of t his class of

the insane .

“
2 That when the number of this class in any State ( o r
.

in any two or m ore adj oining S tates which will u n ite in the
p roj ect) is su fficient to j ustify such a course these cases ,

should be pla ced in a hospital speci ally provided for the pur
pose : and that until this can be done they should be treated ,

in a hospital connected with some prison and not in the ,

wards nor in separate buildings up on any part of the gro unds ,

”
of an ordinary hospital for the insane .

The published report of t h e debate from which we have ,

made the foregoing citations as containing important medi ,

cal opinions bearing on the subj ect i n hand would have been ,

more co mp lete and fair as w ell as less liable to mi s u n der

,

standing i f the letter from this B oard which called it forth

, , ,

had not been suppressed I t would then have appeared that

.

bo t h the debate and the final ac t ion of the A ssociation failed

'

to grasp the p recise points presented in t h e let t er They .

treated the s ubj ect with reference to an ide a l standard rather ,

than with reference to the actual la w s and practice of P enn

sylvania in the case .

The whole debate and the final actio n were eventually

“ ”
n arrowed down to the case of insane convicts exclusively ,
 “
instead of taki n g into view all the classes of the criminal
insane so c a ll ed w h i ch were presented for their considera
,
”
,
~

tion .

I t is instructive however to compare the resolutions

, ,

finally ad o pted with those origin ally proposed .

~

1 B oth se s of resolutions agree

. t — and so did apparently , ,

e very member of the A ssocia t ion in the most em phatic

-

ma nner— i n the fundamental principle that neither the cel ls ,

of j ails and peni t entiaries nor the wards of ordina ry hospital s ,

for the insane are p r op er r ecep ta cles f or the cus tody a n d tr ea t

,

men t of that class Of the i nsane w hose case was under con ,

sideration .

2 T he resolutions adopted confine themselves to the care

IN S ANE C O NVIC TS A S S UC H ,

a porti o n only of the cases submitted for consideration while ,

the original preamble included the proper d i sposal of that “

class of the insane whose criminal acts require their s ecl u

,
”
sion and confi nement P recisely what class was intended
.

t o be thus described might be doubted but if simply , ,

”
“
insane convicts were intended it was a very circuitous ,

way Of saying so .

3 I t is not expressly and p ositively dec lared in these as

.
, ,

in the former resol utions that un der no circums t ances should , , ,

“ ”
insane convict s be associated wi t h other insane persons ;
but merely that t hey should be tr eated
IN A HO S PI T A L S PE CIA LLY P R O V I DE D F O R TH E P U R P O SE .

I t is left an pen question whether or n ot o t her special

O

classes O f insa ne persons may be treated in the same specially

‘

provided hospital i e supposing such h os pital n ot to be On

,
. .

prison grounds and at the same time not a depar t ment Of

,

any ordinary hospital for the insane .

4 The commendation of the N ew Y ork plan of sending

.
,

other insane persons besides convicts t o a hospital connected

with a S t ate prison is carefully avoided ,
.
 86

5 . A separate hospital for this class

separate from pri ,
—

sons as well as ordinary hospital s — is proposed as the pro

per and desirable plan — provided it can be had .

6 U ntil such a hospital can be had it i s proposed as an

.
, ,

imperfect temporary and unsatisfactory substitute —but

, ,

as m uch better than giving insane c onvicts no special or

“

re medi al treatment at all that they i 6 , ,

. .

TH E S T R I CT LY “
IN S A NE C ONVIC TS ”
AS S UC H A ND BY
T H E M SE L V E S ,

sh ould be treated in a hospital connected with s o me pri son ,

“ ”
rather than on the grounds of any ordinary hospital for
the insane .

The conclusions t h u s r ea ch ed as far as they g o would be

'

, ,

quite in harmony with t h e views O f this Board e xcept per , ,

haps in the last -mentioned particular ; and on that point

, , ,

there might be no substantial disagreement when the case is ,

narrowed down to the precise circumstances contemplated ,

and the precise expressions employed I t i s i n ter ms a n u n .

, ,

des i r a ble a lter n a ti ve w hi ch i s th us p r es en ted

,
W e think and .
,

we shall hope to show that it is

NEI TH ER R EA S ONA B L E NOR NECE SS ARY T O RE S O R T T O

S UC H A N A LT E RNA T IVE A T A LL .

The plan of two or more States j oini ng in the erection or

support of a hospital for insane convicts is not new Such .

a plan was proposed and drawn out at large by D r E d w ard .

Jarvis of M assachusetts in 1 8 5 7 in a very able and s u gges

, ,
“
tive paper on the criminal insane W e cannot but regard .
”

all such propositions as simply futile .

NO T WO O R MORE ST A T E S WI LL EVER C O M B INE

i n building a common hospital for their insane convicts ;

nor will any one St ate ever provide such a hospital for the
use O f other States In reference to such j oint action the
.
,

case of insane convicts is very different from that O f the

 87

blind O r deaf mutes or the ordinary insane W e may there .

fore dismiss such suggestions as visionary a n d illusory : A nd

the fact that Un i ted S ta tes convicts are received into the con
vict prisons of several Of the States in the absence of a na ,

t i o n a l prison furni shes no parallel at all to the expe dient

,
’
s uggested of one State taking charge of a nother State s con
,

victs I t may be quite p ossible and fair also for a child t o

.
, , ,

a ccommodate a parent in an emergency ; and impracticable

a n d unreasonable to extend like assistance to a fellow child .

But let it be O bserved in any case that we make no obj ecti on ,

t o the j oint action O f several S t ates in the premises ; we only

express a decided O pinion that it will never be brought
a bou t

I t remains then for each State to make provision for her

, , ,

s elf
. W e must consider the subj ect in this point of view if ,

we are to give it any p r a cti ca l consideration at all N ow no .

one State not even N ew Y ork or P ennsylvania has such a

—
, ,

number of i n s a n e con vi cts in the strict sense of the terms as

, ,

would warran t the er ection and equipment of a comple t ely

separate hospital for their exclusive care and treatment :
Such a hospi t al as should furnish t hem the best supervision
and at t endance — and nothing less oug ht to be furnished
t hem . The nu mber of such convicts in this State is proba
bly not many more at any one time than could be a cc ommo ,

dated i n D r She w s little cottage attached to his hospital

.
“ ’
.
”
.

F or i t is to be O bserve d that the magnitude of the existing

e vil in this particular case consists not S O much in i t s nu
,

merical extent as ,

IN TH E PRINCIP L E INV O L VED A ND IN I TS ,

R AMIFYIN G
CONNE C T I O N S .

Th e State has no right to O ffset economy agai nst an i n

j us t ice or against inhu manity ; but S h e has a right in doi ng ,

j us t ice to study economy ; and S h e is likely more fully to

,

meet the demands O f j us t ice and humanity on the whole

and in the long run , when she makes her plans with a far
 88

seeing and systematic economy than when she indulges , in

S pasmodic extravagance .

I t may be assu med as another settled thing that ,

TH E S T A TE W IL L NEVER E S T A BLIS H AN EN T IRE L Y

S EPARA T E H O S PI T A L ,

separate from all co n nection either with priso n s or with ordi

nary hospitals ,

F OR TH E EXC L U S IVE A CCO MM O D A T ION O F T WEN T Y OR

T H IR T Y IN S ANE C ONVIC TS
“

and provide it with all the appointments O f a complete h os

pital for the care and t reatment of the insane This plan
m
.

may be dis issed as equally visionary and illusory with the

other .

But it is not to be forgotten that besides the strictly insane ,

convicts there are other analogous and closely bordering

,

classes O f insane persons yet to be provided for in this

State : ( 1 ) Those who have been convicted O f crime but ,

have served out their sentences and continue insane ; and O f

these there may be nearly as many as of the others ( 2)
,
.

Those who have been charged with crime but are found i n ,

b
sane efore trial o r sentence these are a class nearly as nu
—

mer o u s probably as the insane convicts and yet they are

, , ,

not ins a ne convicts ( 3 ) Those who have committed terrible .

acts O f violence or destruction as homicide arson burglary , , ,

&c and have been acquitted O f crime on the ground O f i n

.
,

sanity ; but who for the safety of t h e c ommu n i t y must be

'

, , ,

kept under the most watchful and p erhap s rigorous restraint ,

as well as provided with the most skillful curative treatment .

A L L TH E S E C L A SS E S ARE NO W IN O U R J AI LS AND
PENI T EN T I A RIE S OR P O OR H O U S E S ,

or are by law liable to be there and other classe s beside ,

them and their case is to be provided for as well as that

"Th e foll owi n g fac t s are re p or t ed b y t h e Ge n era l A g e n t of t hi s Bo ard u der da t e N
n : ov 1
I n s a n e fre q ue n t l y s e n t i n t o p ri s on some t ime s a s ma n y a s eigh t or t en t a t ime w h
.
,
a o a re
e p t u i l t h c ur t decide W ha t di p i t i ma k e f t hem
, ,

k nt e o s s os on to o
l u a t ic e t e ced N v 1 3 t h 1 8 6 8 f day t e t er bai l d behavi r
.

One n s n n o .
, , or t en s, o n for g oo o . In
 89

of the strictly insane convicts A nd even if a special hos .

pital should be provided for insan e convicts in connection ,

with some p ris o n or penitentiary and on the prison ground ,

rather t han in connect i on with o ne O f the State Lunatic

A sylums and with the i mperfect appointments and s up er v i
,

sion which mus t needs characterize such an es t ablishment ,

considered as a mere department Of the prison ; we will not

“
ask now whet her this is all that is d ue to the insane con
”
victs t hemselves but we do ask whether those o t her classes ,

O f insane persons ought to be

S EN T TO S UC H A H O S PI T A L TO A SS O CIA T E WI TH TH E IN S ANE ,

CO NVIC TS IN A DEPAR T MEN T OF A PRI S O N ?

E ither tha t left in the cells of the j ails and penitentiaries

, ,

or poorhouses w her e th ey a r e But it is asked why not send ,

.
,

them in such a case to t h e ordinary lunatic hospitals W e

, ,

answer by asking why they are n ot un iformly sent there

now ? or why when sent there they are exposed to be r e
, , ,

ma n ded to the prison cells

I t may b e S aid that this very class of criminal insane “

”
a r e in the hospitals and that the returns to this Board
“
,

from these institutions present this fac t continua lly W e

.

have not denied or disputed the fact W e have not fo und .

fault with the lit t le good that is done ; but only with t h e
great wrong doing which so completely obscures and over -

shadows it The law S hould declare the rights of every citi

.

zen and vindicate them uniformly and witho ut exception

, ,

especially the rights of the poor and defenceless .

I n fact the whole question is narrowed down to these

points
defaul t f b ai l he h b ee c fi ed ever i ce Th c u e f h i de t e t i i t h wa t f
o as n on n s n e a s o s n on s e n o
ui t a b l e acc mm da t i i t h C u t y Al m h u e
.

s o o on s n e o n s o s
E igh t i a e were e t t t hi p ri i 1 8 7 2 a ll f wh m were t ra ferred t t h C u t y
.

ns n s n o s s on n o o ns o e o n
Alm h u e
,

s o s
l u a t ic c fi ed i ce l a t wi t er w e t here fr m t h p rh u e f afet y t
.

O ne n on n s n s n as s n o e oo o s or s no
bei g a b l e t k ee p her t t h l a t t er , ,

n o a e
crimi a l i a e c fi ed ear l y i year u der a charge f ar
.

” ”
O ne n ns n on n n s x s n o s on .

O nem charged wi t h havi g t l e a h r e w

an cq ui t t ed t h g r u d f i a i t y
n s o n o s as a on e o n o ns n
t i ll c fi ed
, ,

b t i
u s s on n

c mmi t ed f t hrea t t k i ll
.

O ne o t or o
t ch rged wi t h crime c mmi t t ed f a fe-k ee p i g
.

O nem an n o a o or s n
I a e fre q ue t l y c mmi t t ed
.
,
ns n n o
charged wi h a em p t t h t uffer u der me t a l di rder
.

O ne t tt o s oo s s n n so
I a e fre q ue t l y c mmi t t ed
.
,
ns n n o .
 90

1 . I t is agreed on all h ands that neither p risons nor ordin

ary hospitals with the ordinary arrangements are fit places
, ,
“ ”
for the custody and treatment of insane convicts .

2 The c o -operation O f several States in establishing or

.

maintaining a special hospital for that pur pose is o ut O f the ,

question .

3 I t is equally o ut of the question for one S tate for this

.
,

Sta te to p rovide for the exclusive use o f this class O f insane

, ,

an entirely separate institution with the proper hospital ,

equipment and superintendence .

4 Their sp ecial hospital therefore if they are to have

.
, ,

any must either be upon the grounds of a p r i s on and an

,

appendage to it with the imperfe ct and insufficient s u p er vi

,

sion of the prison physician the attendance O f prison over

-
,
‘

seers or keepers and the atm osphere Of prison associations

, ,

Or
UP O N TH E G R O UND S OF S OME ST A T E H O S PI T A L ,

SO as to be under the same supervision of high and appro

r i a t e medical character t h e same attendance and the same
p , ,

curative influences ; though while a department of th e hos

,

pita l it may be made as completely secure and kept as sepa

,

rate from i t as may be thought best — to be denominated not ,

“ ” ”
the convict department or the criminal department but ,
“ ”
simply the S pecial department of such a hospital This .

remains
TH E ON L Y PRAC T ICA L A LT ERNA T IVE .

I f the former course is chosen , the patients will not be

secured tha t degr ee of s ki llf u l tr ea tmen t a n d of hu ma n e a n d ca r e
f which
u l a tten da n ce, is their d u e and without which there is
,

small prospect of thei r recovery ; and what is perhaps more , ,

it would be
U TT ER L Y UN J U ST A ND O U T RA GE OU S To RE T AIN T H O SE O TH E R
C L A SS E S O F TH E IN S ANE ,

if placed in the same hospital w ith the convi ct s — not onl y

i n connection wi t h those convicts but in associatio n with ,
 91

t he and the character and the O dium O f the peniten

s c en e s

t i ar y E ven that might indeed be an improvement upon

.
, ,

their present condition ; b u t in principle and in fact the

wrong inflicted upon them would be the same ; they would
still be
C O N S I GNED T O TH E PENI T ENT IARY .

E ither this , we say again , or they must be sent to ordinary

hospitals .

I f on the other hand the latter alternative is chosen then

, , ,

thi s sp eci a l or s ep a r ate dep a r tmen t of the hosp i ta l i n s tea d of bei n g ,

r e a r ded a s p r op er l i n ten ded or i n s a n e con vi cts ma y a n d s hou ld

g y f ,

be r ega r ded a s i n ten ded chi efly a n d i n t he fir s t i n s ta n ce f or th e ,

a ccom odm a t ion a n d s a

.fe -keep i n g of the thr ee a n d p er haps ,

other c la s s es o
, f i n san e
p er s on s a bove des cr i bed ; a n d the f a r

less n u mer ous c la ss of i n s a n e con vi cts ma y be r ega r ded a s

bei n g a dmi t ted i n the cha r a cter of i n s a n e to a hi gher p os i ti on
, ,

t ha n as,
con vi cts they cou ld
,
c la i m ; and meantime the , ,

infamy Of incarcerating innocent and helpless men an d

women in the OI i mi n al S dungeon would be done away ’
,

while the ordinary hospi t als would be relieved from the

charge of some O f the insane who require the most ,

special and expensive arra n gements for their safe -keeping .

I t w ou ld n ot be tha t the i n s a n e of thes e other c la s ses w ou ld be

t hr u s t i n to a con vi ct hosp i ta l ; bu t con vi cts w ou ld be mi tted
ad to

a hosp i ta l i n ten ded f or other c las ses . And even t hi s n eed n ot con

ti n u e, a n d s hou ld con ti n u e no lon ger tha n ti ll the S ta t e s hou ld

, ‘

feel j u s tified in es ta bli s h i n

g a tota lly s ep a r a te h osp i ta l f or the
i n san e con vi cts thems elv es . If till the n it be thought a wrong
, ,

to t h ese other classes of lunatics that convicts though i n , ,

sane like themselves and equally irresponsible should be

, ,

thrust upon their society at all we answer that among ,

these classes as little of actual association or intercourse

might be allowed even within this separate d epart ment or
,

wing O f the hospital which t hey would occupy in common

, ,

as might be thought advisable A t all events , to be obliged .

 92

to be a ssociated with insane convicts in a common hospit al i s

s ma ll gr ou n d f or comp la i n t in comparison to be i ng thrust in t o
,

association with felons sane as Well as insane in a common

, ,

prison A s to the inmates of the other departments of th e

.

general hospital on whose grounds this special and separate

,

department would stand f o r u s or for their friends to think

,

of any hardship or degradation to them in consequence of

their s ep a r a te con n ecti on w i th thi s dep a r tmen t is surely nothi n g , , ,

less than the m ost superlative extravagance O f sentimental

fastidiousness ; especially when it i s remembered that t h e
whole hospital i s furnished by the liberality of t he State for th e
A CC O MM O DA T I O N OF P O O R AND DE STI T U T E IN S ANE PE O P L E ;
people too who would otherwise be miserably and hope
, , , ,

lessly languishing in poorhouses and prisons .

A n d besides t h e O bj ecti on to making the provision we hav e

, ,

suggested for the criminal insane S O called in a separate de , ,

a r t me n t on hospital grounds l ea v e s o n l the alternative of

p y ,
.

keeping them in di r ect a ss oci a ti on with uno ffending insane in

the poorhouses where they are constantly sent ; so that a s
“

,
“
these are not paying patients it would seem that they are ,

to be left out in a discussion O f the subj ect and their right s ,

are not to be considered Let us not continue as a State t o

.
, ,

inflict by the wholesale upon our helpless fello w creature s

, ,

the most outrageous wrongs until we can be sure of doin g

,

right with the mos t mathematical precisio n or ,

AF T ER TH E NICE ST AND MO ST PERFE C T IDE A L A ND S EN T I

MEN T A L MO DE L .

Let u s not strain out the gnat while we unhesitatingly ,

swallow the camel l

The suggestion that in dealing with insane convicts on e
, ,

of two t hings must occur namely t hat you must make a

“
, , ,

prison of t h e hospital or a hospital of the prison — and tha t

t h e latter alternative is wiser and more humane is we co n , ,

sider more specious than sound W e think we have shown

,
.
,

t hat t h e tendency O f the prevailing system in this State is t o

 93

imprison numbers of irresponsible insane whose clear ,

“ ”
right it is to enj oy hospital care Surely this S hould be .

r e versed even if need be at the inconvenience if it be such

, , ( ) ,

t o the hospital of caring for a few individuals who have

been guilty Of crime and have since become insane
, .

O ne of the strangest and most i ph u ma n suggestions in

r egard to the insanity of convicts is that it S h ould be con , ,
“ ”
s i de r e d as a part of their punishment S O far as their .

wh ole punishment is to be regarded as a divine inflic t ion ,

t h e suggestion is entirely true and God s ways can u n

’
,

d oubtedly be vindicated ; but from this point O f view the , ,

s ame is true O f a ll ca s es O f insanity : they are all visitations

o f D ivine P rovidence and as such are j ust and not to be

, , ,

murmured against However great the su ffering it is in

.
, ,

e very case a righteo u s infliction

,
But to say that insani t y .

i s any part Of t h e punishment inflicted on convicts by t h e

s entence of human l a w is simply false If it were true ; if
,
.
,

by the sentence O f the la w men were to be driven insane as , ,

a punishment for their crimes — some and not others ; without

, ,

an
y rhyme o r reason in making ”
t h e distinction — i t would ,

b e nothing S hort of the grossest and most detestable in b u

manity as well as inj ustice I n the case of convicts i n
.
,

s anity is no more a part of their punishment than any other ,

d isease . I f a convict is seized with fever or small -p ox S hall ,

“ ”
we say it is a part of his punishment and S O leave him to ,

its consequences ? NO we are to give him such diet and

,

c are and medical treatment as will be likely to en s u r e h i s r e

c over y i n the s hor tes t ti me This can be done in the prison

.
“

hospital A ll we ask is that the same be done in case the

.
, ,

d isease is insanity I
. f this can be done — i f th e bes t medical ,

s uperintendence and care can be provided in co nnectio n with

t h e prison let it be done ; we have no O bj ection to m ake

,
.

Bu t if not if bett er provision can be suppli ed for these pur

,

poses i n connection with some established hospital and at

, ,

vastly less cost then let th i s latter course be preferred and

,

a dopted .

The whole matter is narrowed to a question of expediency

 94

and expense I f the S tate is prepared to meet the expense

.

O f providing the appointments of a fir s t -class hospital ex ,

pressly and exclusively for twenty or thirty insane con “

victs ; very well let them be forthwith provided But if

, .
,

not let some other a deq u a te provision be made

,
A t all .

events let n ot help less lun a ti cs be left i n ca r cer a ted i n the cells of
,

r i s on s a n d r hou ses
p p oo .

W e have said before and we say again that neither ,

n ow
,

insanity nor the privation of proper treatment in case Of

insanity is any part of the sentence imposed upon convicts
,

by la w ; and if there are still any who maintain that insan

ity is to be regarded as a part of the co nvict s puni shment
“ ’
,
”

we beg only to add that such views as these are not shared in
by the di s t inguished medical gentlemen nor by the eminent ,

philanthropic ci t izens who have i ntelligently and with full

, ,

knowledge of the import O f what they have done set their ,

hands to the accompanying

,

ME MORIA LS
to the Legislature praying your honorable bodies to redress
,

the wrongs not merely or chiefly of insane convicts bu t of ,

the several classes of insa n e poor upo n whose defence we ,

have entered against not only the inj urious insinuations o f

,

intere sted parties but the ac t ual personal injuries and su ffer
,

ings which are continuously heaped upon them in defianc e

, ,

of every impulse O f humanity as well as every sober and

.
,

righteous conviction of reason and j udg ment .

To TH E BO A RD O F P U BLIC CH A RI T IE S OF TH E ST A T E OF

P ENN S Y L V A NIA .

The undersigned practising physicians Of the cities of

,

P ittsburg and A llegheny request your Board to take action ,

looking to the repeal or modification of some of the provision s

of law in relation to the treatment of th e insane more es ,

i all O f those who have been acquitted on the ground O f

p ec y
insanity or who have become insane while incarcerated in
,
‘

prison or peni t entiary .

 95

W e understand that the laws of this State in reference to

these unfortunat es are such that in some cases the courts , ,

are expressly forbidden t o commit them to the hosp itals u n

less they are deemed sp eedi ly cu r a ble ; and t hat in cases where
insane criminals or persons a cqu i t ted on the ground of i n
sanity have been sent by the court to the hospita l t h e
, ,

Board of M anagers and Superintendent or physician if the y ,

deem them incurable may send them back to the j ail o r ,

penitentiary from which they came .

W e are assur ed that such treatment of the insane whether ,

criminals or not is inhuman ; and knowing as we do that a ,

prison or penitentiary is not and cannot be a fitting place for ,

the treatment of human beings so sadly a fflicted whether i n ,

cur able or not we earnestly appeal to you and through you , , ,

to the Le gislature of our S t ate to have such a change made

in the laws as will e ffectually prevent the exposure O f the
insane O f any class to incarcera t ion in our prisons j ails or , , ,

peniten t iaries .

Y ours & c ,
.
,

A NDREW FL EMIN G M D ,
. . A M P O LL O CK M D
. .
,
. .

GE O D BRUCE M D . .
,
. . IV C R EI T ER M D
. .
, . .

H T C O FFEY M D
. .
,
. . JU L IAN R O G ER S M D ,
. .

F L E M O YNE M D
.
,
. . R B M OWRY M D
. .
,
. .

W J EST EP M D
. .
,
. , C B K IN G M D
. .
,
. .

J N D ICK S O N M D
. .
,
. . J B M URD O C H M D
. .
,
. .

TH O S W S HA w M D . .
,
. . W R HAMI LT O N M D
. - .
, . .

J O H N D ICK S O N M D ,
. . J A S K IN G M D .
,
. .

A W M CCOY M D
. .
,
. . J A S M C C ANN M D .
,
. .

JO H N S D ICK S ON M D .
,
. . T C RH OAD S M D
. .
,
. .

W SNIVE LY M D JAME S M ACFAR L ANE M D

m
. . . .
.
, ,

P i t ts bu rg h, Dece b er , 1 873 .

To TH E LE G I SL AT URE OF P ENN SY L VANIA ,

December 1 8 7 3 P hi la de lp hi a, ,
.

The u ndersigned members O f the M edical P rofession , ,

”
being aware O f the sad condition O f the p oor and the
“
 96

”
criminal insane who are su ffering cruel personal wrongs
,

and constant deterioration Of their mental and bodily condi

tion in the j ails and poorhouses O f the State respectfully
, ,

appeal to your honorable bodies to provide such legislation ,

as will e ffectually secure the admission and detention of

these classes in the State hospitals for the insane S O long as ,

their malady requ ires it .

W e believe that both hu manity and public po l icy demand

such legislation for the relief of wrongful su ffering and for ,
,

the restoration to health and usefulness of these afflicted ,

and inj ured classes .

S D GRO SS M D
. .
,
. . F OR S Y TH M EI G S M D J .
,
. .

JO SEP H P ANCOA ST M D ,
. E Dw HAR TSH ORNE M D
. .
,
.

AL FRED S T I LL E M D ,
. . C A S P A R M ORRI S M D ,
.

F RANCI S Gr S MI TH M D .
,
. J M D A CO ST A , M D
. . . . .

S W EIR M I T C H E LL M D
.
,
HIR A M C OR S ON M D
.
, . .

W I LL IAM P EPPER M D ,
. HOR A T I O C W OOD M D
. .
,
. .

D HAYE S A GNE w M D
.
,
. JO H N H P A CKARD , M D
. . . .

F F M AURY , M D
. . . .

To TH E SEN A T E A ND HOU S E OF R EPRE S EN TA T IVE S OF

P ENN S Y L VANI A
W e gladly unite our names with those of the eminent
j urists the distinguished physic i ans the inspectors and war
, ,

dens O f the penitentiaries and other noted pers onages familiar , ,

w ith the subj ect i n the appeal O f the B oard of P ublic C hari
,

ties to your honorable bodies to redress by p roper legisla , ,

“ “ ” ”
tion the wrongs of the poor and the criminal insane
, ,

who are now consigned to the j ails and almshouses of the S tate ;
and who should properly be placed in the State Hospitals
, ,
 97

for the insane which were established by the public for t hei r
,

reception their care and remedial treatment

,
.

JAME S B ARC L AY J .
,
W M B AC O N S TE V EN S
.
,

I os R CH AND L ER
. .
,
J N O W E LSH
.
,

M A HL O N H D ICKIN S O N .
,
C A L E B C O PE ,

HENRY C C AREY .
,
JO HN M W HITA LL
.
,

IS AA C L E A ,
W M BI G L ER
.
,

J NO O JAME S
. .
,
A S A W HI T NEY ,

JAME S T H O MP S ON ,
M SIMP S O N
.
,

la te Chi ef J us t ic e
. B is h op .

D E CE M BE R 1 ,
1 873 .

A fter the full est investigation facts and the matures t Of

reflection upon the case we are constrained to declare that , ,

in our clear conviction and j udgment every consideration of ,

humanity j us tice propriety and expediency is combined in

, , ,

favor of plac i ng the special hospital for t h e criminal i n “

a n d tem
”
s ane s o call ed i n c ludi n g i n c i den ta ll
“
r a ri l i
, y ,p o y nsan e
”
con vi cts ,

ON TH E G R O UND S O F S OME ST A T E H O S PI T A L ,

so as to be under a common superintendence therewith ,

rather than within the purlieus of any prison .

W e therefore most earnestly renew our recommendation

, ,

that such a separate hospi t al department be speedily pro

vi ded with the proper construction and arrangements for
,

the purposes in dicated on the grounds Of the D anville ,

Hospital .

W e further feel constrained to suggest — and we do it

, , ,

wi th much hesitation and wi t h si n cere resp ect for all parties , ,

— that in forming a j udgment on this scheme a p r ep on

, ,

derating weight ought not to be attached t o the O pinions of

parties who may have any personal interest or convenie n ce
,

inv o lved in the q u estion however respectable they may be , ,

[7 ]
 98 .

and oven tho ugh they presen t themselves in the cha r ac

ter of experts .

TH E A U TH ORI T Y OF EXPER TS I S L IMI T ED

to their particular professional sp h ere Their proper O ffice .

i s to serve as w i tn ess es and not as j u dges and any intelligent

and disinterested lay man who by personal observation and
, ,

thorough study has made himself acquainted with the

,

co ndition of the insane in our penitentiaries j ails po or , ,

h ouses and hospitals i s as well ( perhaps b etter ) qualified to

,

j udge as they are of t h e broad features of any plan proposed

, ,

for ameliorating their condition— to j udge what is co n sistent

w ith or demanded by the dictates of j ustice humanity and ,

the public good .

W e beg al so to suggest that for examining and det er mi n

,

ing what persons S hould be transferred from the prison s or

poorhouses or other hospitals, t o the separate hospital de
a r t me n t above recommended or t herefro m to p r i son or the
p ,

other hospitals the law S hould provide that either the

, ,

B oard of P ubli c C harities by their general agent or some ,

other commissioner or commissioners specially appointed ,

who S hould make themselves thoroughly acq u ainted with

the condition and wants of the i n sane throughout the C om
mon w ealt h ( i e O f such as are kept u nder de t ention and r e
. .

straint ) wh o could be supposed to h a ve no interests to sub

,

se rve but those of j ustice humanity an d the public good an d

, ,

who would act syste matically and on general and imparti al

principles — should
,

H AVE TH E U LT IMA T E C O N T R O L ,
with such a dvi ce from the s uperintendents O f the State hospi
tals and other experts as they may require ; or as in the case
of the N ew Y ork law in this behalf with the aid and advice ,

of a co mmissioner of lunacy S pecially appointed to aid the

,

Board of P ubli c C harities in t heir action .

I f your honorable bodies sho uld pre fer the a pp ointment

of an independent co mmission this Board will of course , , ,

be entire ly satisfied .
 I n all t his presume of course that the courts would
,
we , , ,

in the first instance make such disposition O f the insane

, ,

who come under their j udicial cognizance as they should by ,

law be authorized or required to do P rovisio n mig h t

‘

also be made for carrying out any decision of the a foresaid

commission or of the General A gent of this B oard which ,

may be allege d to be erroneous or unj ust to some court t o ,

be r eviewed and either confirmed or reversed I t is remark .

able that i n the late convention of S uperintendents of the

insane to which reference has before been made one Of its
, ,

members having alluded to the provision of the N ew Y ork

,

l a w empowering a j udge to dispose according to his di s c r e

, ,

tion of persons acquitted of murder and other crimes on the

,

ground of insanity sending them either to a convict hospi

—

tal or some other exclaimed TO O great a sweep of power

, ,
”
for one man I A nd almost immediately after another mem
ber naively declared that persons acquitted O f a criminal
“

act on the ground O f insanity S hould be placed in the hospi

‘

t a l for the insane and t h e mo men t the superintende n t con

,

siders him a fit subj ect for the asylu m for convicts he S hould ,

be sent there "

”

Th e truth is the v ery fact O f the malady be ing O bscure ,

and thus causing the general p ublic to neglect its victims ,

excepting through mere curiosity makes it important that ,

the State representing the community should have a spe cial

, ,

a gency whose duty it S hall be to scrutinize the condition

and needs O f this class Such a co mm i ssion can understand
.

t h ese as well as the physicians or attendan t s and have no

, ,

c onsiderations O f personal c onvenience t o warp the j ud g

ment The S imple p oint of di a gn os i s of the part icular

.

phase of the malady is all in which he would necessarily be

deficient .

. It is the univ e rsal p ractice O f governments which appoint

such commissions to constitute them of laymen
, .

W e have said that the wrongs of the ins ane in p r l s on s and

poorhouses continue as the y were when Mi ss D IX S M emo ,
’

rial caused the State to p rovide a hospital for their al l evia tio n
”
.
 1 00

W e now say that , altho ugh every hospital b uilt and pro
je ct e d,
has been recommended to the Legislature with the
same V iew and seemingly with th e same design the system
, , ,
‘
-
,

pursued has never extinguished and never will extinguish

or even abate t h e evil There are tw el ve hundred O f these ( out
.

side O f P hiladelphia where alone there are one thousand and

,

fifty in the almshouse asylum ) s uffering incarceratio n and ,

neglect The unnecessary costliness of these hospital es tab

.

li s h men t s for the indigent insane and the liberal admission

, ,
“ ”
into them of paying patients forbid the realization of the ,

intentions an d the desires of the Legislature an d the publi c .

IN CONC L U S I O N ,

we think we may assume the following as established princi

ples or settled p oints
1 The State is bound to provide not only for the safe
.
,

keeping but for the proper care and treat ment of all her
,

insane po or .

2 N either j ails penitentiaries nor poorhouses are proper

.
,

places for their detention or treatment whatever may be t h e ,

character O f their insanity or whether it be recent or of long

,

standing— curable or in curable .

3 A person while insane can be gu ilty O f no crime and it

.
, ,

is both u nj ust and inhuman to consign innocent men and

women to the ignominious cells of j ails and penitentiari es or ,

to the foul kennels O f poorho u ses simply because tho u gh , ,

“
insane and irresponsible they are dangerous to be at large,
.

4 E ven insane convicts ought not to be retained in the

.

cells O f prisons but transferred to some hospital where they

,

may be both safely kept and receive appropriate medical treat

ment .

In Vie w of t h e foregoing admitted facts and principles this ,

B oard begs to renew and repeat ,

BY WA Y OF S UMMARY TH E F O LL OWIN G RECOMMEND A T ION S

, ,

and most earnestly to urge the m upon the attention of the

Legi slature .
 1 That the State S hould make prompt and adeq uate pro
.

vision in General State Hospitals f or a ll the i n s a n e p oor in

the C ommonwealth determine by la w how their expenses ,

should be paid require the several co unt ies ei t her t o make

,

eq u ally suitable p r ov IS I O n I n proper h O S p i t a lS for their

insane p oor or to send t hem to the State Hospitals and
, ,

require the authorities of these hospitals to receive and

retain them as long as they need hospital care
,
.

2 That a separate wing or department O f one of the Sta t e

.

Hospitals — to be under the charge of its superintendent

, ,

S hould be suitably constr ucte d arranged and equipped for ,

t h e reception custody and proper medical t reatment ( 1 ) of

,

those persons who continue insane after completing t h e '

period of their sentence for crime ; ( 2) O f those who being ,

charged with the commission of crime while sane are a d ,

j udged insane before trial o r sentence ( 3 ) of those who are ,

acquitted of certain cri mes as murder arson rape burglary , , , , ,

& c on the ground of insanity and are adj udged too danger
.
, ,

ous to be discharged and (4) perhaps of other dangerous , , ,

lunatics ;— all these to be sent either to this department or ,

to the ordinary hospitals according to the discretion of the ,

co urt or Of the proper commission .

3 Th at all ot h er insane persons who are brought up fo r

.
,

the sentence O f the courts S hould be sent to the ordinary ,

hospitals ,

S O TH A T NO IN S A NE PER S O N S IN A NY CA S E S H O U L D BE

CO MMI TT E D T O P R I S ON .

4 . That ,
u n ti l an en ti r ely s e a r a te
p h osp i ta l ma y be p r ovi ded

f or thei r a cco mmoda ti on ,

“
i nsan e con vi cts mi tted
”
s hou ld be ad

to a
pp r o r i a te
p q u a r ter s in the a bove men ti on ed sp eci a l dep a r t men t ,
— their insanity to be ascertained and their t ransfer regu
lated according to provisions of la w and they themselv es ,

allowed as much or as little association with the other in .

mates of this department as the Superint endent of the hos

pital shall j udge prop er and expedient .

5 That a special C ommission appointed for the purpose

.

, ,
 1 02

or the B oard of P ublic C harities of the C om monwealth be ,

auth orized to transfer fro m the other State hospitals to t h e .

special de partment above proposed and from t h at to the ,

ordinary h ospitals such persons as upo n due examination

,

and inq u iry shall be j udged proper W heth er this sam e

‘

.
,

C ommission should have authority to remove insane persons

from p r i s on to the special h ospital depa rtmen t we leave with ,

out any expression O f Opinion D efinite provisions as to this

.

might be prescribed by statute .

6 I nasmuch as there are strong a nd well foun ded O bj ec

.

tions to condemn i ng any person as i n cu r a bly i n sa n e before

hand and as the presence O f incurables is no more di s advan
,

t ageo u s to the curable and oft en l ess S O th an some others

, ,

who are curable the B oard ar e not prepared to re co mme n d

,

t h eir systematic separation but u n der the p resumption that

, ,

G EN E R A L H O S P ITA L S

will be provided for all the insane poor leave them to be ,

-

retai n ed in t h e sever al hospitals and dis t ributed in each as

the S uperintendents may dee m most advisable .

S uch are our recom mendations and we pre sent and urge ,

them not as theories but as practical suggestions looking

, , ,

to positive and immediate action .

W e beg to call the particular attention of the members O f

the General A ssem bly to the fact th at most Of these r ecom
men dat i on s are supported an d guaranteed not by the MERE ,

OPINION B U T B Y TH E DIREC T T E ST IMONY O F T H I S B O A R D

,

A ND ITS G ENERA L A G EN T ; and not only so b u t by both the ,

O pinions and the testimony O f the present and former J UD G E S

O F O U R CRIMINA L COUR TS the J UD G E S O F T H E S UPREME

,

COUR T and by the IN S PEC TO R S A ND W A RDE N S O F O U R

,

PENI T EN T IARIE S as well as by those of many S up er i n t en

,

dents of the insane wh ose declarations on this behalf are , ,

'

embodied in this report : as also b y those of L EARNE D

P H Y S ICI A N S a n d IN T E L L IGEN T P H IL A NTHR O P HIS TS w h o h ave ,
 1 03

made the facts of this case a subj ect of special examination

and study — to w hi ch ma n y other names might have be en
added from all parts of the State if pains had been taken to
,

secure them — and finally by the EXAMP L E A ND E x P E R IE N CE

, ,

O F O TH ER S TA TE S.

Respectful ly submitted ,

G E O L H ARRI S ON
. .
,

P r es i den t .

G DA W S ON CO L EMAN
.
,

H IE ST E R C L YME R ,

W I LL IAM B A K E W E LL ,

G EOR G E B U LL O C K ,
A C NOYE S
. .
,

FRANCI S W E LLS ,

DI LL ER L U TH ER M D ,
.

Gen er a l A gen t .

HARRI SB UR G December
,
Sl s t, 1 8 7 3 .