Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British IslesTuke, Daniel Hack
History
Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles
Tuke, Daniel Hack
Mental health laws -- Great Britain; Mental illness -- Great Britain; Mentally ill -- Care; Psychiatric hospitals -- Great Britain
There were, when I visited Broadmoor, 500 inmates--400 men and 100
women, or thereabouts. When we consider that of these unfortunate
people, more than 300 have either murdered some one, or attempted to
murder or maim some one, it may well cause reflection, alike sad and
philosophical, on what a disordered brain may lead its possessor to do,
what acts to commit. Ninety had killed their own children as well as, in
some instances, the wife or husband; upwards of twenty, their wives;
eight, their mothers; four, their fathers; and one, both parents. And
another reflection may be made, to the credit of the institution, that
no case of actual murder has occurred since it was opened, and that,
taking the year before we write, good order was maintained, no
premeditated act of violence was committed, and there was no suicide.
And yet no mechanical restraint was resorted to, no fetters, no strait
waistcoats, no leg-locks or straps. Some patients are, of course,
secluded in a single room in which a bed made on the floor is the only
furniture allowed, and in which the window is protected by a shutter if
the patient breaks glass. The room is, when the shutter is closed, only
partially dark, as there are two small windows near the ceiling, out of
the patient's reach. By the side of the door is an inspection plate, or
narrow slit in the wall, with a movable glazed frame, opening outwards,
through which the occupant of the room can be observed when necessary.
These rooms are well ventilated, and are warmed by means of hot water. I
should not proceed further without stating that, in addition to the
class of cases to which I referred in the beginning of this
paper--those, viz., detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, including
those certified to be insane while awaiting their trial, or found insane
on arraignment, or acquitted on the ground of insanity, or reprieved on
this ground immediately after their sentence--besides these there are
convicts who become insane while undergoing their penal servitude. As a
rule, however, male convicts of this class are no longer sent to
Broadmoor; the superintendent[210] having discovered that it was
necessary to keep insane convicts distinct from the other class, to
secure their safe detention more completely and certainly; that is to
say, to separate lunatic criminals from criminal lunatics, or, as they
are usually called, "Queen's pleasure men"--a distinction sometimes
really as important as that which exists between a horse-chestnut and a
chestnut horse. It will be readily understood that the convicts--really
criminals, and often desperate criminals, they are--may differ widely
from those who in an access of insanity have committed a crime, and that
men who leave prison discipline at Pentonville, or elsewhere, to enjoy
the comparative comfort of asylum life at Broadmoor, are very likely
either to sham madness in order to stay there, or escape in order to
avoid having to complete, on recovery, their term of servitude.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account