The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-02-11
ABUSING THE A
State Board of Charities Calls At
tentiOn to ScandalOus Cases.
Defects in the Law-HOw the State Is
Robbed in the Inquest for
Insanity.

The Board OF State Charities is in favor
OF certain changes in the laws regulating
the commitment and discharge OF insane
persons. Under the laws I'm force at the
present time abuses OF a serious nature have
been found TO be possible and of frequent
occurrence. In It's forthcoming annual re-
port the board Will say upon this subject:
The defects in the laws regarding the
commitment of insane persons To hospitals
and their discharge from them are yet I'M
corrected. Serious and ScandalOuS abuses
have arisen in the commitment of the in
sane, and the law should be SO amended as
10 make such occurrences impossible. one
defect Is found in the heavy expense which
inquests of insanity put upon the state.
This expense is usually greater than it need
be. and often through carelessness or mer-
ceftary motives partakeS OF the nature OF
peculatiOn- one way in which the State IS
put 10 expense frequently when unnecessary
is in the holding of insanity inquests upon
persons who have previously been %adjudged
insane. Such occurrences as this are usu-
ally the result of the removal of an insane
person from one count To another, and
could be easily avoided by withholding the
Inquest until Information could be secured
from the county from which the subject
came, or from the insane hospital 1n the
proper district.
An instance may be cited of this abuse,
which Is a type of many that have come to
ton, a colOred citizen OF Knox county, was
edJudged insane and admitted TO the Cen
trail Hospital. Later he was discharged as
lncurable. Not a great while afterward
the same man was adjudged insane in Nigo
county, was admitted to the Central Hos
pital, and again discharged as in~curabie.
Still later the same person was a%diudged
insane in Shelby county. and application
was made for his admission to- the Central
Hospital. The application was refused on
this occasion, and so far as known. this pa
tent has not since been adjudged insane.
In each case an inquest was held, exactly
as though the subject had never been found
insane. and the expense of each inquest in
all probability amounted To as much as $50.
In some pOpulOuS counties, where many
Insanity inquestS are held. it is common for
certain favored individuals to be called
In very many cases where they have little
or no actual knowledge of the patients
condition, and are called to testify simply
for the purpose of enabling them to collect
are usually policemen or other officers of
the law who have special opportunities for
at least seeing many of the persons whose
luiry. The result of this practice is a
heavy increase in the cost of fnquests.
The law enacted by the Legislature of
1889 recurring that in the conveyance of
female insane persons to hospitals for the
insane the sheriff or other person deputed
shall provide a proper female attendant,
should be amended in two particulars.
First. the law should be extended so as
TO require a female attendant to accom-
pany the officer who removes a female in
sane patient from a hospital upon her dis
charge, and second, a penalty should be
attached for NONCOMPLIANCE with the law.
The need of these two amendments has
been demonstrated by the experience of
the five years which have elapsed since
the law was passed. As it stands to-day,
II has been violated 10y sheriffS or other
officers. and il is not an pro-
cedure for an officer to convey an insane
patient who has been discharged from the
hospital to the county i'm which she re-
sides without any female attendant"