The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-04-22
The Whitfield Report

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After an inquiry lasting more than three months, the
general legislative investigating committee made public
its report last week on conditions at the state-operaed
Whitfield mental institution.
The investigation was called after charges made by
Rep. Hayden Campbell of Kinds county following a two
month personal investigation last summer. Rep. Campbell
charged that shocking and brutal conditions existed at the
hospital and asked the dismissal of the director, DIR. Law
son Shackelford, the business manager and others charged
with the direction of the hospitals affairs.
Rep. Campbell first made his report to the board of
trustees of the institution, which labelled them 80 much
p~oppycock," despite the fact that an inquiry into the
charges was made by a member of the board, DR.. Henry
Boswell, whose findings the board consistently and firm
ly refused to make public.
That at least a portion of the charges made by Rep.
Campbell are true is borne out by the legislative commit
tees report, and particularly by a supplemental report
made by Senator J. Stewart Watson of Lexington, a MEM
Der of the investigating committee who would not sign the
report, but in an appendix concurred in the findings with
two exceptions which he stated as follows.
LII am of the opinion that the Director of the Mis-
sissippi State Hospital should spend more time in visiting
and comforting with attendants and patients.
2.-That the Director has not made the necessary in
vsstigation of incidents reported to him dealing with the
mistreatment Of patients.
These charges by Senator Watson are not only borne
out, but underlined in a startling way in the committees
own report and show without shadow of a doubt that su-
pervison at Whitfield has not only been inadequate, but
downright incompetent.
Here is one paragraph from the committees report:
'The committee in its investigation found that certain
patients had been mistreated at this institution, by being
whipped on the feet with a rubber hose, and other forms
of punishment administered by these attendants. The evil
dence submitted did not indicate that such mistreatment
had been severe or cruel, however, we cannot condone any
form of mistreatment of the patients. Upon reporting these
findings to the proper authorities, an investigation was
Immediately made, N OUR FINDING WERE FOUND
TO BE TRUE Capitals ours) and the authorities at the
institution took immediate steps to have the attendants
who were mistreating the patients dismissed. In every in
stance we found that it was solely the actions of the indi-
vdual attendants and unknown to the medical authori-
ties or those in charge of the institution"
- approximately five months before this Rep. Campbell
had reported to the trustees of the institution and then
made public these same charges. citing specific instances.
Why then did the superintendent and authorities at the
institution have to wait five months for the legislative in
vsstiqating committee to also discover this condition be-
fore getting around to dismissing attendants responsibles
II this doesn't constitute the grossest of negligence. we are
at loss to understand what does.
Other charges made b. Rep. Campbell are borne out
by the committee's report, and under the proper supervision
these conditions would never have been allowed to exist.
The committee said that it had found some evidence
that it has been deemed necessary on the part of some at
PENDANTS to utilize the services of patients to assist them
when another patient becomes unruly" In plain words
that means that mental patients were being used to physi-
cally control other disturbed mental patients.
The committee reported insufficient attendants, and
added that I'VE further recommend that since our investi-
CATION reveals that practically all of the trouble originated
in the white male disturbed ward, that a change be effect
ed in the attendant in that building
Obviously, from the committees report and the find
ings of Rep. Campbell. the above condition had existed for
some time. The attendant of this ward may have been
directly responsible for the brutal treatment of mental
patients, but Dr.. Shackelord and the hospital administra-
tors are also directly responsible for the continued employ
ment of the attendant responsible. Even the most cursory
supervision on their part could not have helped but bring
to light the mistreatment of mentally sick patients. 1t is,
therefore, plain that supervision was either non-existent
or incompetent and that the administrators of the hospi-
tai are far more to blame than the attendant.
There are many other points of mismanagement and
lack of supervision that are underlined in the committees
report, which we will comment on in a second editorial next
week.