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Christmas In Purgatory: A Photographic Essay On Mental Retardation

Creator: Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan (authors)
Date: 1974
Source: Available at selected libraries
Figures From This Artifact: Figure 2  Figure 3  Figure 4  Figure 5  Figure 6  Figure 7  Figure 8  Figure 9  Figure 10  Figure 11  Figure 12  Figure 13  Figure 14  Figure 15  Figure 16  Figure 17  Figure 18  Figure 19  Figure 20  Figure 21  Figure 22  Figure 23  Figure 24  Figure 25  Figure 26  Figure 27  Figure 28  Figure 29  Figure 30  Figure 31  Figure 32  Figure 33  Figure 34  Figure 35  Figure 36  Figure 37  Figure 38  Figure 39  Figure 40  Figure 41  Figure 42  Figure 43  Figure 44  Figure 45  Figure 46  Figure 47  Figure 48  Figure 49  Figure 50  Figure 51  Figure 52  Figure 53  Figure 54  Figure 55  Figure 56  Figure 57  Figure 58  Figure 59  Figure 60  Figure 61  Figure 62  Figure 63  Figure 64  Figure 65  Figure 66  Figure 67  Figure 68  Figure 69  Figure 70  Figure 71  Figure 72  Figure 73  Figure 74  Figure 75  Figure 76  Figure 77  Figure 78  Figure 79  Figure 80  Figure 81  Figure 82  Figure 83  Figure 84  Figure 85  Figure 86  Figure 87  Figure 88  Figure 89  Figure 90  Figure 91  Figure 92  Figure 93  Figure 94  Figure 95  Figure 96  Figure 97  Figure 98  Figure 99  Figure 100  Figure 101  Figure 102  Figure 103  Figure 104  Figure 105  Figure 106  Figure 107  Figure 108  Figure 109  Figure 110  Figure 111  Figure 112  Figure 113  Figure 114  Figure 115  Figure 116  Figure 117  Figure 118  Figure 119  Figure 120  Figure 121

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Several things strike the visitor to most institutions for the mentally retarded upon his arrival. Often there are fences. Sometimes with barbed wire. Frequently the buildings impress him with their massiveness and impenetrability. We have observed bars on windows and locks -- many locks -- on inside as well as outside doors.

22  

As we entered the dormitories and other buildings, we were impressed with the contrast of the functional superiority of the new buildings and the gross neglect of the older buildings. We have observed gaping holes in ceilings of the main kitchen. In toilets, one sees urinals ripped out, sinks broken, and toilets backed up.

23  

In every institution discussed in this section, we found incredible overcrowding. Beds are so arranged -- side by side and head to head -- that it is impossible, in some dormitories, to cross parts of the rooms without actually walking over beds. Often the beds are without pillows. We have seen mattresses so sagged by the weight of bodies that they were scraping the floor.

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In summary, we were amazed by the over-crowdedness, by the disrepair of older buildings, by the excessive use of locks and heavy doors, and by the enormity of buildings and numbers of patients assigned to dormitories.

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PURGATORY I
"Man's inhumanity to man..."

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"Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn."
Robert Burns

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All doors in the living quarters of institutions that we visited had locks, regardless of the age or severity of retardation of the patients immured. These locks are on outside doors as well as inside doors. Doors are made of heavy gauge metal or thick wood. It is routine for attendants to pass from room to room with key chain in hand, unlocking and locking doors en route.

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Many dormitories for the severely and moderately retarded ambulatory residents have solitary confinement cells or, what is officially referred to as "therapeutic isolation." "Therapeutic isolation" means solitary confinement -- in its most punitive and inhumane form. These cells are usually located in the basements of large dormitory buildings. Sometimes they are located on an upper floor, off to the side and away from the casual or official visitor's scrutiny. They are generally tiny rooms, approximately seven feet by seven feet, shielded from the outside with a very heavy metal door having either a fine strong screen or metal bars for observation of the "prisoner." Some cells have mattresses, others blankets, still others bare floors. None that we had seen (and we found these cells in each institution visited) had either a bed, a washstand, or a toilet. What we did find in one cell was a thirteen or fourteen year old boy, nude, in a corner of a starkly bare room, lying on his own urine and feces. The boy had been in solitary confinement for several days for committing a minor institutional infraction. Another child, in another institution, had been in solitary confinement for approximately five days for breaking windows. Another had been in isolation through a long holiday weekend because he had struck an attendant. Ironically, in the dormitory where this boy was being incarcerated, we saw another young man who had been "sent to bed early" because he had bitten off the ear of another patient. Apparently, it is infinitely more serious to strike an attendant (and it should not be misunderstood that we condone this) than to bite off the ear of another patient.

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In another institution we saw a young man who was glaring at us through the opening in the door of his solitary cell, feces splattered around this opening. He, too, was being punished for breaking an institutional regulation. In this particular dormitory, we had a good opportunity to interview the attendant in charge. We asked him what he needed most in order to better supervise the residents and provide them with a more adequate program. The attendant's major request was for the addition of two more solitary confinement cells, to be built adjacent to the existing two cells that, we were told, were always occupied, around the clock, day in and day out.

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We saw children with hands tied and legs bound. After discussions with attendants and supervisors in the four institutions, we were convinced that one of the major reasons for the heavy use of solitary confinement and physical restraints was the extraordinary shortage of staff in practically all of these dormitories. The attendant who requested the construction of two additional solitary confinement cells was, with one assistant, responsible for the supervision of an old multilevel dormitory, housing over 100 severely retarded ambulatory adults. Almost in desperation he asked us, "What can one do with those patients who do not conform? We must lock them up, or restrain them, or sedate them, or put fear into them."

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At that point, we did not feel we had a response that would satisfy either him or us.

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PURGATORY I
"I sometimes wish that God were back..."

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"I sometimes wish that God were back
In this dark world and wide;
For though some virtues he might lack,
He had his pleasant side."
Gamaliel Bradford

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