Bridgewater State Hospital
Encyclopedia
Bridgewater State Hospital, located in southeastern Massachusetts
, is a state facility housing the criminally insane and those whose sanity is being evaluated for the criminal justice system. It was established in 1855 as an almshouse
. It was then used as a workhouse
for inmates with short sentences who worked the surrounding farmland. It was later rebuilt in the 1880s and again in 1974. Bridgewater State Hospital currently houses 395 inmates all of whom are adult males. The facility was the subject of the 1967 documentary Titicut Follies
. Bridgewater State Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction
.
In 1968 there were hearings conducted after a study showed that there were 30 inmates committed to the state hospital illegally. Most of the prisoners stayed at Bridgewater because they did not have the legal skills or money available to help their claim. Many of the prisoners' terms had long expired. An example of this was a patient named Charles who was sentenced to Bridgewater in 1910 for breaking and entering. The maximum time for this felony was two years, and he still remained in the prison after 1967. Furthermore in later news, it was found that the number of inmates at Bridgewater grew to 500. Many felt that society was not doing its job in distinguishing men that needed regular prison rehabilitation and psychiatric help. There needed to be changes in what constitutes a person to be sent to a mental hospital. Also among the changes that needed to be implemented were the confidentially between the inmates and the doctors as well as having a standard by which a person is considered mentally insane.
In 1967 a legislative committee investigated allegations of "cruel, inhuman, and barbarous treatment". There was witness that were able to describe problems with the water and sewage systems, insufficient medical, kitchen, and recreational facilities. As a result in 1972 John Boone, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Corrections, closed the segregation unit at Bridgewater State Hospital because it required maintenance. Bridgewater's facilities were not suitable for the standard means of health and living. There were 90-year-old cell blocks which did not have any toilets. Boone closed the Departmental Segregation Unit at Bridgewater to hold hearings for the sixteen inmates who had been transferred out of Norfolk.
Albert DeSalvo
, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler
, was an inmate at Bridgewater in 1967. He briefly escaped and was transferred to the maximum security prison at Walpole
.
Many of the prisoners at Bridgewater State Hospital were not criminally insane people. This is evident with a man who painted a horse in 1938. He was sent to Bridgewater because he painted a horse with stripes to make it look like a zebra. He was a poor vendor whose occupation was selling fresh fruit. In order to appeal to the people and increase his sales, he painted the horse. He was later arrested at the age of 29 and charged with drunkenness. He died at the facility at an old age where he was only supposed to serve at Bridgewater for two years.
There was a time at the Bridgewater State Hospital when many of the inmates were there long after their sentence date. In 1968 over 250 cases were reviewed of forgotten men at Bridgewater. There were inmates that were at Bridgewater for over twenty-five years. Some inmates were transferred to Bridgewater from other jails and prison facilities and kept at Bridgewater for much longer than their sentences entailed.
observed the hospital for twenty-nine days, depicting the harsh treatment the inmates received by the guards and how the doctors were not aware of the proper treatment the inmates needed.
This was apparent with one inmate where he was classified as a paranoid schizophrenic. He came to Bridgewater for medical testing but ended up being a resident there. He received powerful medication that made his mental state worsen as time progressed. He went to a review board to explain that he did not need to be at Bridgewater because the treatment he was receiving was not proper for his well being. His case was not rare at Bridgewater.
Throughout the film, the viewer can see the mistreatment inmates received from the guards and the prisoners. There is one instance where the guards were harassing an inmate because his cell was not clean. He is obviously mentally ill and frustrated by the repeating questions the guards ask him about his cell but there is not much he can do. Furthermore, one inmate was not eating so he was force fed by one of the doctors at the facility. While force feeding him with a tube, the doctor is smoking a cigarette while the ashes are mixing with the water and other liquids he is giving him. The documentary at the same time flashed to the death of the same inmate. In addition, when the inmates were in their cell, they did not have any clothing.
Many of the inmates were not mentally insane, they were just sent there under rare circumstances. The documentary illustrates how some inmates were mentally unstable and others were considered to be normal.
-Feb. 13, 1928- Night Supervisor Eugene Amlaw was beaten to death during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer Howard Murphy was stabbed to death with a chisel during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer Franklin Weston was stabbed to death with a chisel during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer George Landry was stabbed to death with a chisel when he came to the aid of his fellow downed officers.
20 Administration Road
Bridgewater, MA 02324
Phone: (508) 279-4500
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, is a state facility housing the criminally insane and those whose sanity is being evaluated for the criminal justice system. It was established in 1855 as an almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
. It was then used as a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
for inmates with short sentences who worked the surrounding farmland. It was later rebuilt in the 1880s and again in 1974. Bridgewater State Hospital currently houses 395 inmates all of whom are adult males. The facility was the subject of the 1967 documentary Titicut Follies
Titicut Follies
Titicut Follies is a 1967 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman, about the treatment of inmates/patients at Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane, a Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The title is taken from a talent show put on by...
. Bridgewater State Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction
Massachusetts Department of Correction
The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, US Massachusetts houses over 11,500 inmates throughout 18 correctional facilities and employs over 5,000 employees...
.
History
By the 1970s the campus of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Bridgewater (MCIB) housed four separate facilities: The State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons, a center for alcoholics, and a minimum security prison.In 1968 there were hearings conducted after a study showed that there were 30 inmates committed to the state hospital illegally. Most of the prisoners stayed at Bridgewater because they did not have the legal skills or money available to help their claim. Many of the prisoners' terms had long expired. An example of this was a patient named Charles who was sentenced to Bridgewater in 1910 for breaking and entering. The maximum time for this felony was two years, and he still remained in the prison after 1967. Furthermore in later news, it was found that the number of inmates at Bridgewater grew to 500. Many felt that society was not doing its job in distinguishing men that needed regular prison rehabilitation and psychiatric help. There needed to be changes in what constitutes a person to be sent to a mental hospital. Also among the changes that needed to be implemented were the confidentially between the inmates and the doctors as well as having a standard by which a person is considered mentally insane.
In 1967 a legislative committee investigated allegations of "cruel, inhuman, and barbarous treatment". There was witness that were able to describe problems with the water and sewage systems, insufficient medical, kitchen, and recreational facilities. As a result in 1972 John Boone, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Corrections, closed the segregation unit at Bridgewater State Hospital because it required maintenance. Bridgewater's facilities were not suitable for the standard means of health and living. There were 90-year-old cell blocks which did not have any toilets. Boone closed the Departmental Segregation Unit at Bridgewater to hold hearings for the sixteen inmates who had been transferred out of Norfolk.
Albert DeSalvo
Albert DeSalvo
Albert Henry DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes...
, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
, was an inmate at Bridgewater in 1967. He briefly escaped and was transferred to the maximum security prison at Walpole
Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Cedar Junction
The Massachusetts Correctional Institution—Cedar Junction , formerly known as MCI-Walpole, is a maximum security prison with an average daily population of approximately 800 adult male inmates under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It was opened in 1956 to replace...
.
Many of the prisoners at Bridgewater State Hospital were not criminally insane people. This is evident with a man who painted a horse in 1938. He was sent to Bridgewater because he painted a horse with stripes to make it look like a zebra. He was a poor vendor whose occupation was selling fresh fruit. In order to appeal to the people and increase his sales, he painted the horse. He was later arrested at the age of 29 and charged with drunkenness. He died at the facility at an old age where he was only supposed to serve at Bridgewater for two years.
There was a time at the Bridgewater State Hospital when many of the inmates were there long after their sentence date. In 1968 over 250 cases were reviewed of forgotten men at Bridgewater. There were inmates that were at Bridgewater for over twenty-five years. Some inmates were transferred to Bridgewater from other jails and prison facilities and kept at Bridgewater for much longer than their sentences entailed.
Titicut Follies
Titicut Follies is a powerful documentary that showed the horrors of Bridgewater in 1967; its title is the name of the talent show the inmates would perform in every year. Filmmaker Frederick WisemanFrederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman is an American documentary filmmaker. He came to documentary filmmaking after first being trained as a lawyer...
observed the hospital for twenty-nine days, depicting the harsh treatment the inmates received by the guards and how the doctors were not aware of the proper treatment the inmates needed.
This was apparent with one inmate where he was classified as a paranoid schizophrenic. He came to Bridgewater for medical testing but ended up being a resident there. He received powerful medication that made his mental state worsen as time progressed. He went to a review board to explain that he did not need to be at Bridgewater because the treatment he was receiving was not proper for his well being. His case was not rare at Bridgewater.
Throughout the film, the viewer can see the mistreatment inmates received from the guards and the prisoners. There is one instance where the guards were harassing an inmate because his cell was not clean. He is obviously mentally ill and frustrated by the repeating questions the guards ask him about his cell but there is not much he can do. Furthermore, one inmate was not eating so he was force fed by one of the doctors at the facility. While force feeding him with a tube, the doctor is smoking a cigarette while the ashes are mixing with the water and other liquids he is giving him. The documentary at the same time flashed to the death of the same inmate. In addition, when the inmates were in their cell, they did not have any clothing.
Many of the inmates were not mentally insane, they were just sent there under rare circumstances. The documentary illustrates how some inmates were mentally unstable and others were considered to be normal.
Officer Deaths at Bridgewater
-Feb. 13, 1928- Night Watchman Wilfred Gerrior was beaten to death and strangled during an escape attempt.-Feb. 13, 1928- Night Supervisor Eugene Amlaw was beaten to death during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer Howard Murphy was stabbed to death with a chisel during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer Franklin Weston was stabbed to death with a chisel during an escape attempt.
-January 1, 1942- Officer George Landry was stabbed to death with a chisel when he came to the aid of his fellow downed officers.
Facility Address
Bridgewater State Hospital20 Administration Road
Bridgewater, MA 02324
Phone: (508) 279-4500
External links
- Bridgewater State Hospital - Mass. Executive Office of Public Safety