Voltairine de Cleyre Quotes
It would be an outrage against civilization if he were sent to jail for an act which was the product of a diseased brain
This is an amazingly intellectually advanced quotation. Herman Helcher, was a former pupil of hers who had become mentally deranged and tried to murder her and left her permanently injured. She not only argued against the jailing of a mentally ill person, but she recognized mental illness for what it is—a disease of the brain. This concept was not appreciated by most American politicians or constituents even into the 21st century.
Voltairine de Cleyre, 1866-1912, Philosopher, Political Scientist & Feminist, December 1902
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This is the oldest test in Western jurisprudence as to whether a person was insane at the time he/she committed a crime. In England, the House of Lords functions as the Supreme Court.
The sheriff was responsible for the Cook County Jail. At the time of the interview, Dart had 2500 mentally ill people in his job, making the Cook County Jail the largest insane asylum in the country. The worst part about that situation was that the jail is in no position to provide proper diagnosis and treatment for the mentally ill.
Mental illness is the cause of many crimes and treatment can prevent many of them. However, another reason we see so many in jail with mental disase is that the laws mak invountary committment to mental instittuions almost impossible, so when mentally ill people are behaving anti socially and refuse to get mental treatment, most communities resort to teh criminal courts and jail. In many part of America, there are no professionals who can even tell the difference between a criminal with and a criminal without mental disease. See Quotation 644075.
Voltairine de Cleyre was an American anarchist known for being a prolific writer and speaker who opposed capitalism, marriage and the state as well as the domination of religion over sexuality and women's lives which she saw as all interconnected. She is often characterized as a major early feminist because of her views.
