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Description of  Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights (Keystone Books)

Conceived in the era of eugenics as a solution to what was termed the problem of the feeble-minded, state-operated institutions subjected people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to a life of compulsory incarceration. One of nearly 300 such facilities in the United States, Pennhurst State School and Hospital was initially hailed as a model institution but was later revealed to be a nightmare, where medical experimentation and physical and psychological abuse were rampant. At its peak, more than 3,500 residents were confined at Pennhurst, supervised by a staff of fewer than 600. Read more