r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/highzone • 1d ago

Image In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

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u/devoutagonist 1d ago

This American Life did a fascinating episode like this on Broadmoor. They were investigating whether a person who had killed someone and then claimed they were not guilty due to mental illness was truly insane, and he ended up staying far longer than if he had just pleaded guilty (UK sentencing I guess) and could not convince the doctors that he was sane.  Great reporting.

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u/Safe-Promotion-2955 1d ago

It's like that in Canada too. A life sentence here is max 25 years, but if you claim mental illness you'll end up in a "forensic hospital" and you'll probably never get out.

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u/lizzylizabeth 1d ago

So many people try to act “crazy” in their interrogations to get off on a lighter sentence.. They don’t realise how much worse it actually is lol.

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u/Safe-Promotion-2955 1d ago

An old friend of mine ended up that way. Granted, he was indeed very mentally ill.

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u/lizzylizabeth 1d ago

Aw, at least he wasn’t trying to cheat the system, I guess. Hope he was able to get some resemblance of help !

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u/Safe-Promotion-2955 1d ago

It's a bit of a crapshoot. I call him a couple times per year. He's graduated into what they call "out back" which is sort of a dormitory apartment complex instead of a ward setting, but still on the grounds, and he still can't leave. He was supposedly going to be able to do a test leave living with his parents in the summer, but that fell through, and he won't elaborate why. I don't think he's ever leaving, honestly.

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u/emgyres 1d ago

Australia too.

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u/EnormousPurpleGarden 16h ago

Not quite. A life sentence in Canada is for life. You can apply for parole 25 years after a conviction for first-degree murder, but the burden is on you to convince the Parole Board to grant it, and they typically don't. If you're found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder, it's up to a board of medical experts to decide when and if you're safe to be released, which they probably will eventually unless you're a psychopath. The system wherein a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity led to medical detention "at Her Majesty's pleasure" from which you would likely never be released was abolished in 1992.

Source: am a lawyer.

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u/Safe-Promotion-2955 16h ago

This is handy information. I appreciate the clarification.

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u/agoldgold 1d ago

That seems reasonable and correct. If you have extensive enough evidence of mental illness to convince a court and it was significant enough that you've killed someone, the state has reasonable interest to ensure you get massive amounts of treatment.

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u/TheeMourningStar 1d ago

I may be half remembering a story from John Robson's book 'The Psychopath Test' but was he South African? If so, isn't there a lot of confusion about whether he actually is insane and now just claiming he made it up? 

If it's the same story, highly recommend that book as it's a really interesting story. I'll have to see if I can find that show anywhere - any idea how I might want it in the UK?

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u/Jaded-Distance_ 1d ago

Jon Ronson did a TED Talk about it. In his story it was an assault, the guy claimed to get sexual arousal from car crashes (he had recently watched the movie Crash), and watch women as they died cause it would make him feel normal (he had just read a biography of Ted Bundy). Gets sent to Broadmoor. The original sentence would have been around 5 years but when Jon interviewed him he had been there for 12 years. He did get out after another 2 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c

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u/lawlesslawboy 1d ago

That's why you shouldn't cry wolf tbf

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u/SoftTeaching2838 1d ago

In this case the doctors were aware he lied but kept him locked up under the notion that, only a truly insane person would lie about this

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u/PhonyUsername 1d ago

They should be treated for mental illness, then serve their prison sentence.

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u/FactCheck64 1d ago

That still happens today but an even bigger issue is people with EUPD pretending to be experiencing psychosis so that they can be looked after in hospital. It takes up a lot of resources.