Florida State Hospital - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Florida State Hospital is a hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

and mental institution in Chattahoochee, Florida

Chattahoochee, Florida

Chattahoochee is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,287 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 3,720. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Chattahoochee is...

. Established in 1876, it was until 1947 Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

's only state mental institution. It currently has a capacity of 1,042 patients. The hospital's current Administration Building is on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

The facility's property previously served as a military arsenal

Arsenal

An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...

during the Seminole Wars

Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...

and the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and later became the site of Florida's first state prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

. It was subsequently refurbished as a mental hospital, originally known as Florida State Hospital for the Insane, which opened in 1876. It gained notoriety over the course of its long history, and was involved in the U.S. Supreme Court case O'Connor v. Donaldson
O'Connor v. Donaldson
O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563 , was a landmark decision in mental health law. The United States Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot constitutionally confine, without more, a non-dangerous individual who is capable of surviving safely in freedom by themselves or with the help of willing...

, in which the Court found that the hospital had illegally confined one of its patients. The decision gave momentum to the deinstitutionalization movement, which saw the closure of many mental institutions in the country. Currently the hospital treats patients with severe mental disabilities who have been civilly or forensically committed to the institution.

Early history

The hospital was originally the site of the Apalachicola Arsenal, built in the 1830s and named after the nearby Apalachicola River

Apalachicola River

The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...

. The hospital's current Administration Building is the original Officers' Quarters

U.S. Arsenal-Officers Quarters

The U.S. Arsenal-Officers Quarters is a historic site in Chattahoochee, Florida. It is located at 100 North Main Street, part of the Florida State Hospital on U.S. 90. On July 2, 1973, it was added to the U.S...

of the Arsenal

Arsenal

An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...

and is on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. It served as a supply depot during the Seminole Wars

Seminole Wars

. The first engagement of the American Civil War

American Civil War

in Florida

Florida

took place here on January 6, 1861 when a Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

militia unit from Quincy

Quincy, Florida

Quincy is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,982 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,975...

overcame Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

soldiers at the Arsenal.

In 1868, Florida Governor Harrison Reed made the arsenal property at Chattahoochee into Florida's first penitentiary

Prison

. Florida's first recorded inmate was Calvin Williams, incarcerated in Chattahoochee in November 1868 for the crime of larceny

Larceny

Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...

and sentenced to one year. By 1869 there were 42 inmates and 14 guards. In 1871, the prison was put under civilian jurisdiction. Malachi Martin was appointed as warden, gaining a reputation for cruelty and corruption

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

. He used prison labor for his personal benefit to build houses and tend his personal vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s, amassing a huge fortune. The book The American Siberia, written in 1891, portrayed the Chattahoochee prison as a place of relentless barbarity. The prisoners were relocated in 1876 to a prison at Raiford, Florida

Raiford, Florida

Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. The population was 187 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...

and the prison became a state hospital.

Hospital

In 1876 the prison was refurbished as Florida State Hospital for the Insane, Florida's first mental institution.
The hospital has been the focus of investigations over the years for allegations of mistreatment of patients.

The hospital was involved in a famous United States Supreme Court decision in 1975, O'Connor v. Donaldson
O'Connor v. Donaldson
O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563 , was a landmark decision in mental health law. The United States Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot constitutionally confine, without more, a non-dangerous individual who is capable of surviving safely in freedom by themselves or with the help of willing...

, when a patient at the hospital, Kenneth Donaldson, sued the hospital and staff for confining him for fifteen years against his will. The decision, as interpreted by the American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

(ACLU), means that it is unconstitutional to commit for treatment a person who is not imminently a danger to himself or others and is capable to a minimal degree of surviving on his own. This interpretation has hampered efforts to implement changes in commitment laws throughout the United States, as most states insist the person meet the "imminent danger" standard, accepting the ACLU's interpretation of the Donaldson case. The ruling gave momentum to the deinstitutionalization movement in the United States, resulting in the shutting down of many psychiatric hospitals as patients were released to the streets, and has been blamed for causing widespread homelessness

Homelessness

Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...

in the United States among other problems.

The hospital was featured in a 1989 movie, Chattahoochee
Chattahoochee (film)
Chattahoochee is a 1989 film directed by Mick Jackson. The film stars Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Pamela Reed, and Ned Beatty and is based on the experiences of Chris Calhoun.-Plot:...

, starring Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman

Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...

and Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...

.

Carrie C. White, listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the longest lived people in history, was a resident of Florida State Hospital for 75 years, from 1909–1984. Her date of birth, and therefore her status as one of the world's oldest people, is disputed, but her long stay at the hospital is confirmed.

Current population

The hospital treats individuals with severe and persistent major mental illnesses. There are two categories of patients at the hospital; those civilly committed under Statute 394, who represent a small portion of the hospital's residents, and those forensically committed under Statute 916. The Civil portion of the hospital houses adult and elderly individuals who have been civilly committed

Civil procedure

Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...

to the hospital, and forensic residents who have been "stepped down" to the civil unit. The civil units are also known as Forensic Transition units. Florida State Hospital also maintains a forensic wing for the Florida Department of Corrections

Florida Department of Corrections

The Florida Department of Corrections, established in 1821, operates state prisons in Florida. It has its headquarters in Tallahassee.The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the United States...

to care for inmates

Prison

who have been adjudicated through the criminal justice system to be incompetent to proceed, or not guilty by reason of insanity. The current maximum housing capacity is 491 residents in civil units and 646 residents in forensic units. The goal of the hospital's efforts are recovery. The hospital aims to restore competency to residents adjudicated incompetent to proceed to trial. Residents receive competency training in both forensic and civil units. The amount of time needed to restore competency varies from a month or two, to up to five years. However, by statute, a patient cannot be committed for more than five years as incompetent to proceed and upon five years of commitment that patient will be returned to court to have his/her charges dropped or commutted in some way. For residents adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity the hospital aims to assist the resident in transitioning back into community living by learning appropriate activities for daily living and social cues. Hospital staff ensure the resident is no longer at risk of reoffending before recommending to the judge that the patient is ready for a conditional release to the community. Unlike patients committed as Incompetent to Proceed, those committed as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity have no time limit on their commitment and can remain committed by their presiding judge until their recovery is complete.

Competency to be executed

One of the tasks of the forensic psychologists

Forensic psychology

Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. It involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals...

in the forensic wing is to evaluate an inmate's competency

Competency evaluation (law)

In the United States criminal justice system, a competency evaluation is an assessment of the ability of a defendant to understand and rationally participate in a court process....

to be executed.
This is a result of Ford v. Wainwright
Ford v. Wainwright
Ford v. Wainwright, ', was the case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the common law rule that the insane cannot be executed; therefore the petitioner is entitled to a competency evaluation and to an evidentiary hearing in court on the question of his competency to be...

, a Florida inmate on death row

Death row

Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...

who took his case to the United States Supreme Court, declaring he was not competent to be executed. The court ruled that a forensic professional must make that evaluation and, if the inmate is found incompetent, provide treatment to aid in his gaining competency so the execution can take place. Providing treatment to an individual to enable that person to become competent to be executed puts mental health professionals in an ethical dilemma.

Historic place

The former arsenal and current Administration Building of Florida State Hospital is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

(Building - #73000578).

Built in 1839 as the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

Officers Quarters, it is a two-story masonry brick main building, with -story wings and front and rear porches framed with carved brackets.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.