George Stephen Penny (1885–1964): his life and medical encounters before,during and after admission to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum

Abstract

Amid extensive press coverage, George Stephen Penny (1885–1964) was tried for murder in 1923. He was found ‘guilty but insane’ due to ‘confusional insanity’ associated with malaria which he suffered during World War I. Penny was admitted to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum at a time of great public concern about inadequate and cruel care in mental institutions, but he was treated with humanity and respect. Penny’s story also reveals much about challenges of psychiatric diagnosis and the relationships between crime, insanity, the public, lawyers and the medical profession. Following discharge from Broadmoor, Penny built himself a life in the community. His pseudonymous memoir, with masterly concealment of his identity and crime, tells his story up to 1925.

Keywords

Autobiography Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum guilty but insane malaria psychiatric diagnosis

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