Mary Todd Lincoln's sanity, then and now: expert discussion Monday
Send a link to a friend
[April 13, 2012]
SPRINGFIELD
-- Former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln's mental state will be
the focus of a round-table discussion of mental health laws, then
and now, by distinguished historians, legal experts and mental
health professionals. The discussion will be on Monday from 5:30 to
7:30 p.m. in Room 212 of the Illinois Capitol Building in
Springfield.
|
The event is free and open to the public, but advance reservations
are required and may be made by calling 217-558-8934. Best-selling
author and attorney Scott Turow will moderate the two-part
discussion, which will examine Mrs. Lincoln's mental condition from
a historical and a modern perspective.
Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to a sanitarium in Batavia in
1875 after her son, Robert, succeeded in getting a jury to declare
her insane under existing laws. Many historians have felt that the
outcome of Mrs. Lincoln's "insanity trial" would have been much
different if it were decided today.
Round-table discussion participants are Steven Beckett,
University of Illinois College of Law; Catherine Clinton, author of
"Mrs. Lincoln: A Life"; Jason Emerson, author of "The Madness of
Mary Lincoln"; Judge Susan Fox Gillis, Cook County Circuit Court;
Dr. Bennett Leventhal, University of Illinois Chicago; attorney Saul
Morse of Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP; Dr. Peter Alahi, University of
Illinois College of Medicine; Nanette Larson, director of Recovery
Support Services, Department of Human Services; attorney Kerry Peck
of Peck, Bloom LLC; and Inez Toledo from the Illinois Guardianship
and Advocacy Commission.
The round-table discussion Monday is the first in a yearlong
series of events produced and sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum and the Illinois Supreme Court
Historic Preservation Commission.
Two retrials featuring modern attorneys and judges will also be
held to determine Mary Todd Lincoln's mental state by today's
standards. Those are scheduled for Sept. 24 in Chicago and Oct. 1 in
Springfield.
[to top of second column] |
The "Culture of Clothing," which will use Mrs. Lincoln as an
example to look at women's roles and their changing clothing styles
through history, will be presented Nov. 12 in Chicago and Nov. 19 in
Springfield.
Dramatic performances featuring the interaction between Mary Todd
Lincoln and Myra Bradwell, her advocate, will be scheduled in both
cities.
Exhibits of Mrs. Lincoln's original extravagances will also be
presented this year at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in
Springfield.
For ticket information, visit the event website at
www.wasmarylincolncrazy.com.
[Text from
file received from the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |