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[ 104 ] chapter 7 Endings z The idea of suing the state’s mental health bureaucracy to obtain redress for the appalling conditions at Belchertown State School was Ben Ricci’s. It isn’t clear when the idea first took form in his mind—whether before or after his sabbatical to do research in Norway during the first half of 1971. Perhaps he had read about the lawsuit filed in October 1970 on behalf of residents of the Partlow State School and Hospital in Tuscaloosa and other state-run mental health facilities in Alabama.1 He may well have thought about a lawsuit, and started to gather photographic and other evidence for it, before going to Norway, although his sabbatical there (during which he saw that first-rate care could be, and was being, provided to mentally retarded persons in Scandinavia) surely was the catalyst for doing so. Ricci says in his book about the case, Crimes against Humanity, that he interviewed fifteen lawyers, all of whom turned him down, before attorney Beryl Cohen agreed in early October 1971 to take on the case. Cohen, a former Massachusetts state representative and state senator, was counsel to the special commission established by the legislature a year earlier to investigate conditions at Belchertown, which had issued a scathing report in March 1971. He therefore already knew a great deal about conditions at the school, knowledge that would soon be supplemented by Ricci’s own independent fact gathering. Cohen determined that the lawsuit should be a class action. He and Ricci met frequently over the next several months, drafting the complaint and debating what remedies to seek. Apparently Ricci had told no one except the lawyers he interviewed about his idea of a lawsuit—not the endings [ 105 ] Friends Association, not even his wife. He justified his secrecy by saying that his fellow parents on the Friends’ board, though “dedicated and wonderful human beings, were fundamentally conservative in their thinking .”2 Now, however, it would be necessary to make full disclosure. A class action required a class of plaintiffs, not just an individual. We have only Ricci’s account of the fateful board meetings. They must have been spirited. All members were present at the first meeting. “I came right to the point,” Ricci writes; “I wanted us to consider filing a lawsuit on behalf of our children.” The board had many questions: “Where is the money coming from? Can the state sue us in return? Will our kids suffer from this? It was a lively evening, but clearly they seemed ready to proceed. . . . Only one board member disagreed with the lawsuit idea: he wished ‘not to buy into it at this time.’” Ricci had determined not to introduce Cohen to the group unless they agreed to proceed with the lawsuit, so a second meeting was now necessary to introduce the attorney. Both Ricci and Cohen wanted to maintain secrecy. They also wanted to expand the list of invitees to include other potential class members than the board. Therefore, instead of scheduling a larger meeting at the school that would surely call attention to itself, Ricci invited this larger group—some thirty-five in all—to his home in Amherst. Hot coffee, tea, homemade shortbread, and homegrown strawberries with freshly whipped cream were served to this standing-room-only crowd. When dessert was finished, he announced that the purpose of the gathering was to discuss bringing a lawsuit against the Department of Mental Health on behalf of the invitees’ relatives and friends at Belchertown State School. He then introduced Cohen. “Beryl began by noting that a class action lawsuit had never before been filed on behalf of institutionalized, mentally retarded persons in Massachusetts history. This would be precedent -setting. It would also be surprising. It would be the Belchertown Friends’ way of using the proper and legitimate forum to address its grievances against the State of Massachusetts” for the appalling conditions at the school and for “the state’s crimes against humanity.” In response to questions, Cohen explained that the remedy being sought was not monetary damages but rather “the immediate amelioration of living conditions, the hiring of adequate staff persons, and basic improvements in the quality of medical and nursing care.” He said he would not bill for his services. “Just send me what you are able to when you are able to.” He sought to alleviate concerns, which were considerable, about possible [18.217.208.72] Project MUSE...

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