Packard v. Packard: 1864
Verdict Takes Seven Minutes
On January 18, the jury reached its verdict in seven minutes. "We, the undersigned, Jurors in the case of Mrs. Elizabeth P.W. Packard, alleged to be insane, having heard the evidence … are satisfied that [she] is sane." Judge Starr ordered "that Mrs. Elizabeth P.W. Packard be relieved of all restraints incompatible with her condition as a sane woman." Neither the judge nor jury addressed the question of whether, had Mrs. Packard been found insane, Mr. Packard had the right to confine her at home rather than in an asylum.
The Packards remained married but estranged for the remainder of their lives. Elizabeth Packard wrote, lectured, and lobbied on behalf of the rights of women and those alleged to be insane; she was instrumental in changing the commitment laws in four states and in passing a married women's property law in Illinois.
—Kathryn Cullen-DuPont
Suggestions for Further Reading
Burnham, John Chynoweth. "Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard," in Notable American Women, 1906-1950. Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James and Paul S. Boyer, eds. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.
Packard, Elizabeth Parsons Ware. Great Disclosure of Spiritual Wickedness!! in high places. With an appeal to the government to protect the inalienable rights of married women. Written under the inspection of Dr. M'Farland, Superintendent of Insane Asylum, Jacksonville, Illinois, 4th ed. Boston: Published by the authoress, 1865.
. Marital Power ExempliJied in Mrs. Packard's Trial and self-defense from the charge of insanity, or, Three years imprisonment for religious belief, by the arbitrary will of a husband, with an appeal to the government to so change the laws as to afford legal protection to married women. Hartford, Conn.: Case, Lockwood & Co., 1866.
. The Mystic Key; or, The Asylum Secret Unlocked. Hartford, Conn.: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1886.
. The prisoners' hidden life, or Insane asylums unveiled: as demonstrated by the Report of the Investigating Committee of the Legislature of Illinois, together with Mrs. Packard's coadjustors'testimony. Chicago: The Author; A. B. Case, Printer, 1868.
Sapinsley, Barbara. The Private War of Mrs. Packard. New York: Paragon House, 1991.
Additional topics
- Packard v. Packard: 1864 - Suggestions For Further Reading
- Packard v. Packard: 1864 - Elizabeth Packard Defends Her Sanity
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Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1833 to 1882Packard v. Packard: 1864 - Reverend Packard Presents His Case, Elizabeth Packard Defends Her Sanity, Verdict Takes Seven Minutes, Suggestions For Further Reading