g them with ordinary criminals in prisons was "subversive of the good order and discipline which should be observed in every well-regulated prison" (Harrington, 1999, May, p. 10). By 1880, the overwhelming majority (99.6 percent) of MDOs were confined in state psychiatric hospitals (p. 10). According to progressive reformers of the early 20th century, MDOs were more likely to recover and become rehabilitated if they were treated in an isolated but benign psychiatric environment. Hafemeister & Petrila (1994, Winter) said "the criminal justice and mental health systems were given broad discretion to quickly and quietly remove a dangerous 'crazy' person from the community" (pp. 792-793).
Deinstitutionalization of MDO treatment. Starved for funds, state mental institutions gradually decayed and became little more than warehouses for MDOs few of whom were rehabilitated. Morrissey & Goldman (1986, March) said "public mental hospitals were transformed from small, therapeutic asylums into large, custodial institutions" (p. 15). Sociologists such
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