Doctors Find Whisky, Not Insanity, in Chris Albertson Case
After a harrowing suicide attempt, a Tacoma man is sent to the county hospital for treatment rather than jail.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Chris Albertson, who tried to pass into the beyond by slitting his jugular vein, was up before Judge Chapman Friday on a charge of insanity. Sergeant William Olson of the police force was the chief witness. Dr. M. M. Dodge and P. H. Swearingen examined the prisoner and their finding was that the man was suffering more from bad whisky than from insanity. He was ordered by the court to be sent to the county hospital for treatment, as the doctors considered him a dangerous man to be at large in his present condition.
“The doctors considered him a dangerous man to be at large in his present condition.”
This case highlights the early 20th-century intersection of the criminal justice system and public health when dealing with mental health and addiction crises. It reflects a time when 'insanity' charges were often a catch-all for severe substance abuse issues, marking a precursor to modern debates about the role of hospitals versus jails in treating crises.
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