Crimes Against Humanity: A Historical Perspective, by Benjamin Ricci

The late Benjamin Ricci, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, tells the story of the court case brought against Belchertown State School where his son Robert resided in the 1950's. The landmark Ricci case was finalized in 1972 with the signing of the Consent Decree that finally brought adequate rights to the developmentally disabled individuals housed within the walls of Belchertown State School. The case was so powerful that by the early 1980's, Belchertown was all but closed.

Belchertown was built in 1922 to receive students from both Fernald State School and Wrentham State School, both in Eastern Massachusetts. Ricci's son Robert was born in 1947, when little was known about developmental disabilities. However, it was obvious that Bobby wasn't progressing normally and in 1953 he was admitted to Belchertown State School. It was immediately obvious to Ricci that Belchertown offered substandard accomodations and even less impressive services to the "inmates" as they were then called. Open sewage flowed into buildings through floor drains. Heating systems refused to work in the dead of winter. Some buildings did not have handicapped access. "Inmates" were stacked head to foot in dorms, rarely leaving their prone position in their beds, not even to relieve themselves.

In 1969 Ricci was elected president of the Belchertown State School Friends Association, the first advocacy group developed in Massachusetts for developmentally disabled individuals. The Association, under the direction of Ricci, brought a lawsuit against the Department of Mental Health that eventually brought the entire state school system to its knees.

This book earns a 3 out of 5 for readability as a lot of the descriptions of the court documents are rather dry. However, it earns a 5 out of 5 for interest level and enjoyability.