In the woods of Spring City, Pennsylvania, lies Pennhurst, a school for people with developmental and physical disabilities from 1908 to 1987. During its years of operation, a total of over 10,500 people lived at Pennhurst, many passing their entire lives within its bounding walls. But like many institutions, Pennhurst eventually became a place of abuse and neglect. Two Supreme Court cases on behalf of Pennhurst residents, as well as a 1968 television news expose by journalist Bill Baldini called "Suffer the Little Children," helped bring these issues to light.1 Investigations in the late 1960s found that over 3,500 residents were living in Pennhurst with only 600 workers to assist them, and that many staff were mistreating and sometimes physically harming the residents. There were cases in which residents were raped, sometimes while others watched and did not attempt to stop it.
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