The hospital administrators released a statement to the press saying that following an “altercation with an attendant,” Milligan was found to have no injuries other than those that had been apparently self-inflicted.

The next day, after a visit by Attorney Steve Thompson, the Lima administration reversed itself, issuing a statement confirming that Milligan had “subsequently been severely injured.” Both the FBI and the Ohio State Highway Patrol were called in to make investigations for possible submission to the grand jury.

Thompson was outraged by the reports from Billy as well as from the Lima attorney, and he released a statement reported only on the radio. “Ultimately, anyone who is incarcerated still has the protection of his civil rights,” he told the newscaster, “and in Ohio statutory law, patients have rights that were granted by the recent amendments to the mental health bill— patients’ civil rights. Under the United States statutes, they have the protection of the federal civil rights bills, too. And those ultimately can be enforced in court. It would be too early: to say what’s going to happen here.”

The Lima State Hospital “Third Monthly Treatment Plan Review” of January 2, 1980, made the determination that:

The Patient’s treatment plan is both valid and proper for his condition.

Patient’s diagnosis is: (1) Psuedopsychopathic Schizophrenia (DSM II, 295.5) with dissociative episodes; (2) R/O Anti-Social Personality, hostile subtype (DSM II, 301.7): (3) Alcohol Addiction (DSM II, 303-2) by history; and (4) Drug Dependence, stimulants (304.6) by history.

The patient was referred to the ITU Unit a couple of weeks ago due to the patient’s acting out, violently, at the male hospital

…The patient, I believe, has been adversely affected by the notoriety which he has received in the paper, and as such, is carrying around this “star status” attitude … Mr. Milligan shows marked characteristics of the true psychopath, and as such is [as] hard to deal with as any other psychopathic patient. … In addition, the patient displays many of the characteristics of Hysteric Personality. Even though this disorder is usually seen in females, there are numerous cases of male hysterical personality. This condition should not be ruled out.

[signed] Lewis A. Linder, M.D.

Staff psychiatrist 1/4/80 [signed] J. William McIntosh, Ph.D.

Psychologist 1/4/80 [signed] John Doran, M.A. Psychology Assistant 1/7/80

Angered at the Lima State Hospital officials for not adhering to Judge Kinworthy s court order to treat Milligan as a multiple personality, Alan Goldsberry and Steve Thompson filed a con-tempt-of-court motion against the Lima authorities and the Ohio State Department of Mental Health. They pressed the Office of the State Director of Mental Health to transfer Billy Milligan to a less restrictive hospital.

(5)

Locked in the strong ward of the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the unfused Billy Milligan checked out a pencil from one of the attendants and began to write the first of a series of letters to the writer:

Suddenly an attendant, stepping through the doorway, belched a threatening command to the patients of ward 22.