Did Mary Lincoln need committal?

[Donna McCreary]

"Insanity" is a legal term not a medical one. Was she a threat to herself or others? Robert thought she was a threat to herself and the court agreed.
Was this the best course of action for her medically? Probably not, but those were the choices at the time.
Luckily she didn't live in the 1950's when she probably would have undergone electro-shock therapy.

Excellent point! We forget that "insanity" is a legal term - thus she had to have a legal trial.

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This is an excellent overview of the situation, Donna. Any chance I can get you to contribute a full article to the Surratt Courier on this? Of, may I publish this narrative?

Let's talk about this. I can rewrite and clean it up - but this version was written in the 'heat of the moment' and needs editing.