The Bull Street Complex is a nearly 200 year old monstrosity; A brick-and-mortar representation of Frankenstein's hodgepodge human-esque creation. In order to tell the Televangelist's Daughter's story, I felt like I needed to dig a little deeper into the history of the South Carolina State Hospital. After reading numerous articles and reports about both the hospital itself and the Department of Mental Health, it was difficult to refrain from jumping into the rabbit hole. Alas, that's a story for another day, but I picked the details apart to find bits that are relevant to this Jane's story. The South Carolina Lunatic Asylum opened it's doors in the late 1820s as only the second institution of its kind in the country, it would later be renamed the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane, and the South Carolina State Hospital. An investigation by the U. S. Department of Justice resulted in a 1985 report detailing the "flagrantly unconstitutional" conditions at the hospital, marking the beginning of the end for an institution that had become a stain on the city of Columbia. Once a city within a city, the complex was home to a bakery, large garden, power plant, physician housing, a nursing school, a mattress factory, an auditorium, a library, and more. Though the sprawling complex was made up of a surplus of structures for varying purposes, the hospital, in the end, failed to uphold the most basic standards of care. Many may have considered the patients to be feeble or disabled, but it was the mental health system that was truly defective. These early psychiatric facilities were met with hesitation and ambivalence; families were accustomed to caring for their loved ones at home and were apprehensive when faced with this new concept of in-patient care for the mentally ill. As decades passed, that hesitation waned and hospitals that had struggled to keep their doors open for lack of patients became overcrowded. As the number of patients increased, the quality of care diminished. The once state-of-the-art facility was overburdened and underfunded, with its small, poorly lit rooms being filled beyond capacity. Allegations of neglect and abuse began to surface from patients and families, with several investigations taking place throughout the hospital's lifetime. The most damning of these investigations came to light in 1985, exposing years of unethical treatment, deplorable conditions, physical and sexual abuse of patients, suspicious patient deaths, and undeniable misconduct of many employed by the hospital and the Department of Mental Health. Stories of neglect, failure to report deaths, mishandling of complaints and reports against staff, and murder began to pop up in newspapers and nightly news reports. Patients and their families had put their trust in the hospital, believing that they could "fix" any issue that a patient suffered. Unfortunately, this would prove to be fatal for dozens of patients. A hospital that aimed to be a beacon of hope for South Carolina's citizens, boasting tasteful interiors and a stately exterior, had devolved into a relative house of horrors. The last of the patients were transferred out of the facility in 1990 and, in 1996, the South Carolina State Hospital closed its doors. This would come too late for many patients, though, including the Televangelist's Daughter. She was one of 71 patients who died in these state-run facilities between April 1979 and August 1982 within 10 days of being admitted. Of those 71 patients, the Department only reported 39 of the deaths to the county coroner. Many of these would later be investigated due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. It poses the question: Did this Jane really die from injuries sustained during an accidental fall, probably resulting from a seizure? Or was this a convenient cover story? Similarly, a 35-year-old female patient at the State Hospital died in January 1984 after having a seizure. She had been fully restrained, tied to a bed, and died. It was also discovered that she had been sexually assaulted prior to her death. Did the Televangelist's Daughter really have a random seizure and just so happen to hit her head as she fell? What did she hit her head on that would have caused such significant injury? Did she die instantly or was she left unattended for a long enough period that she could have died slowly from these injuries? Or, on the flip side, was she a victim of intentional or negligent homicide? Very little was noted about her death and, from what I've gathered, an autopsy was not performed during the first postmortem examination. The majority of the complex was abandoned, left to the elements and vagrants, but there are plans to give the 131-acre property new life by developing apartments, restaurants and shops. Even with a new coat of paint and trendy interiors, the heartbreaking history of Bull Street and the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum will not be forgotten. Patients who lost their lives inside the walls of the hospital and who suffered at the hands of those entrusted with their care have faded from the public's memory, but their stories should serve as a warning for generations to come. I hope that, as our understanding of mental illness grows, we will see a balanced increase and evolution of compassion and care for those struggling with mental illness. Photos from various sources of the Mills & Babcock buildings in disrepair years after the hospital officially closed and the facility was abandoned.
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EmilyTrue crime, cold case, long-term missing/unidentified, and all things mystery. I've always been interested, but now I'm involved in the search. Archives
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Jinx!, Damian Gadal