Kenneth Donaldson Won Liberty Ruling

After Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee confined a man named Kenneth Donaldson against his will for 15 years, he sued the hospital and its staff for violating his constitutional right to liberty. Officials had never proven Donaldson dangerous, yet they repeatedly refused his attempts to secure his release. In 1975, the US Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot confine a non-dangerous person who can live safely outside an institution. The landmark decision became an important part of the US deinstitutionalization movement.

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