Elizabeth Packard

In 1860, Elizabeth Packard was committed to a mental institution by her husband - for YEARS - for the crime of speaking her mind . This practice was completely legal at the time, and she had no mechanism by which to free herself from confinement - despite the fact that she was completely sane. Her three-year ordeal would turn her into a powerful activist on behalf of rights for both the mentally ill and for married women, who at this time had few legal protections against those that would oppress them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices