Peter Reddaway: Soviet Psychiatric Abuses, 1988-90

This addition to the Bonnie papers, comprise 23 boxes (10 linear ft.) . The bulk of the collection consists of files dated 1972 to 1990 dealing with the death penalty -- case files of eight death row inmates (four of whom were represented by Bonnie), and professional papers concerning the issue of mental competency.

The case files consist mainly of records and briefs, but also include background material and correspondence. Most notable are those materials, such as psychiatric evaluations and clinical interviews, which pertain to the issue of mental competency.

Bonnie's professional papers also include scholarly articles and transcripts of speeches dealing with this topic. Researchers must have Professor Bonnie's permission for access to the death row case files.

Also of note in these papers are files dealing with Bonnie's 1989 visit to the Soviet Union as a member of a delegation investigating psychiatric abuses in that country. These files contain the delegation's official report, travel accounts, interviews with Soviet psychiatric patients and translations of various Soviet laws and regulations. Researchers whose interest is human rights in the Soviet Union will find these files useful for they contain primary source material on the role of the Soviet psychiatric profession in suppressing dissent.