Gladys Burr; Woman Wrongfully Committed to Mental Institution

Gladys Burr, 82, who spent 42 years in state institutions after being mistakenly labeled as mentally retarded. Miss Burr was 29 in 1936 when family members had her committed to Norwich State Hospital in Connecticut because of what they said were emotional outbursts. Miss Burr stayed there for 42 years despite IQ tests that proved her of normal intelligence. In 1978 an attorney, Richard Altshuler, wrote the state Department of Mental Retardation to ask why she had been kept institutionalized. A few days after he sent the letter, Miss Burr was released. She won a $235,000 settlement from the state in 1985. In Bridgeport, Conn., on Thursday.