Men Once Confined as ‘Morons’ Seek Justice

Six men wrongly classified as “morons” and held for years at a state school for the retarded asked Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Wednesday to remove such terms from their records -- and for an apology.

They also are seeking unspecified compensation for the labor they were forced to perform at the Fernald State School in Waltham, where they were confined from the 1940s to the early 1960s.

The men are among thousands of people institutionalized around the country as a result of the eugenics movement, which was based on the now-discredited idea that people judged inferior should not be allowed to reproduce.

The men presented Commissioner of Mental Retardation Gerald J. Morrissey Jr. with a petition, saying they were speaking on behalf of thousands who were wrongly committed to institutions around the state.

Fred Boyce, 63, of Norwell said the group was asking officials to help former residents of the schools get over the stigma of being wrongly labeled “morons” or “feebleminded.”

“Maybe this will give them some relief and help them realize there’s nothing to be ashamed about,” said Boyce, who was confined at the school between the ages of 8 and 19. He later became a real estate agent and runs a business.

Morrissey commended the men for their courage and called their confinement part of a “sad chapter in the history of our commonwealth.”

The commissioner said he opposed changing Fernald’s records, which he said could be seen only by the former Fernald residents or their representatives. He said he would consider putting a statement at the beginning of each file noting that the terms used in the file were “today highly offensive and inappropriate and unacceptable.”