The Man in a Full Mental Jacket: Ed Morrell

A fascinating three-part series on a man named Ed Morrell.

Morrell was thrown into prison in San Quentin in the early part of the twentieth century. He became known as “The Dungeon Man”, because he survived torture while in prison—torture that killed most men.  Writer Jack London became fascinated with his story after meeting him and hearing him talk about his experiences of being forced to wear a full body suit which was intended to cause angina. It was a form of torture devised by prison personnel and doctors. While wearing the suit Morrell would experience a sense of being outside of time. London’s book was called The Star Rover. In 2005, The Jacket was released. It is a film based on Morrell’s experience.

Morell’s life was unusual from early childhood. At the age of nine he was forced to work in coal mines, in California. He escaped and stowed away on a ship to Austrailia, eventually becoming part of the crew. But a turn of events caused him to have to return to San Francisco, where he met a man who robbed trains–a kind of Robin Hood–while serving him food as a waiter. Although Morrell never robbed a train, his association with this man resulted in his being falsely convicted, and then tortured in prison. Yet, he survived to tell his story.

He died in 1946, three years before the subject of my film, (Indelible), Carl L. Harp, was born. There are parallels between their lives.  Harp’s childhood landed him in close proximity to those who would cause him to end up in prison for crimes he did not commit. He too was tortured in prison, but only his words survived.

We tend to forget how cruel our prisons can be and how those behind their walls may not all be guilty of their crimes. We forget that those given power over those in cages often abuse their positions and carry out torture with the approval and assistance of trained medical providers who live in golden homes with golden lives and have Carte Blanche to–in a sense–write prescriptions for torture.

I always remind myself when listening to stories that frame our society through the media to notice who is allowed to speak, who is allowed to be heard. Then look for those who are part of these same stories but are silenced or smeared. Somewhere inbetween you will find the true telling of history.

 

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