Showing posts with label November 16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label November 16. Show all posts

16 November 2016

Out of prison, into hospital

On this date in 1939, infamous Chicago gangland chief Al Capone was freed from prison and immediately taken to Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore to be treated for paresis.

A brother of Capone served as the family spokesman on the occasion. Refusing to address Capone's physical and mental health, the brother said Capone was, "in a cheerful mood and doesn't hold a grudge against anybody."

Capone had been sentenced to eleven years in prison following a tax evasion conviction. He served seven years of the sentence before being released.

Newspapers described "paresis" vaguely as a softening of the brain. They mentioned that a "malaria treatment" was planned for Capone at the hospital.

The condition was an inflammation of the brain resulting from late-stage syphilis. Its symptoms included dementia and paralysis. The malaria treatment involved infecting the patient with malaria in order to bring on a high fever. In a number of cases, the fever provided temporary relief from paresis symptoms.

Logan Ohio Daily News, Nov. 18, 1939.