During the nineteenth century some doctors claimed that crime and epilepsy were linked. This paper explores whether this influenced how people with epilepsy were treated in the Australian criminal justice system. Overall, there is no evidence that it adversely affected sentencing decisions or the treatment of prisoners. Doctors occasionally pursued the insanity defence for cases involving epilepsy and homicide, ostensibly to avoid the death penalty. In South Australian prisons, care was rudimentary for people with epilepsy, but improved in tandem with legal reform. The close association between gaol and lunatic asylum also provided prisoners with access to better treatment. I argue that despite stigmatising language, the needs of people with epilepsy were recognised in prisons and their treatment was humane.
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