Atrocities and Desecration

Throughout the years the cemetery at this Nevada hospital has suffered neglect and horrendous acts. There are eye witness accounts of the excavation of the asylum ditch through the hospital property. Those accounts tell of bodies being dredged from their graves with body parts strewn about, of skulls being taken home and gold teeth removed. There are accounts of watching workers dig graves too shallow, burying bodies in cardboard refrigerator boxes then jumping on the boxes to get the box to fit the hole before covering the grave. In subsequent years this desecration took another form in the name of progress. On March 28, 1949 the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill No. 357. Section 3524.01 stated "it is hereby made the specific duty of the board of commissioners of the Nevada hospital for mental diseases to abolish the use of any cemeteries now located on the hospital grounds." Apparently the word "abolish" meant the cemeteries were no longer there and the land could be used at will. There were apparently no provisions made for the care of the graves previously placed in the cemeteries.Over the years a road was constructed over part of the cemetery as well as a fire station. In 2005 the legislature approved a $91 million increase in the mental health budget, with plans for building a $4 million kitchen and a plan to renovate the site. Again an estimated 40 graves remaining seemed an inconvenience to the State of Nevada. Instead of dedicating the area of this cemetery within its perimeter and allowing this site to be respected, the kitchen and parking lot were built. Newspaper articles quoted concerned politicians discussing the uproar that might be caused by moving the graves and musing over how someone would feel if a member of someone's family was buried there. It is now 2008 and what remains of the cemetery is just a field that cars could easily drive over with no barrier and no sign to even show the basic respect that it exists.A member of someone's family is buried there. Cora is a perfect example. In fact, a minimum of 40 families, probably more, have someone buried there. Many families undoubtedly do not even know their family member is at the hospital cemetery. When the hospital was first constructed inmates were brought to the hospital from Stockton. There may be many families in California who never knew what became of their family members.