"Milligan’s Wars" by Daniel Keyes, summary

The 1994 documentary novel "Milligan’s Wars" by American author Daniel Keyes is a direct sequel to his biographical story "The Mysterious Case of Billy Milligan" and the second book in a series about a man diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. The work chronicles William Stanley Milligan’s ten-year stay in a high-security psychiatric hospital system and his ongoing struggle with the Ohio bureaucratic machine. The narrative reveals the realities of punitive medicine, the political manipulation surrounding the trial, and the internal transformation of a man forced to fight for his sanity.

Transfer to Lima Hospital and Staff Abuse

In October 1977, twenty-two-year-old William Stanley Milligan was arrested in Columbus for the kidnapping and rape of three female students. Defense attorneys Gary Schweickart and Judy Stevenson questioned his mental sanity. Evaluations by psychologist Dorothy Turner and Dr. Stella Carolin confirmed dissociative identity disorder. Twenty-four personalities coexisted within Billy. The dominant ones were the sensible Englishman Arthur and the powerful Yugoslavian Ragen, while the Teacher united the memories of all the alter egos. In 1978, a court found Milligan not guilty by reason of insanity and sent him to the Athens Psychiatric Hospital for treatment with Dr. David Caul.

Political pressure from legislators Claire Ball and Mike Stinziano, reinforced by publications in the Columbus Dispatch, led to a reversal of the decision. In October 1979, Judge Roger Jones ordered Milligan transferred to Lima General Hospital, a maximum-security facility for the criminally insane. From his first days in Lima, Milligan encountered the sadism of orderlies Sam Rusoli, Carl Lewis, and Kelly. Under constant stress, Billy began to experience "confusion" — a chaotic shift in personalities. His attempts to defend himself led to beatings, electric shocks in a special van, and placement in the isolation ward of Unit 9.

Resistance and Restorative Therapy Workshops

In response to the administration’s cruelty, the alter personalities banded together. Allen established connections with other patients, and Tommy took up painting, painting the walls of rooms and the hospital’s long corridor with panoramas of nature. Together with their blockmates, Gabe, Zach Green, and Lenny Campbell, they organized a workshop. The patients dismantled old furniture, removed oak doors from their hinges, including a cross from a local chapel, and crafted coffee tables and wall clocks. The proceeds from the sales allowed them to purchase equipment, establish a printing press, a pottery workshop, an animal shelter, and a sports team.

The abuse of orderlies led to the death of a young patient, Richard Case, and the tragedy of Mr. Braxo, who scalded and bit his own hand. The patients formed a secret union, the "Sons of Liberty," and prepared for open rebellion. However, in September 1980, Director of the Department of Psychiatry Timothy Moritz announced the governor’s decision to close Lima Hospital and hand over the building to the Department of Prisons. The armed rebellion was aborted, and a mobile electroshock therapy unit was damaged by a high-voltage discharge through a drainpipe.

Transfers to Dayton and Columbus

In November 1980, Milligan was transferred to the new forensic psychiatric center in Dayton. Director Alan Vogel tried to create humane conditions, but staffing shortages and strict security controls thwarted his efforts. Allen organized a hunger strike to protest the poor food, and Kevin taught patients to barricade their cell doors with steel bunks. During this period, Billy was supported by a patient from Athens named Mary, who kept a diary of his observations and helped maintain contact with the outside world.

In December 1981, Billy was transferred to the Central Forensic Psychiatric Center in Columbus. There, he married Tanda Bartley, the sister of one of his patients. However, in February 1982, his young wife ran away, taking his car and $6,250. Dr. Judith Box created the country’s first unit for patients with dissociative disorder, but due to conflicts with management and attacks from Representative Don Gilmore, she resigned. In April 1982, Billy was returned to Athens to see Dr. Caul.

Sheriff Robert Allen placed Milligan under surveillance and, in 1984, framed him for aiding in vandalism. The court acquitted Milligan, but the sheriff placed him in the county jail, where inmates were offered money to kill Billy.

Escape, Carr’s marriage and death hunger strike

In 1985, Judge Thomas Martin transferred Milligan to Columbus, where Dr. Stella Caroline administered amobarbital, temporarily fusing his personalities. The new clinical director, Lewis Lindner, ordered the drug discontinued and detoxification initiated, which threatened to kill the patient. On July 4, 1986, Billy unlocked the lock with a master key, and he escaped in a pickup truck. Using the identity of the deceased Christopher Eugene Carr, he fled to Washington state, settled in Bellingham, sold nature paintings, and befriended computer scientist Frank Borden.

After Borden stole bank funds and disappeared, Detective Will Zibell suspected Carr of murdering his friend. Billy fled to California and then to Florida with Tim Cole. In November 1986, FBI agents arrested Milligan in Key Biscayne. He was returned to Ohio under escort. Returning to Dr. Lindner, Billy declared a death-defying hunger strike in December 1986. On the thirty-fourth day, a court upheld his right to refuse force-feeding.

Facing imminent death, all twenty-four personalities finally merged into the Teacher. The authorities agreed to provide him with a computer to teach programming in exchange for ending his hunger strike.

Hacking the system and final liberation

Having mastered programming, Uchitel hacked into the Ohio Department of Psychiatry’s computer network and left the message "Billy was here — Ha! Ha! Ha!" on staff monitors. The resulting scandal forced officials to send him to Boston for an independent evaluation. In March 1988, Dr. James Chu of McLean Hospital confirmed that Milligan’s personalities had merged and he posed no danger. Judge Johnson approved his parole, and Billy began working as a computer operator and later consulted on computer security for politician Jerry Austin.

In October 1989, Billy’s solo art exhibition, "Cry from the Heart," was held in Columbus. In 1990, rumors circulated that Frank Borden’s body had been found in Canada, but an autopsy revealed a discrepancy. Borden was found alive and in witness protection. Meanwhile, Parole Commissioner John Shoemaker attempted to send Milligan to prison for the remaining thirteen years.

In June 1991, attorney Jim Cura discovered a February 10, 1988, parole report signed by Shoemaker in archive boxes, reinstating Milligan’s parole status. On August 1, 1991, Judge S. Howard Johnson ordered William Stanley Milligan’s final release from psychiatric and judicial supervision. In the late fall of 1991, Billy, along with author Daniel Keyes, visited the burned-out farm of his stepfather, Chalmers, in Bremen. Looking at the ashes, Billy forgave his tormentor, breaking the cycle of violence and finding inner peace.