Pritchard, William

Tried in Shropshire in 1836 on a charge of bestiality. Although he had received a basic education at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in London, the judge summarily labeled him a "lunatic" and thus incapable of understanding the charges against him or defending him, even though he could communicate through sign language. He was left in custody indefinitely; there is no record of what eventually happened to him.