The Minds of Billy Milligan

Examine the role of the media in Milligan’s life following the verdict. What were some of its positive and negative impacts? Assess whether the media’s involvement and influence in Milligan’s case was justified.

Critically examine the treatment of the rape survivors in Milligan’s case, including the lack of their perspectives in the book as well as the attention their stories received with respect to Milligan’s illness.

Milligan’s attorneys requested that he be tried based on laws existing at the time of the crimes rather than at the time of the trial. Examine the retroactive application of laws and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

Enumerate Milligan’s different alters and examine the purposes that each was meant to carry out. Were they each equally effective? Why or why not? How did this affect Milligan’s quality of life? Refer to the text to support your views.

Despite the fact that Milligan’s family and teachers noticed his strange behaviors even in childhood, including his changeable temperament and trancelike states, he did not receive the right treatment for his illness until much later in life. What factors prevented his receiving the care he needed?

Comment on how Milligan’s life and experiences explore the stigma surrounding mental illness that exists within both the legal system and society, referring to the text to support your views.

Daniel Keyes, the book’s author, has academic grounding in psychology as well as literature and creative writing. How does the confluence of these two fields appear in the style, voice, and treatment of subject matter in the book?

In the context of Milligan’s case, its impact on the legal system and legislation, and how the concept of DID has evolved over the years, comment on the boundaries of criminal responsibility with respect to mental illness.