I’m not going to jump to Dickensian conclusions here. Undoubtedly what was done to her was grossly unfair but I get the distinct impression she IS mentally retarded. Would a person of normal brain wattage have been so easily kept institutionalized for decades if she was of normally sound mind and didn’t want to be there? Would her parents so readily given her up to the system if they thought she didn’t belong there?
In our country, if you are not a public threat (sadly, sometimes if you are) you are released into society.
There is no excuse for this.