4 AUGUST 1984, Page 18

Sane Reich

Sir: Whether Matthew Parris ('The origin of sex', 7 July) is justified in claiming Wilhelm Reich's work 'discredited' is de- batable, but whether Reich 'died in a mental asylum in New England' is not: he died in the Federal Penitentiary at Lewis- burg, Pennsylvania, on 3 November, 1957, 'legally sane and competent' according to the authorities.

Richard A. Cohen

Department of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, USA