In the article "How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill," Bly uncovered several significant problems with the process of admitting people into the asylum and releasing them. One major issue was the lack of thorough investigations or criteria for admitting patients. Evidence from the text indicates that individuals could be committed for arbitrary reasons, including being deemed "unfit" based on minor disagreements or behaviors that society deemed inappropriate.
Furthermore, the release process was equally flawed, often lacking clear procedures. Bly noted that once individuals were admitted, they could find it nearly impossible to be released, regardless of their true mental state. This is supported by observations in the text regarding how some patients remained inside the asylum for extended periods without proper evaluations or the opportunity to appeal for their release. This highlighted a systemic problem where individuals were trapped in the asylum without just cause, revealing serious flaws in the mental health care system of that time.