When young Arthur got into trouble with the friends he had fallen in with, the matter ended up in court. The judge sent the other boys to the state's industrial school. Arthur, however, was sent home. His father told the judge that if Arthur could come home, he would never cause any trouble again. Arthur's father gave his word and kept it by keeping Arthur in the house effectively for the rest of his life until he was drawn out by Jem and Scout.
The means he used to keep Arthur confined are never precisely known, but they were severe enough that Arthur attacked his father one day with a pair of scissors. The children learn some details about Arthur's history from Miss Maudie, who tells them that the Radley house is "a sad house." She also comments that if Arthur wasn't crazy, "he should be by now. The things that happen to people we never really know."
By sending Arthur home, the judge did him no favor. The boys who went to the industrial school, however, received the best education they could have found in Alabama.
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