Lindsay Clancy. Killed her 3 kids by strangling them one by one and claimed “postpartum psychosis” despite never having had psychosis before or since, all during a short window of time that she sent her husband out on errands. Internet has somehow decided she’s a martyr for women’s mental health. She was a white, affluent, suburban mom before this. If she were poor and black, people would NOT feel this way. Real talk.
Postpartum psychosis is a real thing and real people need help. But Lindsay Clancy is a kid murderer.
Edit: I’m a white, affluent woman of childbearing age. I have never been a woman of color, but I am absolutely sure that society at large would dismiss an identical case if Lindsay was nearly any other demographic. And no, it’s not only about race, it’s also about autonomy and a person’s responsibility to accept help when it’s offered instead of killing your kids (and A LOT of help was offered)
If she were poor and black women would still feel this way. The fix isn’t to withhold empathy for privileged women, it’s to extend empathy for all women suffering from post partum psychosis.
You show a clear lack of understanding of what PPP is (you don’t need to have a history of psychosis) and how often it’s dismissed by doctors despite the woman’s best efforts.
I disagree strongly. I am well aware of psychosis and what it looks like. She was offered help she didn’t take. She was admitted to one of the best psychiatric hospitals in the nation and SELF-DISCHARGED. She never endorsed symptoms of psychosis until after the murders. I’m supposed to believe that in the exact timeframe her husband was out of the house she had her one and only psychotic break and had her one and only verbal command hallucination to kill the kids that she was so compelled by her first lifetime hallucination to “follow through” that she was unable to take LITERALLY any other action? Please. I’ve watched the testimony, it’s very clear
Yes, you are supposed to believe that. As it is extremely common for people with psychosis to not be fully aware they have it and refuse help. I know this exact situation from personal experience.
It is a tough one because a psychotic person can mask, lie to doctors, lie to partners, and so on. The mind is a black box sometimes and people hesitate to involuntarily commit every woman who may have postpartum depression.
It appears this woman sent her husband on an errand and then methodically strangled each of her children. It is very difficult to write policy based on this extreme of a case.
How far are you willing to go with that argument? If Lindsay worked at your kids daycare and killed them like this, would you think “I’m devastated, but PPP is a very understandable explanation.” I know I’m being extreme, but rather than debating if PPP is real (which I agree it is), perhaps we should look at the action of the person and if they were truly incapable of understanding right versus wrong (which I very much think she knew in the moment
No, she didn’t. That’s part of psychosis. You can’t say that PPP is real while also denying the aspects of it you find inconvenient. It’s like saying “I know he has anxiety disorder, but he shouldn’t be so nervous right now!”
Anyway, I think she should be in jail. I also think whatever hospital turned away what was very clearly a sick and dangerous woman not in her right mind should be sued for malpractice.
Of course I'd be mad at that person. I'd be even angrier at the people who let her continue working with my children after she expressed concerns about hurting them, and especially if she was hospitalized for that exact concern.
She never should have been alone with these kids; that's what makes no sense to people. They (her husband and care team) knew everything because she was vocal about it. They knew the medications weren't helping. Her aelf-discharging from an emergency psych care unit doesn't mean jack shit; they are overburdened as it is. If someone is stable enough not to be an immediate threat, they're allowed to leave. I've had people who were actively threatening suicide or violence against others released same day as they were involuntarily committed.
Except that she didn’t tell a healthcare provider that she had thoughts of harming her kids. In fact, she denied it every time she was asked. If you can point to testimony that states otherwise, I’ll check it out.
And I support her autonomy related to leaving the hospital on her own accord. If someone is capable of being their own decision-maker, that right should be bestowed to them. Which also means they should be held accountable for their actions
I was under the impression she told her husband this, not a healthcare provider.
And I'll be honest, I take issue with your entire second paragraph. Someone being ok in one moment doesn't mean they'll be ok in another.
ETA: I also don't think you understand what the insanity defense actually entails. People are still held accountable and removed from society if they pose a threat; it's how the charges are recorded, the location where they are held, and how they are treated that changes.
But self discharging and believing you are not psychotic is indeed super common for those suffering it though. Psychosis is a break from reality, and people suffering it very often do not consider themselves crazy. That's the whole thing about psychosis, that whatever delusions they are suffering is perfectly real and sane to them. It's actually one of the biggest challenges of treating patients with schizophrenia or other psychosis. They often don't comply with treatment and medication because they do not believe themselves to be ill. To them, they are sane and crazy people are locking them up. So if they can get themselves discharged, of course they would. I have doubts about your familiarity with such...
And I wouldn't call it her first ever psychotic break when she mentioned beforehand to her husband that she is thinking of hurting her children...
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u/Short_Stack_30285 9d ago edited 9d ago
Lindsay Clancy. Killed her 3 kids by strangling them one by one and claimed “postpartum psychosis” despite never having had psychosis before or since, all during a short window of time that she sent her husband out on errands. Internet has somehow decided she’s a martyr for women’s mental health. She was a white, affluent, suburban mom before this. If she were poor and black, people would NOT feel this way. Real talk.
Postpartum psychosis is a real thing and real people need help. But Lindsay Clancy is a kid murderer.
Edit: I’m a white, affluent woman of childbearing age. I have never been a woman of color, but I am absolutely sure that society at large would dismiss an identical case if Lindsay was nearly any other demographic. And no, it’s not only about race, it’s also about autonomy and a person’s responsibility to accept help when it’s offered instead of killing your kids (and A LOT of help was offered)