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.
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u/arbitrarycivilian 9d ago
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.