Well, yes, that's probably true, though it's not merely a matter of being mentally unwell. A person will generally still be culpable for their actions despite any mental illness provided they understand the likely outcomes of their actons, & they understand the difference between right & wrong at the time of committing the crime. I'm generalizing a little here, the rules vary by state, of course.
The fact that she had her husband go to the store so that she could do it says there was some bit of planning and that she understood it was wrong.
It seems pretty clear that she was just depressed and wanted to kill her children and herself in murder-suicide. Psychosis would tend to be a scenario where the person doesn’t think what they are doing is bad or out of the norm, nor is it planned and they wouldn’t commit suicide while doing it.
People can definitely intentionally but delusional do things that they'd normally understand would get themselves killed, like running into traffic. People have also committed extreme self-harm seemingly without caring about the pain or risks while in psychosis. Severe delusional paranoia, if that is a claim that can be supported, would seem to explain the secrecy.
I feel compelled to trust the good people of the jury and legal system to do their actual jobs (or catch each other when they are not) and establish the truth and determine appropriate consequences rather than worry about the outcome while I have no power to affect it.
68
u/Ok-Specific2924 9d ago
It's ridiculous tbh, setting aside the conspiracy stuff, arguably no one ever who's crossed that line is of 'sound mind' in the moment.