The Texas Tragedy
I’ve read quite a few diary entries now concerning the mother who killed her five children in Texas this week. I am amazed at the absolute lack of compassion so many are displaying in this situation.
What has happened is a horror and a tragedy. I cannot begin to fathom what could possibly have driven this woman to commit such a deed. But something did drive her to it. It’s called depression. She was under treatment. She had attempted suicide. She was under therapy. She was taking medication. She was apparently making progress. There is much evidence that she loved her children.
But days after the event, people are calling for not only the execution of the mother, but punishment for the father as well. Who else shall we punish? The grandmother, who was on the phone with the mother that day? The doctors and therapists who were attempting to help her? What kind of witch-hunt are you calling for here?
The enemy is called “depression”. It is a mental illness. It can lead to psychosis. There are not always clear signs. This woman showed every sign of improvement. She is going to have to live with this deed for the rest of her life, however long or short that is. If and when she is cured, the knowledge of what she did while she was ill is going to haunt her to her grave. What larger punishment can you imagine for her? Her husband cries for his children. He has the compassion not to compound tragedy with tragedy. He is an amazing man, to be able to understand in the face of all that has happened that there is a sixth remaining vicim to this and is willing to stand by her.
How shall we avoid this in the future? Shall we remove all children whose mothers have postpartum depression from their homes and place them in foster care? Shall we take it a step further and remove all children from homes where either parent is currently being treated for any kind of depression? I know … let’s place all children in foster care whose parents were ever treated for depression. That will keep them safe.
There is a good, brief article at the New York Times web site today:
Mom Describes Killing Five Kids. You need to sign up with the New York Times site to be able to read it, but don’t let that stop you. I have never received a single piece of junk email because I joined there, and I now have access to some fine news reporting. This is not a touch-feely article exonerating the mother. Those of you on looking for reasons to hate will find plenty more excuses to do just that, if all you decide to read are the details of the attack. But if you read the article through to the end, you will find some additional information about postpartum depression and psychosis. I suspect that this is something that we’ll read more about as this case progresses.
It is estimated that over half of new mothers experience post-partum depression. One to two percent of these women may develop a full blown psychosis from this. It is a tragedy. It is a horror. And we add to it when we lose human compassion.
Here, here.
There needs to be less judging and more reaching out. There are at least seven victims in this crime.
i don’t know all the details of this crime, but that is more reason for me not to jump to conclusions.
Why would the husband, dr’s etc, allow a woman who’s so depressed and suicidal to be alone with the children? And I’m not saying that they should have taken the children away from her….I saying that they should have found a way to help her cope with her illness and in the meantime take the steps necessary to protect the children. In my mind, the safetly of the children should have been priority. I think as a whole society failed to protect those that can not protect themselves.
They allowed it because she was making progress. The meds were apparently helping. She showed no current signs of wanting to commit suicide. She did not appear to be a threat to herself or others. Psychology has not yet gotten to the point where it is an exact science that can accurately predict people’s actions.
Yes, it’s awful that they didn’t see it coming. But I find it worse that there is now a movement to condemn everyone associated with the mother for failing to stop the killings.
There is no evidence I’ve seen that this mother’s condition was being ignored and neglected (like the vast majority of postpartum depressions, I might add). They were attempting to get a handle on it. It was the professionals opinion that she was safe to herself and others. But psychology is not an exact science. Psychologists are not psychic.
To make meaning from this, we have to learn, and then apply what is learned to help others. Blame and calls for vengence in the lack of evidence that there was negligence is not going to help here.
I want to reply to that shortsighted comment above…..and add to your victim tally to make it 7.
The Father!!!!!
What right have you to criticise him.
What a piece of hypocrisy….
I have to agree with the above comment, as I’ve already atested to in others’ entries. I understand that the mother was suffering from postpardum psychosis, but her husband and doctors knew that. And yet, they thought it perfectly fine to leave her to care for 5 children, one being an infant. She was not capable of caring for one child, let alone 5, in her condition. They knew it. They left her there. Of course they can’t take the kids away just because a parent is depressed. BUT when a parent is suicidal, and depressed to the point of psychosis… there is no way she should be left alone with her kids! She should have been in a hospital, and/or the children should’ve had someone else looking after them until the mother recovered from her postpardum. I don’t understand how the father could not have seen how bad off she was. And if he did, he sure as hell shouldn’t have gone to work and left her alone with the kids. Just my opinion, but I see it as just as much his fault as hers, maybe even more. He was the "sane" one. It was his job to make sure his family was okay. He didn’t. They weren’t. Now 5 of them are dead because nobody had the foresight to see a potential tragedy when the clues were right in front of their eyes. I understand about hearing voices and all of that. I feel bad for the mother. She must feel terrible… she must have felt terrible… it is terrible. But, who was taking care of her? Whoever it was, didn’t do a good enough job. I can’t comprehend why a doctor, who knows his patient is suffering from postpardum psychosis and has attempted suicide, would see fit to allow her to be carrying on a normal life with her 5 little kids… like there was no reason for concern or possiblility of harm. What if she’d killed herself instead? What would have happened to the children that day if their mother had committed suicide and left them alone in the house? Again, they should’ve seen the possibilities here and done something to prevent this. We can’t just say "oh she was depressed. What could’ve been done?" Lots could’ve been done. Lots should’ve been done. And yet, all they did was give her some meds that obviously weren’t working. Is that proper treatment? She obviously was NOT improving… she was getting worse. How could they not see the danger in letting a suicidal, severely depressed woman be in charge of taking care of 5 kids, when apparently, she couldn’t even take care of herself?
And again….
Why are you all criticising the father…does it make you feel better!!!!
None of the articles I’ve read have shown any indication that there was any reason to believe she was a *current* danger to the kids. If you’ve seen anything to the contrary, candle, let me know the site. I’ve been trying to keep abreast of this, and would appreciate any new information. I can’t believe that the father or the psychologists thought she was a danger. Nobody would have ever wanted this to happen.
Salamander, jst like you I am concerned too. Yet this world is changing, and within the changing some people are not going to be able to change with it. For one thats why we are seeing so much negativity around here. Its going to be quite a trip for this change.
You can read my diary entry once I get it all written. Love,Alaina
As a matter of fact, yes, I DID see an article on MSN that said that the father admitted that his wife WAS NOT responding to the meds this time around. They gave her Haldol the first time she had Postpardum Depression, and she responded. When they gave it to her this time, however, she DID NOT respond. That was why I said they shouldn’t have left her alone. As for you, Promethian… thanks for the lovely email.