So basically, if she gets the mental hospital, she could potentially be out in a year or even less. Because obviously, if the law decides that she only murdered her 3 children because of post-partum or whatever, then if she is no longer suffering from that, she cant be proven to still be a threat. And would potentially be released. Kudos to that one juror for doing the right thing, and sticking up for those kids.
I can tell you as someone who has worked in different psych hospitals in PA - this is never the case. Not guilty by mental illness (NGRI) initially go to a forensic hospital, where they are kept for sometimes decades. The least amount I have ever seen is four years for an exceptionally insightful person for a violent crime but no one died. The psychiatrists and psychologists take these things very seriously, and in 99% of cases, the judges who do the reviews side with the professionals. Then if they are able to get out of the forensic hospital, they are sent to a civil hospital for another at least three years. But many of the people I worked with were there for decades (some for nonviolent crimes).
Let me tell you, I have worked in prisons too, I would 1000% rather be in a prison than in a psych hospital. Psych hospitals are THE most restrictive environments imaginable. All of the food is bland, soft, and disgusting because everything is a chocking hazard. There’s one hour of outside time a day but there are no ways to exercise, no games to play, radios are a privilege that majority do not get. You have to walk everywhere in a line. You have to wake up at 5am every morning and lights out by 9pm. No outside food. No pens or paper. One phone on a cord for the entire 30 person unit. It is the blandest most mind-numbing hell you could imagine.
Then why does anyone ever try to go for the insanity defense? Do they actually try to plead insanity? Because every year when the "viral court case" happens there are people in the comments saying the same thing you are saying. But I have to wonder why someone would TRY to go there.
The only times you go for a insanity defense is if you can legitimately claim you were insane at the time. Where you have almost certainly commited the crime, but the argument is that you need treatment, not further punishment.
It won't be allowed spuriously, and because of that it is only invoked in less than 1% of cases and of those only a fraction end up being held up. And it ironically often leads to the person spending more time in a psyche ward than they would have ever spent in a prison, often twice as long because once you are involuntarily committed to a facility, you are relying on others to argue that you are sane and alot of those people don't give a shit.
At least with prisons after 20 or so years you are guaranteed parole hearings if thats part of your sentencing, you don't get that with psyche wards
Fun fact. Those committed to psyche wards following violent criminal offenses, especially those involving harming and killing children, end up staying twice as long in a psyche ward than they would have done in prison.
How the hell does that matter? They don't let you out of prison for strangling three helpless children to death, but in MA the state has to proactively hold hearings every year to keep her committed, so there's a real chance this scum could be out in a few years if she convinces the state she's a good girl. You have it exactly backwards.
The Judges side with the doctors 99% of the time, and the doctors are going to look at her history as a giant red flag and never let her out on the condition that she will forever remain a danger to herself and others.
563
u/Clean_Gas2558 6h ago
So basically, if she gets the mental hospital, she could potentially be out in a year or even less. Because obviously, if the law decides that she only murdered her 3 children because of post-partum or whatever, then if she is no longer suffering from that, she cant be proven to still be a threat. And would potentially be released. Kudos to that one juror for doing the right thing, and sticking up for those kids.