http://www.texasobserver.org/features/gone-baby-gone
This article depicts the story of Otty Sanchez, who murdered her baby while she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. The article investigates how Sanchez actually sought help prior to the murder but had slipped through the cracks of an under-budgeted mental health system in Texas. Despite clear evidence supporting a legal insanity defense, prosecutors are planning to seek the death penalty. It is truly a tragic but eye-opening article for anybody who is interested in the problems that the mental health systems face and what happens when there is a break down in communication between professionals seeking mental health help for their clients. It is true that hindsight is 20-20. However, as it pertains to the Sanchez case, so many clear warning signs were left ignored by so many people and the two people who did recognize the pending break-down went unheard.
Just to warn those who may read this article, some of the facts listed in it tend to be graphic in nature.
This article depicts the story of Otty Sanchez, who murdered her baby while she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. The article investigates how Sanchez actually sought help prior to the murder but had slipped through the cracks of an under-budgeted mental health system in Texas. Despite clear evidence supporting a legal insanity defense, prosecutors are planning to seek the death penalty. It is truly a tragic but eye-opening article for anybody who is interested in the problems that the mental health systems face and what happens when there is a break down in communication between professionals seeking mental health help for their clients. It is true that hindsight is 20-20. However, as it pertains to the Sanchez case, so many clear warning signs were left ignored by so many people and the two people who did recognize the pending break-down went unheard.
Just to warn those who may read this article, some of the facts listed in it tend to be graphic in nature.
“Police officers would describe the crime as one of the most gruesome they had ever seen. Some of them later needed counseling.”
The previous statement made me think about an aspect of the criminal justice system that I had rarely considered before. As many television shows portray, cops are strong, fearless, and show little emotion. They get the job done efficiently without getting too emotionally involved and without it weighing much on their emotional state. I can’t even imagine what the sight of this murder scene was like, but I don’t even question that a cop should look at it without much trouble. Because the person is given the title as a cop I just assume they can handle such an emotional situation with ease. I feel like television shows have given us a false perception of cops and detectives. They show them as being fearless when in reality their well being should be a far greater concern and something people and society don’t take for granted. These people are still people, and I have great respect for cops who put themselves in not only physical but emotional danger when working in their field.
Another point I found interesting in this article was when Otty Sanchez was evaluated at a hospital by a counselor. She was not admitted to the hospital because she didn’t report feeling “suicidal or homicidal”. The article then states that a social aspect then comes into play when shown that new mothers won’t usually answer this question truthfully. There is not only a social desire to appear like a good mother, but there is a fear that if answering yes to being suicidal or homicidal the government will then take their child away. I can’t think of many mothers who wouldn’t lie in this situation. They have carried this baby for nine months, so in most cases the last thing a new mother wants is to lose her child. These types of situations just show us how hard it is to properly evaluate people with simple question and answer, and the fact his woman was not admitted into the hospital was extremely unfortunate.
I found this article very interesting! Otty Sanchez has had a history of hearing voices and seeing things since she was five yet when the time came for her to have to pay for her own medications she was unable to. The fact that Texas has around 400,000 people who are slipping through the cracks and not receiving help for the mental disorders is mind blowing. Somehow it would be advantageous to obviously use money to fund more mental facilities and allow for those who need it to be able to receive the medication they need. It is also mind blowing that Otty was in and out of the hospital in an hour after telling nurses that she was hearing voices and seeing her babies face change. Something was obviously not right and discharging her from the hospital so quickly was a mistake.
“Police officers would describe the crime as one of the most gruesome they had ever seen. Some of them later needed counseling.”
The previous statement made me think about an aspect of the criminal justice system that I had rarely considered before. As many television shows portray, cops are strong, fearless, and show little emotion. They get the job done efficiently without getting too emotionally involved and without it weighing much on their emotional state. I can’t even imagine what the sight of this murder scene was like, but I don’t even question that a cop should look at it without much trouble. Because the person is given the title as a cop I just assume they can handle such an emotional situation with ease. I feel like television shows have given us a false perception of cops and detectives. They show them as being fearless when in reality their well being should be a far greater concern and something people and society don’t take for granted. These people are still people, and I have great respect for cops who put themselves in not only physical but emotional danger when working in their field.
Another point I found interesting in this article was when Otty Sanchez was evaluated at a hospital by a counselor. She was not admitted to the hospital because she didn’t report feeling “suicidal or homicidal”. The article then states that a social aspect then comes into play when shown that new mothers won’t usually answer this question truthfully. There is not only a social desire to appear like a good mother, but there is a fear that if answering yes to being suicidal or homicidal the government will then take their child away. I can’t think of many mothers who wouldn’t lie in this situation. They have carried this baby for nine months, so in most cases the last thing a new mother wants is to lose her child. These types of situations just show us how hard it is to properly evaluate people with simple question and answer, and the fact his woman was not admitted into the hospital was extremely unfortunate.
(I posted this 2 weeks ago, or so I thought. I reposted tonight though because I am guessing it didn't)
I found this article very interesting and shocking at the same time. I wanted to read this article because I never heard of this story and when I read the abstract I just couldn't believe that Otty would do such a thing; however, after reading the whole article I am completely shocked about how this all came about and the condition that Otty had. I never heard of postpartum psychosis and I was very interested in what it was and how it takes control of a person. I am not shocked about the reasons why Otty killed her baby, due to this mental illness. What I am most shocked with is how the hosipital and texas handled Otty and just released her.
I just couldn't believe that the hospitial personel did put more time and effort into Otty's condition. I thought it was shocking that the counslers asked that open question about whether they were suicidal or homicidal. It is very true that a mother is not going to want to admit to murderess feeling toward their children, because they will not want their children to be taken away from them.
This case is also interesting in how the courts should take action toward this situation. I think cases like these are very hard and I do not know how judges and cops deal with such situations; however, im very excited to learn how they deal more with situations like these and how things are figured out and decided.