Gypsy blanchard case

For her entire life, Gypsy’s mother Dee Dee placed her under the impression that she was terminally ill and suffering from cancer, muscular dystrophy, cognitive disabilities, and blindness. Gypsy underwent numerous surgeries, visited hundreds of physicians and was taken out of school after kindergarten while Dee Dee assumed full control over her life. It was not until June of 2015 that Gypsy reobtained control of her life, as she arranged for her boyfriend, whom she met online, to kill her mother Dee Dee. After 24 years of constant abuse, Gypsy finally escaped captivity only to be arrested and charged with first-degree murder. According to Bradley, the aim of penalty is the “wrongdoing of the criminal’s daring and unfair declaration of his own motive” (Bradley and Gerald, 2003), but what if the criminal committed the crime out of self-defense in order to gain access to his own will? By analyzing the costs and benefits of Gypsy’s punishment, we can understand that the costs of Gypsy’s imprisonment on her current and future wellbeing heavily outweigh the benefits received by society.

The only thing I knew was that I could walk, and that I could eat. As far as everything else, she’d shave my hair off. And she’d say, ‘it’s gonna fall out anyway, so let’s keep it nice and neat!”. Despite the crime she committed, Gypsy was just as much of a victim as her mother. It appears she was left with no other choice than to kill her mother if she ever wanted a chance to experience freedom. For someone with severe psychological trauma like Gypsy, consistent care and treatment is a fundamental aspect of recovery. (Keough & Peter, 2017). Gypsy’s segregation from society prohibits her from growing accustomed to the normal scripts and schemas of life outside of prison that she was never able to experience, for she will inevitably be placed at a disadvantage when she ventures into the free world.

With a criminal record, as well as her continued isolation from the rest of society and lack of adequate treatment, Gypsy will never be able to function as a normal member of society due to her 10-year sentence. Instead of a prison sentence, which imposes more costs than benefits, Gypsy should have received intensive psychological treatment and probation. The judge doesn’t seem to have considered the general or background issues that may have subjected the accused to engage in illegal behavior, or the possibly discrete conception of ruling held by the casualty’s family, the charged, and by the society. Even though in most cases such mistakes would be enough to validate sending the issue back for a fresh hearing, in these conditions, it wouldn’t be in the interests of integrity to order a fresh trial to canvass the accused’s proceedings as sick criminal.