I was watching the news today and a story ran about a mother in Colorado that threw alcohol & sex parties for her teenage son. The mom apparently would host these parties for her son and his friends at her house, get the teenage boys drunk, and then have sex with them. Sentencing was held yesterday for mother after she was convicted of sexual crimes.
The judge asked the mother if she had anything to say. The mother said that she has a mental illness and that is why she committed the crimes. Her attorney argued that since the mother had Bipolar Disorder that she should receive leniency. The judge was not swayed by what the mother had to say and sentenced the mother to 30 years in jail.
Having Bipolar Disorder myself I have very mixed emotions with this case. From where I sit I can easily see how one with Bipolar Disorder could so easily let their mental illness get so far out of hand that one would get involved in illegal activity including illegal sex. On a personal experience I know that my Bipolar Disorder was getting way out of hand when I finally received intervention. I know that if it wasn’t for God causing my world to stop when it did I could have very easily been another criminal, statistical victim of Bipolar Disorder.
My heart goes out to this mother. Do I believe that she should not be held accountable for what she did? Absoloutely not. I do however have some problems with the sentencing that the judge gave her. I feel the judge overlooked her mental illness in sentencing the mother to the general prison population. I would have rather seen the mother sentenced to a state mental hospital where she can get help and rehabilitation.
Just because you have a mental illness such as Bipolar Disorder does not mean that you can commit a crime and expect to get away with what you’ve done or even receive leniency for it. Even though there are many people such as myself who have a mental illness, each and every one of us still must follow the law. If we do not, we can expect the long arm of the law to real us in.
Today there is more help available for those of us suffering from a mental illness then ever before. Psychiatric medicine has made more advances in the last ten to fifteen years I personally feel then have been made in the past one hundred years. Today having a mental illness does not mean you having a scarlet letter on you like it did twenty, fifteen, or even ten years ago. It is now accepted that having a mental illness is many times not much different then having any other kind physical illness or disorder. That is why I write this blog, to open up, to reach out, and to destroy the negativity that surrounds mental illness.
I am now starting to hear reports of others that have been encouraged to receive treatment for their mental disorders through these writings. Knowing that I’m helping someone make their life better is the ultimate compliment for me. It is for that reason that I give God praise for giving me the words to write here.
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Be Blessed!
BIG SCOTT
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