Deanna Laney

The Deanna Laney case in Tyler, Texas is a terrible tragedy. Laney, 39, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the beating and murder of her own sons. She killed two of her boys, aged 8 and 6, and seriously injured her youngest, aged 14 months. The attacks themselves were horrific - she very deliberately smashed their skulls in with rocks. She says she didn’t want to do it, but that God had told her to. CNN reports that she said:

“I feel like that I obeyed God and I believe there

will be good out of this,” she told psychiatrist Dr.

Phillip Resnick. “I feel like he will reveal his power

and they will be raised up. They will become alive

again.” http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/31/children.slain.ap/index.html

No one can hear about this case and not feel heartsick over the terrible fate these boys suffered. Their agony and fear is painful to think about. It should be noted that their father is standing by his wife, as Andrea Yates’ husband did. This is in stark contrast to the case of Susan Smith who drowned her children and led the nation on a racist wild-goose chase for a black perpetrator. Her husband did not believe she was mentally ill and did not stand by her in any way.

One would think from the media coverage of the Andrea Yates, Deanna Laney, and Susan Smith cases that maternal filicide (mothers killing their own children) was exceedingly rare and worthy of huge airtime. However, Dr. Cheryl L. Meyer of Miami University reported:

“… we found several thousand cases from 1990 to 1999

involving mothers who killed their children, and we

researched over 200 of them. Approximately 10 percent

of these women had killed more than one child.

However, other than Susan Smith, who drowned her two

small sons in Union, S.C., most people would find it

difficult to name another one of these mothers.” http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/595/context/archive

Does that mean that there are thousands of insane mothers out there just waiting for “the voices” to tell them to murder their child? Well, no. Of the hundreds of maternal filicides that are committed each year, the vast majority are due to neglect, abuse, or the abandonment of an unwanted newborn. In fact, the murder of a child by a psychotic mother is exceedingly rare. According to the BBC, “Post-natal psychosis, an extreme form of post-natal depression that affects less than 1% of mothers, has been blamed for some two dozen babies’ deaths in the US in the last 20 years.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1401667.stm

Since we know that cases of psychotic women murdering their children are atypical, how do we deal with it? Some of our current leaders have very harsh and shocking ideas. In an article posted on the Republican Party website on April 2, 2004, it is suggested that Laney be charged with a hate crime so that she will get extra punishment on top of life in prison if convicted. In the words of the author, the compassionless Jan Ireland:

“Dee says God told her to do it. So in a deeply religious

family, why hide that? God’s will is followed in deeply

religious families. If Dee felt she was doing what God

wanted her to do, there should have been joy. She

committed the acts furtively because Dee knew that she

was not obeying God. She was acting out of deep

narcissistic anger at being trapped.” http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/jireland/2004/ji_0402.shtml

In the same article, Ireland goes on to suggest that, “Dee has already gotten what she wanted. The children who were the focus of hate are gone.”

I guess the Republicans missed the part where, “All five mental health experts consulted in the case said Laney had psychotic delusions and was incapable of knowing right from wrong at the time of the killings, the legal standard in Texas for insanity. [Psychiatrist William] Reid said the case is the first time he’s seen such agreement among experts in similar trials.” http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/31/children.slain.ap/index.html

It is possible that one of the roots of her delusions was unhappiness with motherhood. She wouldn’t be the first woman to discover, too late, that mothering is not for her. However there is no evidence of such a thing in Laney’s case. In fact, like Yates, she was known as a devoted mother who dearly loved and closely cared for her children up until the time of the tragedy.

So assuming we’re going to put the mad Republican suggestion aside … what should be done? Does society have any recourse? Shouldn’t these dead children be honored with justice?

Society missed its chance to provide justice for those children long ago. By behaving as if mental illness does not exist, or that it can simply be treated with a pill and forgotten, society failed them. It is not easy to obtain mental health care in the United States, there is still a huge stigma attached. A perfect example is the young woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of rape. I have no idea if her accusation is true or not, but I do know that there has been a huge battle over her mental health records. In many court cases any history of therapy or medication suddenly makes a person suspect. I believe that this reflects the true attitude of society toward mental illness treatment… if you enter treatment you become a second-class citizen. You can be hospitalized against your will, legally forced to take medication or submit to shock (ECT) treatment (go to http://www.mindfreedom.org to learn more about forced psychiatric treatment). Why on earth would anyone feel safe to seek care?

Unlike Andrea Yates, who was on psychiatric medication and had been hospitalized many times, Laney had no history of mental illness though the experts who interviewed her found her to be extremely ill. She had battled the “voice of God” that told her to kill her children for a long time, but had told no one. Her husband did not realize that she was so disturbed, though her family had noticed signs of depression. They didn’t know that Laney believed that her baby’s babble was confirmation from God that he understood her when she “talked in tongues” at church.

Ironically, the extensive coverage of the Andrea Yates case also had a hand in this tragedy. Laney believed that she and Andrea Yates were chosen by God to be the only witnesses at the “End Times”. Once again, religion and delusions come together. It is obvious why this occurs. Religion requires practitioners to have faith … to believe that which they cannot verify. It is a fertile ground for a delusional mind to run rampant.

I think that Laney should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The government should embark on a program of destigmatizing and promoting the treatment of mental illness. It can accomplish this in several ways: media advertising, educating religious leaders on how to spot potentially troubled members, offer real mental health parity that isn’t simply a drug subsidy, require that treatment centers offer choices in treatment so that no one has to fear force, and make discrimination against mentally ill people illegal, particularly in court.

Why should the government be involved in such an enterprise? Because it owes that and more to children like Deanna Laney’s sons. In order to protect them it must make sure that their mothers and fathers aren’t left without any help when they need it the most.