Gypsy Rose Blanchard Goes Viral

On December 28th of last year, the media went into a spiral after the news of Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s release from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri. After guest starring on numerous morning shows and interviews, everyone longed for a moment with her after seven long years behind bars.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s case is an extremely unique one— she falls victim to a comparatively rare psychological disorder and form of child abuse called Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Also referred to as Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another, it’s characterized by the faking of mental illness symptoms by a caretaker onto a child. Most often, the caretaker is a mother imposing on her child, which was no different from Gypsy’s case. Her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, manipulated Gypsy into thinking she was disabled and younger than she was. Dee Dee even went as far as allowing her to undergo unnecessary, risky surgeries to sell the act.

However, on June 14th, 2015, Dee Dee was found deceased in her home, murdered by her daughter and her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn. While he was punished with a life sentence and no chance of parole, Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite serving around 85 percent of her sentencing, lots of controversy surrounded her punishment. In fact, those here at Sewanhaka voice their own opinions. Erica Romero, a sophomore, believes that her decade’s worth of sentencing was far too long. She admits that while being an accomplice is a felony and that she should face repercussions, she was simultaneously being abused. So with consideration, a few years for her crime alongside therapeutic treatment would have sufficed instead.

Regardless, she only ended up serving seven of her years as she was let out on parole just recently. Hania Hyder, another sophomore at Sewanhaka, deems those years rather quick. “I feel like she should’ve done more time—at least nine years to me,” she says. But what do you think—was seven years enough… or should she have served a couple extra?