"The Devil made her do it?"

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   Davinagirl3posted 13 years ago

   I just read the most tragic, horrible thing I have ever heard.  Another woman killed her child.  She claims she heard voices and the "Devil" made her do it. Do you believe in the "Devil", or is it just an excuse?  Could this woman's belief in a "Devil" contributed to such a heinous act?  I can't even think about the things she did to her three week old baby, much less repeat them.  Does a belief in "evil" promote the practice of "evil" deeds?  I am curious to hear your comments.  I am really disturbed by this and I can't shake the anger I feel.  Is there really a "Devil"?

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      David Bowmanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No, but there is mental illness and over-prescribed medications.

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      Poppa Bluesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Well evil does exist! It must so that we know what "good" is! In this particular case, I don't think a belief that evil exists played a role. This is more about a very sick and disturbed individual that went unnoticed and without the needed help or treatment to deal with her demons.

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      Pamda Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Devil came from God, God created everything, so God is evil. And now you should all hate God. Haha.

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      onthewritesideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Davina...you probably already know I'm an atheist, so no, I don't believe in all that.  This woman is obviously deeply disturbed, and I would hope that any good person, (religious or otherwise), would recognize that fact.  Killing innocent children for whatever reason is just plain sick.  I would hope that these people suffer years of torment by their fellow inmates before they are finally put to death by a means that is probably way too humane than what they deserve...

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      ledimiposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      that's crazy

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   Anti-Valentineposted 13 years ago

   I heard it on the news last night. Terrible.

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   fortunerepposted 13 years ago

   i am not sure about a devil, but apparently this mother suffered from schizophrinia or something close to it.  How old was the child and do you have a link to the story.  Being a missing and endangered children's advocate I would like to read it.
   
   dori

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      Davinagirl3posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.  Here it is.
      
      My question really corresponds with the "psychological breakdown" defence.  If there was no "Devil", or the idea of a "Devil" would schizophrenics hear voices?  Who would they blame then?

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   jenblacksheepposted 13 years ago

   I think it is possible that she really believed she heard the devil telling her to do it. Other people in her situation may have interpreted it as God. It's a genuine problem for judges and jurors in a trial when someone just really does believe they were told to do something evil by some supreme being. I think on the whole they say they have mental disorder.
   
   But no, I don't think there is a devil, in the same way I don't think there is a God.

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5. 71

   fortunerepposted 13 years ago

   I haven't read the story yet but if she is found metally unstable with proof of a mental illness a good lawyer could claim insanity
   I have heard that  phrase the devil made me do it, just according to what her devil was.  Was she hearing voices, she could have thought it was the devil.  Sure there will be more to the story.
   
   
   dori

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      Davinagirl3posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      There is much more to the story.  I just feel like these women, like Andrea Yates, choose convenient times to go crazy.  They're never crazy in court.  Why do these crazy women always hurt their innocent children?  They never "go crazy" when they are up against an opponent who can fight back.  I am just so angry for this baby.  I am not thinking clearly.  This story changed my mood for the worse.

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         Maddie Ruudposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well, isn't it crazy to hurt a child, by definition?  Clearly, these women are mentally ill.

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            Davinagirl3posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            If that is true then why isn't everyone who commits a murder, for murder's sake, deemed insane?  I would assume, with all murders, there would be a point when a person snapped, unless it was self defense.

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               Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               You can committ horrible crimes, even child abuse, in a rational state of mind.  The cold calculations that sometimes precede these acts are legal evidence of sanity.

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         EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Generally speaking, most people who commit these sort of acts do it while either untreated or during periods where they have failed to take their medication. That situation has usually been rectified during a trail and in very severe cases they might even be sedated to the point they couldn't act out.

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         fishmoxposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         They are thinking clearly in court perhaps because they are made to take their medications whether they like it or not, and this is the same reason they are non-violent afterwards.
         There is a big difference between "possession" and mental illness.
         Oftentimes (take note I said "oftentimes) a pastor can easily detect which one is which, but many medical professional who thinks the Bible is pure metaphysics would diagnose everything as "schizophrenia".
         Also, I think a good criminal investigator or lawyer should be able to, with some good background sleuthing, uncover whether the Devil was just a scapegoat so she can go scot free on an insanity plea-bargain.
         
         And, yes, the Devil exists, but he's got nothing to do with those who are already his.
         Scripture says his purpose in his miserable existence is to make the child of God miserable, not his own children.

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   Beth100posted 13 years ago

   The Devil is really a personal interpretation.  The act she committed is unspeakable and she truly must have felt that she heard the Devil's voice.  Regardless, it's still a heinous act to commit.  If we use this as a reason to justify actions, then more crimes will happen as there will be an excuse justifying the action.  Mental illness is a serious disease, but it does not give one the right to negate ones actions as there is help available.

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   Renit90posted 13 years ago

   We can never find out what was really going in her mind. A year ago i was really hooked into smoking marijuana, and i started to have this psychological disorder that made me think in really negative ways. I had times were I felt like the devil was after me, and it was trying to get control of me. At that point I became very scared because i felt like the devil was telling me what to do, but I would not listen to the voice because i knew that the devil is bad. After all i figured out that all that it was me thinking in a very negative way that led me into thinking the devil was speaking to me. I mean if the devil told her to do that why would she do it? Doesn't she know that the devil is bad?
   I have stopped smoking and i feel way better. The possibility could be that she was heavily into drugs. Another possibility that i have went was that I was arguing with one of my siblings and i got so angry that for a second I could not control my anger. I have never felt that before and I would never want to.
   We can never find out the truth, but obviously she has to be crazy to kill her own child.

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      earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Stop believing in the devil works better than giving up the weed.

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   lrohnerposted 13 years ago

   I saw this in the news too. Horrible. She's a schizophrenic who stopped taking her meds and was left alone with a 3 week old baby and two other kids. How can anyone be too surprised?

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   blondepoetposted 13 years ago

   You know I do not know how many times I have heard someone say "The devil made me do it." What a total cop-out.!!!!

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    fortunerepposted 13 years ago

    I agree BP, I don't think even the devil could make me kill my baby but this women was mentally ill, she had to be. I don't mean like bipolar I mean schizophrinic or a heavy drug abuser or both.  I was just watching the news and seen where they found a woman, dead in her apartment, she was 8 months pregnant and they mutilated her to remove the fetus.  WTF
    
    dori

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       blondepoetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Do you know where there may be an article about it Fortune? I never heard about this before...times like these I thank God that I was born normal...without mental diseases, without blindness, without deafness, without disabilities. It makes me so grateful.
       Then again there are some who are born healthy, then become killers etc when they are older, and not necessarily all of them have hard upbringings. I could never ever hurt anything. I know wrong from right.

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          lyrogersleposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          "...times like these I thank God that I was born normal...without mental diseases, without blindness, without deafness, without disabilities. It makes me so grateful."
          
          Guess what? You ARE disabled by your misunderstanding of disability. In this society, being blind or deaf is bad, but not being able to balance your checkbook is no big deal. You are only fortunate that society does not identify your disability as being bad. And please do not equate having a mental disability that leads to violent behavior with being deaf or blind. Lumping everyone considered "disabled" into one, nonolithic group is like saying all white people like chocolate cake.

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    earnestshubposted 13 years ago

    I agree with Maddie, anyone who hurts a child is missing something quite basic, and she is mentally ill as her actions indicate.
    I still feel the hurt that you speak of Davinagirl, and I was too upset by it to follow the story.

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    Pamda Manposted 13 years ago

    The Untold Story Of God
    
    So do you know why God created the Devil? Have you read the book 1984 by George Orwell?
    
    Devil is evil. Devil came from D'evil which translates to The evil in Pandaish. God created Devil because his people would have a target to hate, and by doing so their love to himself would be much more stronger and so you will never question God.

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    EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 13 years ago

    If the devil didn't exist, man would have to invent him.
    
    Plenty of schizophrenics have delusions that are completely unrelated to religion.

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       Pamda Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       What is it with you and schizophrenics?

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          EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          What is it with you and schizophrenics?

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    Pamda Manposted 13 years ago

    Hey did you know that John Nash was schizophrenic?

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    Pamda Manposted 13 years ago

    Remove humans and you will solve a lot of problems.

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    Sanctus Vesaniaposted 13 years ago

    Yes, I read about this story last night.  Absolutely horrible.  I can't say if she was hearing voices from the devil, but that is the oldest cliche in the book, next to "God told me to do it." 
    
    I hope this woman is sent to the asylum/prison for the rest of her life.

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       onthewritesideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       It's that Smith biotch all over again.  I say give her the same way out that she gave her kids.

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          Sanctus Vesaniaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          You mean have people chop her up with samurai swords?

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             onthewritesideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             No I think the Smith biotch put her kids in a locked car and pushed it into a lake.  Samurai sword death would probably be too quick and too good for her....

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