Forgotten Would-Be Gateway Mass Murderer Pleads Guilty

[N'Zinga Shani]

Would-Be Gateway Mass Murderer Pleads Guilty

"Amanda Bowden was a forgotten woman pleading guilty to a felony charge—and pleading for permission to leave prison to get the Zoloft she needs."  According to the article in the New Haven Independent, Amanda is 19 years old.  There are many Amanda Bowdens in our society; they are mainly black and brown; occasionally they are white.

There are a few truly disturbing pieces of information attached to this woman's situation. 1) It seems clear to anyone with a modicum of mental health awareness that this is someone who is in need of mental health care.  She is crying out for help. Where are the built-in mechanisms in our community to help people such as Amanda Bowden so that they do not end up spending years in prison?

2) According to the information provided in the article 'No friends or family appeared to support Bowden (pictured in a photo she posted on Facebook)' How truly sad. 

3) She is 19 years old; the article says she has had mental health issues since having her first child.  That implies that she has more than one child; where are her children?  Who is caring for them?

4)  Locking this woman up in prison says something simply awful, heartless, callous and oppressive about our society. 

The money we will be expending to imprison her would be a much better investment if it is used to get her the mental health care she needs.  Locking her up is not going to resolve her mental health issues. 

 This is America; we are not in Iran, Pakistan or some other backwards country where women are treated brutally by the state. That this can happen in CT in 2013 is a sad commentary about poverty, ignorance and the need for community advocates on behalf of the poor and unsupported. A public defender only addresses one small aspect of her needs.
This case says nothing positive about us as a society.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/guilty_...