Strange Bedfellows

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Violet is Torn Between Being a Professional and Being a Victim of a Horrific Crime
By Moira McMahon, Researcher

In Episode 305, Strange Bedfellows, Violet attempts to put the past behind her by testifying against Katie in court.

In her first try, Violet walks off the stand. She doesn't want to relive the worst day of her life by recounting all the gory details. Just seeing Katie is traumatic.

But when Katie's father comes to visit, Violet knows it's not going to be easy to just walk away. He begs Violet to visit Katie.

Katie suffers from Delusional Disorder. This is a mental illness in which someone holds unwaveringly to a belief that is false. They cannot be talked out of this belief, no matter how strong the evidence to the contrary. This false belief can drive them to act out of character, with disturbing results. Katie's actions were justifiable to Katie because she was under the delusion that her own baby was inside of Violet. This was Katie's motivation to cut open Violet and steal the baby.

After visiting Katie in jail, Violet goes back to court. This time, she tells the court all the horrible details of the crime. But when questioned, she admits that Katie's actions were a direct result of the delusional disorder she was suffering from when she committed the crime.

Because Violet admitted this in court, she helped Katie's lawyers plead for treatment rather than punishment. Criminals who are shown not to be in control of their mental faculties are sent to mental health centers where they can get help instead of jail.

But mental illness or not, Katie has shown that she is a dangerous person.

What if she goes off of her medication in the future? If she could cut open a pregnant woman, what else could she do?

Violet showed compassion by admitting that Katie was delusional—but did she do the right thing by helping Katie avoid jail?

What would you do?

Should Having a Diagnosed Mental Illness Keep a Criminal Out of Prison?