This is an unbearable tragedy and my heart goes out to the children and everyone who loved them — grief and anger are understandable. But reading the piece, I’m struck by how the conversation keeps circling between “monster” rhetoric and purely punitive instincts instead of asking why a new mother could reach the point of postpartum psychosis without adequate intervention. The prosecution even admits she was mentally ill; the dispute is about severity and culpability. If our goal is to prevent future horrors, we need to treat severe perinatal mental illness as a public-health crisis: universal postpartum screening, guaranteed paid parental leave, accessible mental-health care and emergency supports, and training for first responders and clinicians to spot and act on psychosis early. That doesn’t erase the need for accountability or for justice for the victims, but criminalization alone won’t fix the systemic gaps that leave parents isolated and untreated. We should push for both compassionate, evidence-based treatment pathways when illness drives tragic acts, and policy changes that make these crises far less likely to happen in the first place.