Once again, I'm behind the curve. I only recently became aware of the story.
If the story about Gypsy Rose Blanchard is true, she should get a refund from government of any of her relatives' tax money, and her boyfriend should have been paid a bounty (taken from "law enforcement" budgets). There shouldn't have been any imprisonment for either of them.
That's IF the story is true, which is never a good bet.
Mentally ill people, like (apparently) her mother, can't be immune from the consequences of their actions, even if they "can't help themselves". If you do something like that to your child, no reasonable person would fault your child for doing whatever it takes to escape your clutches.
I have a friend who was in less severe, but similar circumstances. She was so scared of her mother, and what she imagined her mother would do to her if she moved out-- even after she had turned 18-- that she stayed in the abusive home for several more years than she should have. Long after she could have walked out without her mom being able to send the cops after her to force her back into the home-- which is what she truly believed would happen.
So I understand why Gypsy Rose didn't "just leave". She didn't believe she could.
The state, by punishing her and her boyfriend, continued the abuse her mother had been committing. The state owes restitution to them both, and her boyfriend needs to be immediately released from prison.
