Gypsy Rose was released on Dec. 28, 2023, after serving 10 years in jail. She was convicted of the second-degree murder of her mother, after years of her mother manipulating her into thinking she was diagnosed with many diseases and ruining her childhood. Gypsy felt no escape from this other than killing her mother with her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn. Her innocence now is the subject of debate.
“I think it was terrible what her mom did to her,” freshman Sophie Trevio said. “I feel bad for her and her story.”
Many feel for Gypsy since she was manipulated for so many years by her mother and ended up in a jail cell for another 10 years after all that. She had a very tough childhood and getting imprisoned added to it all since she didn’t just hurt her mother to be a bad person, but to protect herself, according to many interviewees.
“I think Gypsy should’ve found someone to talk to or to tell what she was going through or call the cops instead of resorting to being a part of the killing of her mother.” freshman Valentina Ross said.
Although some people are on her side and think she was in the right killing her mother after everything she put her through, others believe there were other ways to get herself out of this. Students think talking to someone trusted for help or maybe her boyfriend to call someone instead of hurting her mother may have been a better idea.
“I think Gypsy should’ve been in jail since she did commit murder,” sophomore Sadeen Alromouh said. “But maybe not as long as she did because she had a good reason to do it.”
Some think it’s reasonable for Gypsy to be sent to jail for murder since it is a crime but not for as long as she served. Although she killed someone, she did it because of how she was treated for so long. There were other things she could’ve done, but maybe it just never worked out for her.
“I feel that Gypsy shouldn’t have gone to jail because she was getting abused and all the things that happened to her just weren’t fair,” sophomore Nicole Zakhary said. “Maybe what she did was for a reason and her whole life, so I think she’s innocent.”
Others think that it may have made more sense if Gypsy just wasn’t sent to prison and was given a chance due to the circumstances that she was in. Although she did hurt her mother, students think that it was for a valid reason, considering everything she was put through for all those years in her childhood.
“People make mistakes but we all deserve another chance at life,” freshman Reyan Amir said.
