I do not want to post another report of the incident in Florida involving Ebony Wilkerson who drove from South Carolina to Daytona, Florida with three children in tow to drown them all by driving her van into the ocean. But, I do have to comment on this case because it requires something from us that is most difficult; compassion. Compassion for Wilkerson’s children and most of all, for Ebony herself. I do not personally know any of the people involved; however, I do not believe that under normal circumstances that Ebony would have made this decision to end her and her children’s lives. She was in both a spiritual and emotional crisis.

Ebony’s family were very concerned about the state of her mind and called police for assistance prior to the incident. Law enforcement responded and found her sound enough to allow Ebony to proceed to what they thought would be a women’s shelter because of the tumultuous relationship she had with her estranged husband.

Each day something new is revealed about this story but so far, it seems that everyone did all that they could. In most states in the U.S. it is very difficult to have someone committed to a psychiatric ward unless they pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. Obviously, Ebony Wilkerson was both but there was insufficient evidence to proceed in having her committed.  This is one of the frustrating factors for people whose family members are mentally ill until it is too late. The burden of proving that your loved one is mentally ill rest on your assessment which is often not valid enough, until after a mental health professional has made an official diagnoses. Whenever I hear about these situations, I wonder; “What could the family have done to prevent this?”

Now Ebony Wilkerson will become a part of the largest statistics to date; African American and incarcerated (Munetz et al, 2001). She will face charges relating to trying to commit an act of murder-suicide. If convicted, she will spend time in prison and “maybe” she will receive the help she needs.  There are folks out there who say, “She needs to go to prison! She should’ve ended her own life and left her children out of it!” However, I have found that these same critics would have dissuaded her or have dissuaded their own mentally ill family members because, “Black folks is always stressed-you don’t need to be seeing no psychiatrists!” Again, Ebony’s family followed the right course of action which shows that there are no guarantees even in an idea situation. In Ebony’s case, it was good Samaritans that rescued them all.

Munetz, M.R., Grande, T. P., Chambers, M. R. (2001).  The incarceration of individuals with severe mental disorders.

Community Health Journal,  37(4), 361-372.