The strange saga of Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been back in the news lately.
In 2015, Blanchard was arrested for the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.
Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, and during the first decade of Gypsy's life, her mother had subjected her to painful and unnecessary medical treatments.
Dee Dee convinced the world that Gypsy suffered from leukemia, asthma, muscular dystrophy and brain damage so severe that as an adult, she had the mental capacity of a 7-year-old.
Gypsy was not actually afflicted with any of these ailments, but at her mother's insistence, she was confined to a wheelchair, fed through a feeding tube. and forbidden to leave the house without Dee Dee.
When the abuse became too much for Gypsy to bear, she recruited her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to murder Dee Dee.
These days, Godejohn is serving a life sentence, and Gypsy is locked up until at least 2024.
There's been renewed interest in Gypsy's case in recent months thanks to a number of film and television projects focusing on the case.
Most recently, the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, and the scripted Hulu series The Act have made millions aware of Dee Dee's murder and Gypsy's abuse.
Last week, the world learned that Gypsy had gotten engaged through a prison pen pal program.
And now, the long-suffering 27-year-old is asking for the public's support in getting out of prison so that she can truly begin her life.
In a newly-released email sent to her father and addressed to her many supporters, Gypsy asked the public to contact Missouri governor Michael L. Parson on her behalf.
“Hello friends and supporters,” she begins.
“I appreciate the continued encouragement throughout my prison sentence. Many of y’all have signed the Free Gypsy Blanchard Petition created by my father, Rod Blanchard, Blanchard continues.
"Now, I must ask a favor.”
“I am respectfully asking all who wish me an early release to please aid my father in his efforts for my freedom, and write a letter expressing support for my early release to either the Missouri State Governor, Michael L. Parson, and/or the Division of the Missouri State Board of Probation and Parole,” she adds.
“I am scheduled for a parole hearing in December of 2021. However, any and all letters of support are helpful. Please remember to add my first and last name and DOC# in the letter. Thank you,”
If you wish to join the campaign to help free Gypsy Rose, you can reach out to probation.parole@doc.mo.gov using the subject line, “P&P Inquiry," or write to Governor Michael L. Parson at P.O. Box 720, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Be sure to include Gypsy's full name, as well as her inmate number, #1302048.
No doubt this is a morally complex situation -- but there's certainly a case to be made that Gypsy has suffered enough.