Please sign our petition to free Paula Sims from prison. She’s been in prison over 26 years after suffering a severe mental illness called postpartum psychosis. Only your signature can convince the Governor of Illinois to grant Paula a clemency. Paula, age 56, may die in prison without your help. In 1989, Paula suffered from a rare mental illness called postpartum psychosis (PPP) during which she killed her baby. She was put on trial and sentenced to life in prison. Today, it is more common for women who kill their babies to be acquitted by reason of insanity as Andrea Yates was, but in 1989, few people had heard of postpartum psychosis (PPP).      

Up to half of all women who give birth may experience mild depression which is called the “baby blues.” Up to 1/5 of all women who give birth may experience a more serious form of the disease called postpartum depression. Marie Osmond, Brooke Shields, and Hayden Panettiere have all bravely come forward to tell about their struggles with postpartum depression. It is a rare mental illness that is caused by a hormonal imbalance in the brain following childbirth. Less than one percent of birth mothers experience postpartum psychosis where they cannot distinguish reality from their hallucinations. Of the 1% of women who suffer from postpartum psychosis (PPP), less than 1% of them will harm themselves and/or their baby. That’s approximately 30 - 40 women per year in the United States.      

It is rare that mothers kill themselves or their baby due to postpartum psychosis (PPP), but those mothers who survive are subject to the whims of prosecutors.  They are brought to trial often based on the political ambitions of the local district attorney who knows that these rare trials will get his/her name in the paper. Andrea Yates was put on trial twice when she killed her 5 children in 2001. The prosecutor attempted to get the jury to return a death sentence. She was convicted, but the vertict was overturned on appeal, and a new trial was ordered. The second jury brought back the verdict not guilty by reason of insanity. In 1990, the only time that mental illness was brought up at Paula’s trial was when the prosecutor asked her if she had ever suffered from postpartum depression. She answered “no” never having heard the term before. Paula’s trial was so infamous that two books and a made-for-TV movie were developed about it.        

If Paula were to be retried today,  I’m convinced that she would be acquitted. But because of the way that the law works, she is not allowed to get a new trial and her unfair conviction stands. Paula has no legal remedies. She will die in prison unless enough people take the time to sign this petition. Only the Governor of Illinois has the power to release her. Please sign this petition to ask the Governor Rauner of Illinois to free Paula! Please ask your friends to sign this petition! Paula will not be freed without your help! Please free Paula Sims!          

Sometimes babies survive PPP, but their mother’s don’t. If you want to hear more about one woman's story, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMUuZIdR_0 or go to YouTube and search for Carol Blocker. To read more about Carol's daughter, go to www.melaniesbattle.org  . For help or more information about this terrible disease, please go to www.postpartum.net .