The Petition To Free Gypsy Rose Blanchard Just Reached Its Goal Of 150,000 Signatures

A petition to free Gypsy Rose Blanchard just reached its goal of 150,000 signatures, which means it will be turned over to the Missouri governor to consider whether Gypsy should be released from prison before shes up for parole in 2024.

ICYMI, Gypsy Rose Blanchard is a 27-year-old Missouri woman who planned the murder of her mother , Dee Dee, in 2015, with the help of her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn . Dee Dee abused Gypsy her whole life-she suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy (now known as factitious disorder imposed on another), which led her to pretend Gypsy was severely ill and mentally and physically disabled.

Dee Dee forced Gypsy to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube she didnt need, kept her out of school, lied about her age, and made her have unnecessary surgeries and take medication that may have actually caused health problems.

Gypsys story skyrocketed back into popular culture since the release of a new series on Hulu called The Act, which tells a dramatized version of the Blanchards life. The new series may have contributed to the the influx of signatures on the petition-which has been online since 2017-and many people have signed because they feel Gypsy was acting in self-defense when she planned her mothers murder.

Her father, Rod Blanchard, created the Change.org petition, writing that hes hoping for any relief to Gypsy's 10-year sentence, a shorter sentence, perhaps relocation to a mental facility where she can get the better help she needs. While Rod didnt see Gypsy regularly as she was growing up (mostly because Dee Dee tired to keep them apart and then they relocated from Louisiana to Missouri), hes very involved in her life now.

He noted in the petition that Gypsy has a community waiting to support her when she gets out, including her stepmom Kristy and younger siblings Dylan and Mia. She has suffered long enough. Please help her come home, he wrote.

Now, it will be up to Missouri Governor Mike Parson to decide what, if anything, to do with the petition. Gypsy has also publicly called for supporters to write letters to Governor Parson encouraging her early release.