Murder Med For Depression 18/11/1991 Georgia Mother Shoots & Kills Daughter
Med For Depression	1991-11-18	Georgia	Mother Shoots & Kills Daughter

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Summary:<br><br>Paragraphs 8 &amp; 9 read:&nbsp; &quot;<font size="3">But Mr. Berry said that&#39;s inconsistent with the personality of Mrs. Monroe - a mother of four who doted on her daughter. He blamed her actions on four prescription drugs Mrs. Monroe was taking at the time.&quot; <br /><br />&quot;&#39;She was under the influence of these drugs to the point that s<strong><u>he wasn&#39;t thinking properly and acting in a rational manner,&#39;&nbsp; Mr. Berry said.&quot;&nbsp; <br /><br /></u></strong></font>Paragraph 13 reads:&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;<font size="3">But the role may have begun to take its toll. In 1988, Mrs. Monroe began suffering constant itching from a skin irritation, Mr. Berry said. Her doctor prescribed four types of <strong><u>drugs </u></strong>for the itching and<strong><u> for the <em>depression </em></u></strong>resulting from it. A month before the killing, Mrs. Monroe&#39;s doctor doubled the dosage of one of her drugs, Mr. Berry said.&quot; <br /><br /><br /></font><h3><strong>Mother wants year of home confinement in slaying plea - Cobb woman who shot ill daughter seeks unique penalty </strong></h3><font size="3">The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution - Monday, November 18, 1991 <br />Author: SHEPARD, BEVERLY, Beverly Shepard STAFF WRITER: STAFF<br /><br />A 67-year-old woman accused of murdering her epileptic daughter wants to plead guilty today to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for a year&#39;s confinement in her Smyrna home.<br /><br />If a prosecutor and a Superior Court judge accept that proposal, it could be a first-of-its-kind sentence for a felony offense in Cobb County. <br /><br />On Nov. 13, 1988, Barbara Lena Monroe shot her 32-year-old daughter, Gail Terrell, in the back while she stood in the bedroom of the Monroe home. <br /><br />&quot;The family - even her son-in-law - don&#39;t want to see Mrs. Monroe go to jail,&quot; defense attorney Jimmy Berry said. Under Mr. Berry&#39;s proposed sentence, Mrs. Monroe would wear an electronic ankle bracelet during her year&#39;s in-house confinement. <br /><br />On Friday, Mr. Berry met with Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Smith and Cobb County Superior Court Judge Grant Brantley to discuss a plea. The details will be released in court today, Judge Brantley said. <br /><br />Three years after the shooting, Mrs. Monroe&#39;s motive is still in question. Was it mercy or <strong>murder</strong> ? Or, were a battery of <strong>medications</strong> the prescription for this crime? <br /><br />Mrs. Monroe initially told police she shot her sickly daughter to put her out of her misery. Mrs. Terrell suffered about 10 seizures a day. She also had trouble walking, because one leg was slightly shorter than the other. <br /><br />But Mr. Berry said that&#39;s inconsistent with the personality of Mrs. Monroe - a mother of four who doted on her daughter. He blamed her actions on four prescription drugs Mrs. Monroe was taking at the time. <br /><br />&quot;She was under the influence of these drugs to the point that she wasn&#39;t thinking properly and acting in a rational manner,&quot; Mr. Berry said. <br /><br />Mrs. Monroe had been a caregiver most of her life. <br /><br />She cared for her first husband until his death from cancer. After Gail&#39;s marriage to Bennie Terrell in 1977, the couple moved a few houses from Mrs. Monroe, who continued caring for her disabled daughter, cooking, ironing and helping with her bills. <br /><br />Drugs and <strong>depression<br /><br /></strong>But the role may have begun to take its toll. In 1988, Mrs. Monroe began suffering constant itching from a skin irritation, Mr. Berry said. Her doctor prescribed four types of drugs for the itching and for the <strong>depression</strong> resulting from it. A month before the killing, Mrs. Monroe&#39;s doctor doubled the dosage of one of her drugs, Mr. Berry said. <br /><br />On Nov. 13, 1988, Mrs. Terrell came to pick up a lunch basket at her mother&#39;s house on Camp Highland Road. Mrs. Monroe left Gail in another room and walked into the bedroom, where she pulled out a shotgun. She was loading it when Gail came in. <br /><br />&quot;She doesn&#39;t remember what happened,&quot; Mr. Berry said. &quot;The only thing she remembers is putting the shell in the gun and trying to pull the breech up. In pulling it up, that&#39;s when it fired.&quot; <br /><br />Last year, Mrs. Monroe offered to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for a 3-to 5-year prison sentence. But Judge Brantley rejected that plea. He said provocation must exist for a voluntary manslaughter plea and none existed here. <br /><br />If the latest defense plea is rejected, a jury trial will begin in Cobb County today. Mrs. Monroe faces life in prison if convicted of <strong>murder</strong> . <br />Caption: photo: Barbara Lena Monroe She has proposed what could become a first-of-its-kind sentence for a Cobb felony.<br />Edition: The Atlanta Constitution The Atlanta Journal <br />Section: LOCAL NEWS<br />Page: E/3<br />Index Terms: Cobb County ; Homicide ; Sentencings ; Trials <br />Record Number: 913480044<br />Copyright 1991 The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution<br />To bookmark this article, right-click on the link below, and copy the link location:<br /><a href="http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&amp;rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:AJBK&amp;rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&amp;rft_dat=0EB7D1035C378716&amp;svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&amp;req_dat=0FC00B934DD580D0">Mother wants year of home confinement in slaying plea - Cobb woman who shot ill daughter seeks unique penalty </a></font> 
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