Munchausen syndrome by proxy

             Last week in  my Criminal Justice 497 course we talked about munchausen syndrome by proxy.  MSP is a mental illness in which a person, usually a parent , acts as if an individual he or she is caring for has a mental or physical illness. The person suffering from this illness produces or lies about the person being sick and often results to making the individual sick purposely just to gain attention from others. This form of abuse usually happens to children and older adults who cannot fend for themselves. This is sad because for someone to go to such measures for attention is ridiculous. What I don't understand is how people can purposely and knowingly inflict harm on another just to gain a little attention or make themselves look good. Because this has turned into a common form of abuse, people who are found guilty of perpetrating this act can face possible jail time. I think this is a great idea because just like murderers or rapists these people are criminals.