Parenthood is tricky.  Do too much for your child, and you’re a helicopter parent; do too little, and your kid lacks sufficient support.  Finding the right balance is an art…or in this case, witchcraft.  Leonarda Cianciulli was a serial killer and black magic practitioner from Italy who devoted her entire life to protecting her son from a damning curse she truly believed would kill him.  Can we really fault a mother for doing whatever she thinks it will take to save her child from evil?  Yes, yes we can, because Leonarda’s depraved, immoral, and unlawful acts were (mis)guided by her belief in the “law of equivalent exchange;” that is, to save her son’s life, she'd have to take another life.  Leonarda’s maternal drive led her directly towards a very sharp ax, ritualistic human sacrifice, and cannibalism.     

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