Many will condemn Rachel Reeves ("Mom charged in death of 15-month-old girl," Sept. 20) as a monster, but few will understand the crisis induced by what appears to have been sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is a common affliction suffered by parents of babies and toddlers.

It is also a standard technique used in torture. As one who has experienced sleep deprivation as a training exercise in the U.S. Air Force, I can attest to its ability to alter your state of mind. I knew going into the training what to expect, but few parents know what is waiting for them when a child cannot sleep night after night after night. Maybe I was fortunate to have had the torture training before my first child came along, but even so, none of my three kids attained the level of torture master. Some parents are not so lucky.

Reeves' story is all the more tragic because there were resources available to her. If not friends and family, here in Minnesota she had a network of crisis centers for people who have reached the end of their rope. Unfortunately, few people know these services exist. New parents may be told about them at the hospital, but attention to a newborn likely pushes that knowledge to a forgetful recess of the brain.

While everyone will be condemning Reeves, will anyone remember this sad case as an object lesson? Will they look out for others' well-being and offer to help or remind them that professional help is available? And more important, will any of those with a passion to condemn and hate also have a passion to support and love by contributing resources (time, material, money) directly to friends or through charities that reach out to desperate moms and dads? One place to start is www.crisisnursery.org.

DOUG HARRISON, NEW HOPE