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Andrea Yates: Not guilty by reason of insanity

Posted by: ST on July 26, 2006 at 2:15 pm

Via Fox:

HOUSTON — A jury on Wednesday found Houston mom Andrea Yates not guilty of murdering her five kids by reason of insanity.

The decision comes after the jury deliberated for three days in Yates’ retrial to determine whether she was legally insane when she drowned her five kids in the family home’s bathtub. Her 2002 murder conviction was overturned because of incorrect testimony by a witness.

It’s expected Yates will be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. She would have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of capital murder.

The defense never disputed that Yates drowned her five children one by one in the bathtub of their Houston-area home. But they said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell.

Yates stared wide-eyed in court Wednesday as the verdict was read. She then bowed her head and wept quietly.

I’m weeping, too, over this verdict – but for far different reasons:

John Cannon, the police spokesperson, described for the media what the team had found.

On a double bed in a back master bedroom, four children were laid out beneath a sheet, clothed and soaking wet. All of them were dead, with their eyes wide open. In the bathtub, a young boy was submerged amid feces and vomit floating on the surface. He looked to be the oldest and he was also dead.

Here’s a photo of her children, with Yates and her then-husband Rusty. Here’s a photo of the boys – Noah, John, Paul, and Luke – prior to the birth of their little sister Mary.

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    • 8 Responses to “Andrea Yates: Not guilty by reason of insanity”

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    1. benning says:
      July 26, 2006 at 3:11 pm

      Unfortunately there is no “Guilty But Insane” verdict. I agree that she is insane. But I think the fact that she could be out on the street, in not too long, is appalling.

    2. Dana says:
      July 26, 2006 at 4:37 pm

      The verdict is unsatisfying, if reasonable. But the greatest probability is that Mrs Yates will remain incarcerated in a mental hospital for many, many years, possibly the rest of her life.

      In an AP story published before the verdict was announced:

      Yates to Become Prisoner, Regardless

      DALLAS – Whether she’s convicted of murder in the bathtub drownings of her young children or acquitted by reason of insanity, Andrea Yates will likely spend the rest of her life as a prisoner.

      If jurors agree with her plea of innocent by reason of insanity, Yates would be sent to a state-run, maximum-security mental hospital that would in no way resemble a country club.

      Patients at Vernon State Mental Hospital in north Texas, where Yates would be initially sent, spend their days under orders, allotted only a small amount of daily free time, just like inmates in the state prison where Yates would spend the rest of her life if convicted.

      The hospital campus is encircled on all sides by a 17-foot-high fence dotted with guard towers.

      “I would say that anyone who thinks it too cozy, go up there and spend two nights,” said David Haynes, attorney for Dena Schlosser, who was acquitted by reason of insanity in the death of her infant daughter and has been at Vernon since spring.

      “They are in there … and they can’t come out,” he said.

      Yeah, it’s possible that she will eventually be released, but if that ever occurs, it’ll be many, many years down the road. I do wish that Texas had a “Guilty, but Insane” verdict, to tighten up cases like this, and perhaps the state legislature will get going on that one after this case, but I don’t see this result as some huge injustice.

    3. Severian says:
      July 26, 2006 at 4:43 pm

      I’ve never understood the rationale behind “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Look at it this way, if a person was sane, then punishment can be a deterrent, in that if you punish them hard enough, they will get the idea and not do that again. But insane or didn’t know it was wrong due to mental state? That’s hopeless, if they aren’t sane enough to know it’s wrong, just shoot them. It’s impossible for normal punishment to work on them. They shoot mad dogs don’t they?

    4. forest hunter says:
      July 26, 2006 at 7:31 pm

      Sev: I’m sure glad I took the time to read your comment. EXACTLY!

    5. Marshall Art says:
      July 26, 2006 at 10:46 pm

      This is just the kind of case that drives a Christian nuts—so to speak. Obviously the broad is crazy if she could do such a thing to her own kids. But should that mean punishment is out of the question? The main problem with this result, is that somewhere down the road, some lib judge might find her “healed” enough to be freed. I would think it far more likely for her to be freed if she’s in an institution rather than prison as a heinous murderer, which she is.

    6. Drewsmom says:
      July 27, 2006 at 6:19 am

      O.K. this is how I feel.
      She did has post-partum depression which is common. The doc told her so called husb not get her pregnant again but they went right on humping and popping out innocent beautiful children. He knew she was loose as a goose but continued. He has gone on record saying that he still talks to her and they reminiece (sp) about the children. BS, IF MY SPOUSE HAD KILLED ALL MY KIDS, I’M DONE, I DON’T TALK TO THEM, IT’S FRIGGIN OVER. THIS GUY IS SO REPUGNENT.
      Also it has not come out that were in some kind of wackish cult like church, kinda following the Waco type guys but the msm ain’t talking about that. I heard it on radio from a guy who has seen the transcripts but the jury didn’t hear this.
      Also, when you are in psycosis you don’t come in and out like her. You are not gonna chase some of the kids down, drown each on, put em on a bed and call your spouse and then the police. SHE KNEW IT WAS WRONG AND SHOULD BE IN A JAIL WHERE THEY HAVE PSYCH SERVICES AND THEY DO HAVE THOSE JAILS OUT THERE.
      I am so pissed about this, nother example of forgetting the victims and favoring the perp.

    7. christina says:
      July 28, 2006 at 11:38 pm

      As a matter of fact Andrea Yates will only serve 2-3years tops in the mental institution and will be out on the streets with no convictions and can work at a child care facilty if she so chooses. I am from Texas and this is what happens to people that get “not Guilty By reason of insantiy” ex. Nathan Dale Campbell is now out on the streets after only 5 years in the mental institution.