Appeal Denied, Andrea Yates Seeks Another Delay

One day after an appeals court rejected their claim of double jeopardy, attorneys for Andrea Yates asked for another delay in the start of her murder trial for the drowning deaths of her children, which is scheduled to begin Monday.

Defense attorneys asked Judge Belinda Hill to delay her trial until sometime this summer because two expert witnesses scheduled to testify for the defense will not be available if the trial begins next week.

"Both witnesses are material and extremely important to the defense," attorneys George Parnham and Wendell Odom wrote. "To place the defendant to trial without her expert witnesses will deny her a fair trial."

Psychiatrists Dr. George Ringholz and Dr. Lucy Puryear testified for Yates in her original 2002 trial. Yates was convicted of murder in that trial, but the conviction was later overturned on appeal.

On Thursday, an appeals court ruled that there was no prosecutorial miscount in Yates' first trial and denied her claim of double jeopardy, clearing the way for her second trial to begin Monday.

Judge Hill said a hearing on the latest request for a delay will be heard Monday morning.

See Also:
Yates' Attorneys Again Ask for Trial Delay
Court: Andrea Yates' Trial Is a Go

Background:
The Trial of Andrea Yates
Profile of Andrea Yates