Andrea Yates Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
A Houston jury of six men and six women found Andrea Yates not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after deliberating more than 12 hours over a three-day period. Yates was on trial for the drowning deaths of only three of her children -- Mary, 6 months; John, 5; and Noah, 7 -- at not for the deaths of Luke, 2 and Paul, 3. This was her second trial for murder after her first murder conviction was overturned on appeal.
The only two choices before the jury were either guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity. Under Texas law, prosecutors could not seek the death penalty in the second trial, because they could not present any new evidence after her first conviction was overturned.
"The jury looked past what happened and looked at why it happened," Rusty Yates, her former husband, told reporters outside the courthouse. "Prosecutors had the truth of the first day and stopped there. Yes, she was psychotic. That's the whole truth."
Yates will be confined to Vernon State Mental Hospital in North Texas for an undetermined amount of time, subject to reviews by the court.
"I'm very disappointed," prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said. "For five years, we've tried to seek justice for these children."
Deliberating for a third day, the jurors Wednesday morning asked to see a family photo and candid pictures of Yates five children. On Tuesday they had asked to see evidence presented by experts from both the defense and the prosecution.
The jury in Yates' first trial found her guilty of murder after deliberating only four hours, but that jury heard testimony from an expert prosecution witness that turned out to be false.
Dr. Park Dietz told the jury in the first trial that an episode of the television show Law & Order portrayed a woman who killed her children and then tried to claim insanity. There was no such episode of the TV show.
See Also:
Jury Finds Yates Not Guilty in Drownings
Justice for Andrea Yates
Background:
The Trial of Andrea Yates
Profile of Andrea Yates
Crime and Punishment Forum:
Discuss This Case
Comments
Thank God! If Andrea Yates was not insane, then no one is ever insane. This tragedy has a lesson,however, pay attention to moods; never assume that the person is fine. Mentally ill people cannot take care of children.
Truly proof our Justice system is a joke. Maybe someone at the mental hospital will give her a bath. How many people would label that a tragedy?
Not me. I call it justice or perhaps Medival Insanity.
God Will Judge Her Accordingly!
A disgrace. She will be out in 10 years mark my words! No mental institution holds you for life! She will get better and get out !
I agree she was mentally ill, however, at the time of the killings she KNEW what she was doing! She was not delusional !!! She killed 5 kids one by one by one…she admitted to it after she did it…she knew it was wrong…that to me is MURDER !
i’m glad to see that this woman will get the medical attention she needs. she admits to the murder, her family admits to the murder but its clear that her case was used to advance some careers for those in the police & the DA’s office. i know she must be constantly barraged with images of those lost children of hers. we should reflect on her loss and how she can stand the weight of it… not csting more hate onto her. i’ll pray for her.
This justice system is a joke. She knew what she was doing, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have waiting until everyone was out of the house to do it. I don’t see how someone could hurt or kill a child, their own at that. I don’t think she was insane at the time she committed this crime so it’s not fair for her to be admitted to a mental hospital, she needs to be put in a prison where they treat the mentally ill, IF that’s what the defense claims she is.
The plea of insanity should be dismissed from the system because 90% of criminal use it and we all know they lying. The only time it should be used is when the criminal is mentally retarted and examined by a psychologists and proven to be mentally ill.
But, evidently, a jury of people who actually had all the information on the case disagreed with you.
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http://www.cafepress.com/bush_doggers
Isn’t “legal System” an oxymoron?? I am shocked and saddened that this woman has in effect LITERALLY gotten away with not one but FIVE murders, systematically, and coldly calculated – I am totally in agreement that the insanity plea, pardon the pun IS insane! Our laws should be simplified – if you deliberately take a life – it should cost your life – the ONLY exception should be SELF DEFENSE, that of defending your own life – as in a rape, or being held at gun point with the threat of death, etc. Thank goodness we live in a country that ALLOWS freedom of speech – this woman is nuts alright, but it’s equally crazy that the public will pay for her room and board and medical “care” for the years she’s a guest in the mental hospital! And the children? They’re still murdered and gone, their lives lost at the hands of their own Mother – disgusting!!
I can not get this woman out of my mind. I believe she needs to be held responsible for her children’s deaths.
Insane or not! Fine, get her help, make her realize that she murdered her innocent children, but don’t let her back out into freedom. I would hate to know that in a few years she would have the opportunity to get out and have more children. That is insane!
I pray that she really does realize the extent of what she has done to those poor children. A mother is to care for her children, nuture them. They should have never had to Fear her in the way they did at their last moments.
I believe all you sympathetic people should hire her to babysit your children when she is released. I can’t help but wonder how these people would feel if their child happened to have been in that house that day!
SHE DID KNOW WHAT SHE WAS DOING!!! She said that she had thought about doing it for atleast 2 years. Of course I believe that the husband should be held accountable as well. The Dr. told them both that she should not have any more children, because it could push her back into a pyscotic manner. Her husband is the one that wanted another child after they were told this!! Of course why would he care?? He could leave any time he wanted, and leave her to deal with the children 24/7. Isn’t that what most men do?
I can’t believe this phsyco got away with killing her 5 children. I don’t care how insane you are, it’s a motherly instinct to know killing your children is wrong. Even after the fact that she admitted to the murder, she really got away with it. I think it’s because she is white. Any black person ki even 1 of their kids whether they claim insane or not will get the death penalty. That is injustice for them children. They are lying dead 6 feet under while their mother is enjoying her life. IT’S BECAUSE SHE’S WHITE!!!!
I agree with anyone who believes that Andrea Yates should be in prison for the rest of her life, or better yet killed by the death penalty!!! For those of you disagree, its because of people like you who have failed our system. Its sad to know that now days you can get away with murder by plea of insanity. I pray she pays deeply for the death of her five young and innocent children. I hope she is never released but i know that she will be, proving that the criminal has more rights than the victim.
This case haunts me. Yes having many children is a lot of work and yes if you are prone to depression it is probably not the best idea. But a TRUE mother would NEVER harm her children. I’ve had six kids within the past ten years. I would never harm my children. I hope this psycho stays locked up for the rest of her life!!!!
All you haters….you punish yourselves almost as severely as you would have others punishment. May I suggest some of the friendlier parts of the Bible or other spiritual writings. If you can only fee comfortable in your own lives by wishing for someone you have never known to lose theirs….I truly feel sorry for you.
I seriously do not understand why Rusty Yates was not charged with manslaughter of all five children. For starters, he knew of her severe mental health issues; who leaves kids with a person like that? Secondly, before they even had Mary, he was told by her psychiatrist that it was not a good idea for her to have any more children because it would cause further psychotic episodes. I think that in reality, he is the one responsible for the children’s deaths.