Andrea Yates NOT GUILTY of drowning her 5 children!

[VictimOfScience]

...by reason of (you guessed it) insanity.

Story.

Man, this was such a horrible crime that I am not sure how to feel about this. I guess being locked up in a madhouse (potentially for the rest of her life) is a fitting punishment, but it somehow still makes me feel awful. Those poor children drowned by the one person who was supposed to love them the most and who they trusted to protect them from the forces of evil at work in the world. Shocking and so very sad.

 

[Raeven0]

Those poor children drowned by the one person who was supposed to love them

Who also happened to be a depraved lunatic, as far as the State is concerned.

Perhaps it's best to feel sorry for all of them. Insanity can be a tough lot.

 

[Absinthe]

This is one of those cases where I'm torn between the victims and the perpetrator's insanity.

 

[VictimOfScience]

You guys are right. Postpartum depression is apparently extremely harsh and she got little or no help from her doctor or her husband, but still...ugh, the whole situation is just so awful....

 

[CptStern]

more of a reason to stamp out religious extremism ..post partum depression my ass

"It was the seventh deadly sin. My children weren't righteous. They stumbled because I was evil. The way I was raising them they could never be saved. They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell."

**** off and die you ****ing batshitinsane harpie

An audio tape from Woroniecki that Andrea possessed suggested that children were not accountable until the age of twelve, and that babies were better off aborted than growing up in the households of "witches and wimps," under which circumstances they would be certain to face judgment in hellfire.

Feeling the weight of hopelessness infused by Woroniecki's condemnation and her inability to get saved so she could in turn save her children, Andrea psychotically reasoned that it would be better for them to drown in their innocent years, be trained instead by God and go to heaven rather than grow up damaged and be sent to hell because of her "bad mothering" according to her prison psychiatric interviews.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates

 

[VictimOfScience]

Yikes! Sounds like this Woroniecki should be charged with a little something as well.

So Stern, you're advocating the death penalty for the mentally ill now?

Statments like this:

**** off and die you ****ing batshitinsane harpie

certainly seem to make it sound so...

 

[JNightshade]

Quite frankly, no sane person would ever do that.

 

[CptStern]

run over by a herd of angry elephants, used as passanger airplane tire right before landing, mangled in a giant rice picker ...you know, natural causes

no I dont condone captial punishment

also I've worked with the mentally insane ..the difference between them and Yates is that they couldnt distinguish right from wrong ..she could (by her own accounts)

 

[Slacker]

I don't believe in capital punishment either. Yeah, that was a terrible crime, but she was mentally insane, and like Stern said, insane people really DON'T know right from wrong. And no Nightshade, that sort of thing is the stuff that some insane people actually do. That's why it's called insanity

 

[A True Canadian]

Yates confessed to drowning her children and her defense asserted postpartum psychosis as the reason she committed the killings. Although the defense's expert testimony agreed that Yates was clearly psychotic, Texas law requires that in order to successfully assert the insanity defense, the defendant must prove that he or she could not discern right from wrong at the time of the crime. In March 2002, a jury rejected the insanity defense and found Yates guilty. Although the prosecution had sought the death penalty, the jury rejected that option. The trial court sentenced Yates to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole in 40 years.

On January 6, 2005, the Texas Court of Appeals reversed the convictions because prosecution witness Dr. Park Dietz, a Califonia psychiatrist, had given false testimony during the trial. Dietz stated that shortly before the killings, an episode of Law & Order had featured a woman who drowned her children and was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity. It was later discovered that no such episode existed; the appellate court held that the jury may have been influenced by his false testimony and that thus a new trial would be necessary.

An episode of Law & Order (or in this case, a non-existing episode) was the reason for overturning the verdict?? :O

 

[Captain M4d]

It bugs me the most when people die because of religion.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

This is ****ing bullshit I'm pissed. Hopefully another inmate in the asylum or wherever she goes kills her fairly quickly.

I don't believe in capital punishment either. Yeah, that was a terrible crime, but she was mentally insane, and like Stern said, insane people really DON'T know right from wrong. And no Nightshade, that sort of thing is the stuff that some insane people actually do. That's why it's called insanity

This **** ****ing knew what she was doing.

 

[No Limit]

run over by a herd of angry elephants, used as passanger airplane tire right before landing, mangled in a giant rice picker ...you know, natural causes

no I dont condone captial punishment

also I've worked with the mentally insane ..the difference between them and Yates is that they couldnt distinguish right from wrong ..she could (by her own accounts)

But I still think she was ****ing crazy and deserves the same support a mentally ill person would, as she clearly was mentally ill. There are no winners in this situation, because of the drugs she has been given she already knows what she did was horrible and she goes back to being insane as soon as she realizes that. I can not imagine how hard it will be on her once she is treated and she realizes exactly what she did.

Religion is a huge part of this, yes. But its just like republicans, when you are that brainwashed you should be considered mentally ill and we as a society should do everything we can to treat them of this illness as well as do everything we can to understand that illness so we can prevent the disasters it will cause.

 

[Icarusintel]

They should've cut out her ovaries and uterus while she was still conscious, without giving her anything for the pain. That would be a fitting punishment.

The hell if she's insane. You all do realize that if she ever gets evaluated to be fine that she can get out, right? This is one bitch who should not be allowed back into society. She should have gotten a life sentence for each child, without possibility of parole. I hate this plead insanity shit that people pull. If you're truly insane then you don't know you are.

Maybe she'll kill herself in there, or get killed by someone who really is crazy.

 

[gh0st]

only in AMERICA!

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

But I still think she was ****ing crazy and deserves the same support a mentally ill person would, as she clearly was mentally ill. There are no winners in this situation, because of the drugs she has been given she already knows what she did was horrible and she goes back to being insane as soon as she realizes that. I can not imagine how hard it will be on her once she is treated and she realizes exactly what she did.

Religion is a huge part of this, yes. But its just like republicans, when you are that brainwashed you should be considered mentally ill and we as a society should do everything we can to treat them of this illness as well as do everything we can to understand that illness so we can prevent the disasters it will cause.

There is no illness, she knew what she was doing and she deserves to be punished for it, not babied.

 

[theotherguy]

lol, Andrea Yates is related to me. She is like a very very distant aunt or something.

 

[mastag]

the whole thing is just so tragic. it seems like Michael Peter Woroniecki should be held accountable for inciting violence or something.

 

[ComradeBadger]

But its just like republicans, when you are that brainwashed you should be considered mentally ill and we as a society should do everything we can to treat them of this illness as well as do everything we can to understand that illness so we can prevent the disasters it will cause.

You're a ****ing idiot. You can't compare this deeply disturbing event to someone's political beliefs.

 

[Raziaar]

I hate the 'insanity' defense. It's so bogus.

Woman should of rotted in prison for killing her kids.

 

[No Limit]

You're a ****ing idiot. You can't compare this deeply disturbing event to someone's political beliefs.

And you're an asshole with no sense of humor.

Ghost and all others that dont believe in insanity; what do you propse was the motive behind the killings? Every sane murder has a motive.

 

[Icarusintel]

And you're an asshole with no sense of humor.

Ghost and all others that dont believe in insanity; what do you propse was the motive behind the killings? Every sane murder has a motive.

I think she did it because she didn't want to have to deal with them anymore. And it's easier pleading insanity than telling the truth.

 

[No Limit]

I think she did it because she didn't want to have to deal with them anymore. And it's easier pleading insanity than telling the truth.

You honestly think a woman would rather go to prison than give custody of her children to the father if she wanted to get rid of the kids? Remember, she didn't even try to hide what happened.

 

[Icarusintel]

You honestly think a woman would rather go to prison than give custody of her children to the father if she wanted to get rid of the kids? Remember, she didn't even try to hide what happened.

Because she knew she could plead insanity. It was a really good setup.

 

[No Limit]

Because she knew she could plead insanity. It was a really good setup.

Spending the rest of her life in a maximum security mental clinic is a really good set up?

 

[Icarusintel]

Spending the rest of her life in a maximum security mental clinic is a really good set up?

Even if she is insane, she killed her own children. Justice deserves to be served whether she knew it was right or wrong. Picking and choosing how justice is meted out in such a clear cut case is ridiculous.

I'm sure if someone who was insane murdered your children you would cry out for justice.

 

[No Limit]

Even if she is insane, she killed her own children. Justice deserves to be served whether she knew it was right or wrong. Picking and choosing how justice is meted out in such a clear cut case is ridiculous.

I'm sure if someone who was insane murdered your children you would cry out for justice.

Now you are dodging the point by crying revenge. The point here is weather you like it or not she was insane. There are laws set up in our just society to protect these mentally ill people from the general prison population and provide them with treatment. She will never leave this mental institution as she will never fully be sane after what she has done to her children. But we as civilized humans still need to address what happened, ignoring the central issue in the name of revenge is extremely dangerous and will lead to this happening again.

 

[Icarusintel]

Now you are dodging the point by crying revenge. The point here is weather you like it or not she was insane. There are laws set up in our just society to protect these mentally ill people from the general prison population and provide them with treatment. She will never leave this mental institution as she will never fully be sane after what she has done to her children. But we as civilized humans still need to address what happened, ignoring the central issue in the name of revenge is extremely dangerous and will lead to this happening again.

You honestly think she won;t be out of that mental institution? She'll be out in under 5 years. And she'll supposedly be cured. I would argue that while revenge may be dangerous, it's far more dangerous to presume that we can cure mental illness.

 

[No Limit]

You honestly think she won;t be out of that mental institution? She'll be out in under 5 years. And she'll supposedly be cured. I would argue that while revenge may be dangerous, it's far more dangerous to presume that we can cure mental illness.

There is NO WAY SHE IS LEAVING THAT MENTAL INSTITUTION. There seems to be some myth out there that if you are found not guilty by the reason of insanity in a captiol murder case you get off scott free. These people are locked up in those mental institutions all their life. The only reason they are transfered over there is because they are too insanse to deal with a regular prison and they can not get the treatment and drugs they can get at a mental facility like that.

 

[No Limit]

Thank you wikipedia:

Another type of psychiatric hospital is designed for long-term care, a combination hospital and prison for the "criminally insane," typically for people with a psychotic illness who have committed serious crimes. In the United States, these are generally operated by the state government and exist in a few centralised locations. In the UK, the hospitals are run by the government in conjunction with the National Health Service; the best-known British institution of this type is Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. In most cases, persons within these hospitals have been charged with serious crimes and have been found not guilty by reason of insanity. As a result, in addition to precautions to prevent suicide, there are also precautions against escape (such as those found in a prison). The treatment of persons within such institutions has been a subject of long-standing debate, because a patient will often spend more time in the hospital than they would have spent in prison. However, the severely mentally ill often get much worse in standard prisons, and are usually targets of an even greater than normal amount of abuse from the rest of the prison population. Also, it is felt that if a severe mental illness causes someone to commit a crime, locking them up without treating the illness is both a violation of their civil rights and serves simply to put them back on the street, where the same untreated illness will often drive them to commit another crime, beginning the cycle anew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatric_hospital

 

[Slacker]

. But its just like republicans, when you are that brainwashed you should be considered mentally ill and we as a society should do everything we can to treat them of this illness as well as do everything we can to understand that illness so we can prevent the disasters it will cause.

I'm a hippie liberal and I still want to hit you right now.

 

[sinkoman]

Now you are dodging the point by crying revenge. The point here is weather you like it or not she was insane. There are laws set up in our just society to protect these mentally ill people from the general prison population and provide them with treatment. She will never leave this mental institution as she will never fully be sane after what she has done to her children. But we as civilized humans still need to address what happened, ignoring the central issue in the name of revenge is extremely dangerous and will lead to this happening again.

If she knew she was mentally unstable (and from her testimonies, you can tell she knows), then she should have never made the decision to have children.

You can't ignore your mental condition when making the BIG decision to have children.

 

[Slacker]

If she knew she was mentally unstable (and from her testimonies, you can tell she knows), then she should have never made the decision to have children.

You can't ignore your mental condition when making the BIG decision to have children.

Insanity can develop over time, ja know.

 

[sinkoman]

Insanity can develop over time, ja know.

But it doesn't just pop out of nowhere.

And I don't believe this is the case with MS peniskillmykids.

 

[Slacker]

But it doesn't just pop out of nowhere.

And I don't believe this is the case with MS peniskillmykids.

They were what, three? four? A big mental problem can EASILY develop in that time. Plus, who knows what her lifestlye was like before she had the kids? It's not like insane people become infertile or anything, and remember, insanity can make people indesiscive

 

[ComradeBadger]

Now you are dodging the point by crying revenge. The point here is weather you like it or not she was insane. There are laws set up in our just society to protect these mentally ill people from the general prison population and provide them with treatment. She will never leave this mental institution as she will never fully be sane after what she has done to her children. But we as civilized humans still need to address what happened, ignoring the central issue in the name of revenge is extremely dangerous and will lead to this happening again.

I'll agree with you there. The woman does seem deranged, and a mental hospital is much better in the end than a prison.

 

[No Limit]

If she knew she was mentally unstable (and from her testimonies, you can tell she knows), then she should have never made the decision to have children.

You can't ignore your mental condition when making the BIG decision to have children.

The mental illness didn't start until after she had kids. And it is not from her testomony that she knew she was ill, it was from the testemony of her husband and various doctors she had. No matter how you splice it the fact is she was insane. And an insane person needs to be protected from a regular prison. This is all this verdict does, it does not let her out any time sooner than if she had gone to regular prison. it simply provides her with a more stable enviroment.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

And you're an asshole with no sense of humor.

Ghost and all others that dont believe in insanity; what do you propse was the motive behind the killings? Every sane murder has a motive.

Wait so you're proposing that ever random killing without clear motive is due to insanity?

No **** that. People are responsible for their actions.

Andrea Yates deserves to die.

 

[No Limit]

Wait so you're proposing that ever random killing without clear motive is due to insanity?

What I am saying is every sane killing has some rational reasoning behind it. I want to get my wives insurance policy so I kill her, my friend sleeps with my wife so I kill them both, or I am a sick **** that just likes to see people die so I go on a killing spree. As horrible and as crazy all that sounds there is a somewhat rational reasoning behind the killing. In Yates case there is absolutely no rational motive, none. She was brainwashed by a cult to think that their children would go to hell if they reached age 12, so she killed all of them to prevent that from happening. That reasoning clearly isn't sane. And unless you argue the sanity of that reasoning your point or simply getting revenge has no real merit in our legal system.

 

[_Z_Ryuken]

"Mentally ill" or not, she is capable of murder and deserves to die.