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Found NOT GUILTY, After Drowning Her Children 
Yates not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Posted: 4:01 p.m. EDT (20:01 GMT) HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday in her second murder trial for the bathtub drownings of her young children. Yates, 42, will now be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. An earlier jury had found her guilty of murder, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. 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. (Watch Andrea Yate's wide-eyed reaction to verdict -- 4:15) 
Andrea Yates reacts Wednesday to the jury's verdict Yates stared wide-eyed in court Wednesday as the verdict was read. She then bowed her head and wept quietly. The children's father said the jury had reached the right conclusion. "The jury looked past what happened and looked at why it happened," Rusty Yates 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." Rusty Yates divorced Andrea Yates after the children's June 2001 deaths and recently remarried. He said they are still "friends" and reminisce about the children. The jury, split evenly men to women, deliberated for about 12 hours over three days before reaching its verdict. On Wednesday, the jurors listened again to the state definition of insanity and asked to see pictures of the five young children: baby Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah. Prosecutors had maintained that Yates failed to meet the state's definition of insanity: that a severe mental illness prevents someone who is committing a crime from knowing that it is wrong. The jury had not been told that if they found her insane that Yates would be committed to a mental institution for treatment. If found guilty of murder she would have faced life in prison. "I'm very disappointed," prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said. "For five years, we've tried to seek justice for these children." In her first trial, Yates was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. An appeals court overturned the conviction last year because erroneous testimony about a "Law & Order" television episode that didn't exist could have influenced the jury. Defense attorneys presented much of the same evidence as in the first trial, including half a dozen psychiatrists who testified that Yates was so psychotic that she didn't know her actions were wrong. They said that in her delusional mind, she thought killing the youngsters was right. Some testified about her two hospitalizations after suicide attempts in 1999, not long after her fourth child was born. At the time, the family lived in a converted bus. Dr. Eileen Starbranch, a psychiatrist, again testified about how she warned Yates and her husband not to have more children because her postpartum psychosis would probably return. Yates' stayed in a mental hospital for about two weeks in April and 10 days in May 2001. Psychiatrists testified that she was catatonic and wouldn't eat and that her postpartum condition from Mary's birth in November worsened after her father died in March. Yates did not testify. But a few state and defense psychiatrists who evaluated Yates played some videotaped segments for jurors. During a July 2001 jail interview, Yates told psychiatrist Lucy Puryear that her children had not been progressing normally because she was a bad mother, and that she killed them because "in their innocence, they would go to heaven." The state's key witness was Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Yates for two days in May. He testified that Yates killed the youngsters because she felt overwhelmed and inadequate as a mother, not for altruistic reasons. Welner said that although Yates may have been psychotic on the day of the murders, it wasn't until the next day in jail that she talked about Satan, wanting to be executed and saving her kids from hell. He said the hallucination may have been triggered by the stresses of being naked in a cell on suicide watch and realizing what she had done. Welner said Yates knew her actions were wrong and showed it in multiple ways: waiting until her husband left for work to kill them, covering the bodies with a sheet and calling 911 soon after the crime. Prosecutors also brought back a key witness from the first trial, Dr. Park Dietz, the forensic psychiatrist whose testimony led to her conviction being overturned. The judge barred attorneys in this trial from mentioning the earlier testimony problem. Dietz again testified that Yates knew killing her children was wrong because she knew it was a sin. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. video 
your thoughts.....  | |
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My thoughts are how sad the whole ordeal is.
 I'm firmly planted in denial |
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I read a book about her, and the most amazing thing to me is that she was practically catatonic, in and out of psychiatric hospitals, on and off again with anti-psychotic medication, and her husband still left the kids in her care - even if it was only a few hours now and then when they couldn't get extra help.
5 kids is a lot of kids to look after. I have only 3 and it's a hell of a lot of work, how can an obviously sick person be left with 5 kids in her care  | |
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ZombieKitten said: I read a book about her, and the most amazing thing to me is that she was practically catatonic, in and out of psychiatric hospitals, on and off again with anti-psychotic medication, and her husband [i]still left the kids in her care [/i]- even if it was only a few hours now and then when they couldn't get extra help.
5 kids is a lot of kids to look after. I have only 3 and it's a hell of a lot of work, how can an obviously sick person be left with 5 kids in her care That's the part that has always stuck in my throat. I'm firmly planted in denial |
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About damn time.
And she was found not guilty by reason of insanity, not "not guilty." | |
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Anyone who would drown her five children would have to be insane. Murder is murder, but hopefully she will get the help she is in serious need of. | |
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I don't think she's that crazy | |
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Emotions said: I don't think she's that crazy
Why not? | |
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Emotions said: I don't think she's that crazy
No? I've not followed it since it happened really, and then, not a whole lot. Out of curiousity, what makes you think that she's not all that crazy? | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: I don't think she's that crazy
No? I've not followed it since it happened really, and then, not a whole lot. Out of curiousity, what makes you think that she's not all that crazy? Beacuse she said she knew it was wrong and waited until she was alone to do it | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: No? I've not followed it since it happened really, and then, not a whole lot. Out of curiousity, what makes you think that she's not all that crazy? Beacuse she said she knew it was wrong and waited until she was alone to do it So the intent was there and it was thought out? Interesting. I still may have to lean towards her being insane, though, regardless of whether or not she had a solid plan and put it into action given the opportunity. Anyone that can kill, as she did, has to be insane. | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: No? I've not followed it since it happened really, and then, not a whole lot. Out of curiousity, what makes you think that she's not all that crazy? Beacuse she said she knew it was wrong and waited until she was alone to do it People who suffer from psychotic breaks often use words like right or wrong when talking about what they are doing or seeing or how they feel or what have you. They feel these things in extremes. It doesn't mean shit. And then "sane" people will use the same language and tell you she needs to "rot in hell"! 
This woman needed help and she didn't get it. This was Texas, I'm surprised she isn't dead already. | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: Beacuse she said she knew it was wrong and waited until she was alone to do it So the intent was there and it was thought out? Interesting. I still may have to lean towards her being insane, though, regardless of whether or not she had a solid plan and put it into action given the opportunity. Anyone that can kill, as she did, has to be insane. whacked, but not crazy. She planned that. As soon as her mother in law left, she did it. I don't think she anted those kids anymore. She said she though she was a bad mother and didn't deserve her kids and didn't want them to go to hell. Some people take that Abraham and Isaac story too far | |
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2the9s said: Emotions said: Beacuse she said she knew it was wrong and waited until she was alone to do it People who suffer from psychotic breaks often use words like right or wrong when talking about what they are doing or seeing or how they feel or what have you. They feel these things in extremes. It doesn't mean shit. And then "sane" people will use the same language and tell you she needs to "rot in hell"! This was Texas, I'm surprised she isn't dead already. The only reason she was found insane was beacuse that other lady who stones her kids was found insane. How are you criminally insane for just 20 minutes? This woman needed help and she didn't get it. [Edited 7/26/06 21:00pm] | |
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Emotions said: The only reason she was found insane was beacuse that other lady who stones her kids was found insane. How are you criminally insane for just 20 minutes?
I don't know what you are referring to by that other lady. As for how you are criminally insane for 20 minutes, you aren't. And she wasn't. She had a history. And an uneducated doctor. | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: So the intent was there and it was thought out? Interesting. I still may have to lean towards her being insane, though, regardless of whether or not she had a solid plan and put it into action given the opportunity. Anyone that can kill, as she did, has to be insane. whacked, but not crazy. She planned that. As soon as her mother in law left, she did it. I don't think she anted those kids anymore. She said she though she was a bad mother and didn't deserve her kids and didn't want them to go to hell. Some people take that Abraham and Isaac story too far Well, the thing is though, if she was just whacked, tired and didn't want them anymore she would have just walked out and left the kids. Well, I can't really say that, because who really knows what she was thinking, however, I still honestly feel that she is ill and needs quite a lot of mental help. There have been times when I was too tired, fed up, and/or didn't want to be respsonsible anymore for my children, and I only have two. Many mothers feel this way at one time or another, as do fathers. The difference is, the majority of us carry on and nothing clicks in our brain that gives us the bright idea of drowning our children because we don't want them anymore or we need a break. Who knows... she could be just a cold-blooded murderer who set out to do something and she did or she could have a serious illness and had she had proper care early on her children would still be breathing and enjoying life. I dunno... . [Edited 7/26/06 21:05pm] | |
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2the9s said: Emotions said: The only reason she was found insane was beacuse that other lady who stones her kids was found insane. How are you criminally insane for just 20 minutes?
I don't know what you are referring to by that other lady. As for how you are criminally insane for 20 minutes, you aren't. And she wasn't. She had a history. And an uneducated doctor. And a dipshit for a husband. Harsh? Maybe, maybe not. I'm firmly planted in denial |
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ZombieKitten said: I read a book about her, and the most amazing thing to me is that she was practically catatonic, in and out of psychiatric hospitals, on and off again with anti-psychotic medication, and her husband still left the kids in her care - even if it was only a few hours now and then when they couldn't get extra help.
5 kids is a lot of kids to look after. I have only 3 and it's a hell of a lot of work, how can an obviously sick person be left with 5 kids in her care she also home schooled them to. | |
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2the9s said: Emotions said: The only reason she was found insane was beacuse that other lady who stones her kids was found insane. How are you criminally insane for just 20 minutes?
I don't know what you are referring to by that other lady. As for how you are criminally insane for 20 minutes, you aren't. And she wasn't. She had a history. And an uneducated doctor. The one that stoned her children Deanna Laney I understand she had a history, but I just don't understand it. It's suspect. You're supposed to love your children the most | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: whacked, but not crazy. She planned that. As soon as her mother in law left, she did it. I don't think she anted those kids anymore. She said she though she was a bad mother and didn't deserve her kids and didn't want them to go to hell. Some people take that Abraham and Isaac story too far Well, the thing is though, if she was just whacked, tired and didn't want them anymore she would have just walked out and left the kids. Well, I can't really say that, because who really knows what she was thinking, however, I still honestly feel that she is ill and needs quite a lot of mental help. There have been times when I was too tired, fed up, and/or didn't want to be respsonsible anymore for my children, and I only have two. Many mothers feel this way at one time or another, as do fathers. The difference is, the majority of us carry on and nothing clicks in our brain that gives us the bright idea of drowning our children because we don't want them anymore or we need a break. Who knows... she could be just a cold-blooded murderer who set out to do something and she did or she could have a serious illness and had she had proper care early on her children would still be breathing and enjoying life. I dunno... . [Edited 7/26/06 21:05pm] Some people are smart enough to pretend to be crazy | |
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Nothinbutjoy said: 2the9s said: I don't know what you are referring to by that other lady. As for how you are criminally insane for 20 minutes, you aren't. And she wasn't. She had a history. And an uneducated doctor. And a dipshit for a husband. Harsh? Maybe, maybe not. I will admit some people who are over-religious are alos simple minded. I heard that a doctor advised them not to have anymore children after the 3rd because of her depression and he continued to knock her up and because of their beliefs, wouldn't abort | |
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Emotions said: 2the9s said: I don't know what you are referring to by that other lady. As for how you are criminally insane for 20 minutes, you aren't. And she wasn't. She had a history. And an uneducated doctor. The one that stoned her children Deanna Laney I understand she had a history, but I just don't understand it. It's suspect. You're supposed to love your children the most Right... and she probably did love her children but she had a serious mental problem which caused her to act irrationally and murder her children! No sane person would do that. What she did was horrific. Serial killers aren't metally stable, obviously. This woman killed five children, her children, at once. Clearly she cannot be mentally stable. | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: Well, the thing is though, if she was just whacked, tired and didn't want them anymore she would have just walked out and left the kids. Well, I can't really say that, because who really knows what she was thinking, however, I still honestly feel that she is ill and needs quite a lot of mental help. There have been times when I was too tired, fed up, and/or didn't want to be respsonsible anymore for my children, and I only have two. Many mothers feel this way at one time or another, as do fathers. The difference is, the majority of us carry on and nothing clicks in our brain that gives us the bright idea of drowning our children because we don't want them anymore or we need a break. Who knows... she could be just a cold-blooded murderer who set out to do something and she did or she could have a serious illness and had she had proper care early on her children would still be breathing and enjoying life. I dunno... . [Edited 7/26/06 21:05pm] Some people are smart enough to pretend to be crazy This is why I could not have the fate of anyones lives in my hands. I would not make a good juror. (I still think she's insane.) | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: The one that stoned her children Deanna Laney I understand she had a history, but I just don't understand it. It's suspect. You're supposed to love your children the most Right... and she probably did love her children but she had a serious mental problem which caused her to act irrationally and murder her children! No sane person would do that. What she did was horrific. Serial killers aren't metally stable, obviously. This woman killed five children, her children, at once. Clearly she cannot be mentally stable. You think serial killers are crazy? It's evil. Evil and crazy are not the same thing. I believe she was evil. Evil people exist and are not crazy. They know exactly what they are doing | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: Right... and she probably did love her children but she had a serious mental problem which caused her to act irrationally and murder her children! No sane person would do that. What she did was horrific. Serial killers aren't metally stable, obviously. This woman killed five children, her children, at once. Clearly she cannot be mentally stable. You think serial killers are crazy? It's evil. Evil and crazy are not the same thing. I believe she was evil. Evil people exist and are not crazy. They know exactly what they are doing Yes. I think serial killers are mentally unstable. | |
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CHIC0 said: The state's key witness was Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Yates for two days in May. He testified that Yates killed the youngsters because she felt overwhelmed and inadequate as a mother, not for altruistic reasons.
Welner said that although Yates may have been psychotic on the day of the murders, it wasn't until the next day in jail that she talked about Satan, wanting to be executed and saving her kids from hell. He said the hallucination may have been triggered by the stresses of being naked in a cell on suicide watch and realizing what she had done. Welner said Yates knew her actions were wrong and showed it in multiple ways: waiting until her husband left for work to kill them, covering the bodies with a sheet and calling 911 soon after the crime. Prosecutors also brought back a key witness from the first trial, Dr. Park Dietz, the forensic psychiatrist whose testimony led to her conviction being overturned. The judge barred attorneys in this trial from mentioning the earlier testimony problem. Dietz again testified that Yates knew killing her children was wrong because she knew it was a sin Guilty. | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: You think serial killers are crazy? It's evil. Evil and crazy are not the same thing. I believe she was evil. Evil people exist and are not crazy. They know exactly what they are doing Yes. I think serial killers are mentally unstable. You think Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez are insane? | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: Yes. I think serial killers are mentally unstable. You think Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez are insane? Yes. Anyone who has the sexual desire to totally and completely possess women and then strangle them to death, to me, is mentally unstable. And then, Ramirez, a serial killer and rapist. Again, to me, mentally unstable. To rape, kill, possess, slowly kill numerous people for the fun of it, sedate and slowly gut while their victim is alive and chop up body parts and store in your freezer, make curtains, masks, pantyhose out of human skin, save dried up nipples and vaginal lips in small boxes, kill your five children by drowning, yeah, to me they all have mental problems. Call me crazy... | |
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Mazurack said: Emotions said: You think Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez are insane? Yes. Anyone who has the sexual desire to totally and completely possess women and then strangle them to death, to me, is mentally unstable. And then, Ramirez, a serial killer and rapist. Again, to me, mentally unstable. To rape, kill, possess, slowly kill numerous people for the fun of it, sedate and slowly gut while their victim is alive and chop up body parts and store in your freezer, make curtains, masks, pantyhose out of human skin, save dried up nipples and vaginal lips in small boxes, kill your five children by drowning, yeah, to me they all have mental problems. Call me crazy... I get you, but I just see it as evil. I believe demons exist and Satan rules the Earth | |
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Emotions said: Mazurack said: Yes. Anyone who has the sexual desire to totally and completely possess women and then strangle them to death, to me, is mentally unstable. And then, Ramirez, a serial killer and rapist. Again, to me, mentally unstable. To rape, kill, possess, slowly kill numerous people for the fun of it, sedate and slowly gut while their victim is alive and chop up body parts and store in your freezer, make curtains, masks, pantyhose out of human skin, save dried up nipples and vaginal lips in small boxes, kill your five children by drowning, yeah, to me they all have mental problems. Call me crazy... I get you, but I just see it as evil. I believe demons exist and Satan rules the EarthAh... that's where we differ. I don't believe in a being named Satan and I don't believe in demons. Wait... what? Satan rules the Earth? Hasta Lasagna, don't get any on ya!  | |
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