posted July 27, 2006 12:07 PM              

Not sure that serves justice for those 5 children. Isn't anyone who murders another person obviously insane? Sane people don't take the lives of others.

HOUSTON -- Andrea Yates showed little emotion as a Houston judge told her jurors had found her not guilty by reason of insanity in the drownings of her children.

Yates is expected to be committed to a state mental facility, where she will receive periodic reviews to consider her health and possible release.

The verdict was returned during the jury's third day of deliberations, after Yates' lawyers argued their client was delusional when she drowned her five children in the bathtub. Yates has admitted drowning all five of her kids that day in 2001.

Prosecutors contended that Yates may have been mentally ill, but she still knew what was wrong -- a defining issue for proving legal insanity in Texas.

In 2002, a jury took just four hours to convict her of capital murder. That verdict was overturned because of inaccurate testimony. The death penalty remains off the table because no new evidence was presented.

The state defines insanity as mental illness so severe that a person doesn't know while committing a crime that it's wrong.

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

Her relatives who were in court also began to weep.

The children's father, Rusty Yates, muttered, "Wow" as he also cried upon hearing the verdict. Rusty Yates said the jury looked past what happened and looked at why it happened. He said prosecutors had the truth of the first day and stopped there.

Rusty Yates said, " Yes, she was psychotic. That's the whole truth."

The Yates have divorced and Rusty Yates remarried in March.

Defense attorney George Parnham called the verdict a "watershed event in the treatment of mental illness."

Prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said she's disappointed and for five years they've tried to seek justice for the children.

The victims were 6-month-old Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah Yates.

Jurors earlier asked to see more evidence Wednesday as they deliberated for the third day in Houston.

They asked to see a family photo and candid pictures of her five smiling youngsters taken before she drowned them in the family bathtub.

Yates' family, including her ex-husband, have supported her throughout the two trials.

"I think she was probably prepared for either verdict. She's the kind of the person who doesn't want to get her hopes up too high so as to not be disappointed," Rusty Yates told KPRC-TV in Houston. "This is really about Andrea's quality of life for the balance of her life. Is she going to spend her time in a prison cell with barely adequate medical treatment and no interaction with other people or family members, or is she going to spend some time in a hospital getting medical treatment and have some hope of possibly living a somewhat normal life later?"

Rusty Yates said he was surprised at the not guilty verdict and believed Andrea Yates understood its significance.

"She's much clearer now," he said. "I'm really proud of the jury."

Yates was charged in only three of her children's deaths, which is common in cases involving multiple slayings.

She would have been sentenced to life in prison if she had been convicted of capital murder.

Yates' defense attorney George Parnham has fought for his client since he took her case. He became a strong advocate on behalf of the mentally ill.

"For George Parnham, Andrea Yates represented mental health education," defense attorney Rocket Rosen said.

"I think the right thing was done and mental health has been addressed. That's so important. This case is almost a watershed for mental illness in the criminal justice system," Parnham said. "I'm very pleased with the verdict. I think it sends the right message to this community about mental health."

Prosecutors pushed for a different outcome in the trial.

"In 2001, the Houston police department, together with the District Attorney's office, the medical examiner's office, tried to infer why Mrs. Yates killed her children from the evidence that was available to us. We consulted with mental health experts and ultimately concluded that Mrs. Yates was not insane when she killed her children because she knew it was a sin, because she knew it was legally wrong and because she knew that society would disapprove of her actions," prosecutor Joe Owmby told KPRC. "We are extremely disappointed with the verdict."

Andrea will remain at the Harris County jail until a judge sends her to the facility that will treat her.

"She's on anti-psychotic drugs. She's also on anti-depressants," Parnham told KPRC. "She will probably be sent to Vernon, a state mental hospital where an evaluation will take place about whether she remains a danger to the community. Andrea Yates is not a danger to anybody other than possibly herself."

Yates is then expected to be transferred to Rusk State Hospital.

"In Rusk, she will come up for review by a board and then the judge, in this case, will have lifetime jurisdiction over Andrea Yates," Parnham said. "This court will have the ultimate decision over whether Andrea ever leaves the grounds of Rusk State Hospital and lives within some community for the rest of her life."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

posted July 27, 2006 12:12 PM              

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"WHATEVER the soul longs for, WILL be attained by the spirit"

"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation"

posted July 27, 2006 04:00 PM            

On the other hand, I don't believe insane people should be in jail. She did have a documented history of severe psychological problems.

posted July 27, 2006 09:04 PM            

There is no one on this site who is more of a child advocate than myself. Probably A lot of you are the same but not more.

I have a real soft spot for all children of the world no matter what their problems are.
I love and protect all kids, no matter what, this is my nature.

My heart bleeds for poor Andrea
Post partem blues is not something that makes sense or is logical and it is impossible to work through without help.

I have honestly gone through what she went through but got help before it was to late.

But still, I very nearly killed my daughter and myself because of this awful chemical imbalance or whatever Dr.'s call it.
Its real
Its scary
Your heart is in the right place
but your reasoning is not your own and you honestly believe that there are no other options and that ultimately what you're doing is right.

Don't judge her Pray for her.

posted July 28, 2006 01:12 PM              

I never experienced post natal depression except in a very mild degree which only lasted a few days after birth but I do understand and believe that it can be very severe with some women.

However in Yates case she had 5 children so if PPD was a severe problem for her wouldn't it have surfaced long before the 5th child? Of course it may have because I am aware that due to religious convictions on the part of her family and husband Andrea Yates could not use birth control. If I remember correctly she also could not talk to her family and her husband about how she was feeling after birth. There had to have been other mental instabilities that added to the PPD to prompt her to do what she did to her children.

For that reason I am not judging Andrea Yates as just a bad person. Even her ex-husband has defended her and stood by her throughout the whole thing.

I just weigh in on the side of the victims as I know that you do also.. those innocent children.. and in my mind there is nothing worse than a child being abused or murdered by his own mother or father, people who those children trust completely to take care of them and who they love unconditionally. Infanticide sort of goes against nature which instinctively prompts mothers of most animals to be very protective of and caring for their young. Mother cats are the best moms in the lower animal kingdom in that respect.

I'm glad that Andrea Yates will get the help that she needs and we can look at it that what she did to her five children is in itself a life sentence because that is something that will haunt her for the rest of her life and even more so as she becomes more mentally stable through the years of therapy. It's also a strong possibility that Andrea Yates judges herself much more harshly than any of us ever could.

posted July 28, 2006 01:55 PM            

thats it in a nutshell Mirandee
I still have nightmares about it

For me it happened on the day the Challenger crashed and we had an Asian man in our apartments who strapped explosives to himself and was going to commit suicide by blowing up the building.

I still believe God intervened