Deciding Andrea Yates' Fate
A Texas jury took less than four hours to reject Andrea Yates' insanity plea Tuesday and find her guilty of murder for drowning her five children in a decision that left the courtroom in stunned silence.
"Oh God," gasped husband Rusty Yates, in the only words spoken as District Judge Belinda Hill read the verdict that could bring the Texas mother the death penalty in a case that stirred bitter debate on the legal rights of the mentally ill.
The speedy announcement of the guilty verdict showed jurors saw no need for extensive deliberations. It took the eight-woman, four-man jury less than four hours to convict Yates.
"Look at her own statements," said Neil McCabe, a criminal law professor at the South Texas College of Law. "She knew what she was doing was wrong was pretty bad. Her calling 911 in the first place and asking that police be sent out to her home was pretty bad for her."
Yates, 37, was convicted of two counts of capital murder in the deaths of 6-month-old Mary, 7-year-old Noah and 5-year-old John. They drowned along with Paul, 3, and Luke, 2, on June 20, shortly after her husband went to work.
In a state where defendants are presumed sane, Yates' attorneys worked hard to convince jurors Yates was innocent by reason of insanity. They presented doctors and witnesses who testified Yates was psychotic and killed her children to protect them from Satan.
Prominent Houston defense attorney and former Harris County prosecutor Rusty Hardin said the speed of the decision surprised him, but the verdict did not.
"I think the very methodical, calm way she went about killing five children, and the way she had plenty of time to think about it, and the way she talked about it and acted afterward, I think the jury really rested on that," Hardin said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the "unbelievable and unspeakable tragedy" of the children's deaths "could be made even more horrific" if Yates is given a death sentence.
"All of the testimony in this case demonstrates that Andrea Yates is a tragically mentally ill person who should not be facing the death penalty," ACLU director Diann Rust-Tierney said.
Dianne Clements, head of the Texas pro-death penalty group Justice For All, praised prosecutors for emphasizing the children's deaths — from repeatedly showing home videos of the Yates family to the clothing they wore when they died.
"They were the only two voices who spoke for the children, and they were obviously heard loud and clear," Clements said. "Now we have 12 jurors to be equally proud of."
But Deborah Bell, president of the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Women, said she was stunned at the conviction in light of so much evidence of mental illness.
She said Yates was "was persecuted, not prosecuted," and the verdict unveiled a need for public education, understanding and compassion about mental illness.
Clements was among observers who said they would return to the courthouse Thursday when jurors start hearing evidence in the punishment phase of Yates' case. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
While Clements praised the verdict, she said no one is a winner. "There's no such thing as a good guilty verdict because what it means is an innocent person, or in this case persons, died," she said.
If sentenced to life, Yates likely would remain at a psychiatric unit until doctors decide her condition has improved to the point she should be placed in the general prison population, which may never happen.
If Yates is sentenced to death, the state would likely monitor her mental health closely. Although executing the mentally ill is permissible under law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the condemned inmate must be competent at the time of execution.