Andrea Yates Conviction Overturned

Flakin · Post by **Flakin** » 2005-01-06 10:22am

(CNN) -- A Texas appeals court in Houston Thursday reversed the capital murder convictions of Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her five children in a bathtub, citing the false testimony of a prosecution witness.

According to a report from The Associated Press, Yates' lawyers argued last month before a three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston that psychiatrist Park Dietz was wrong when he said he consulted on an episode of the TV show "Law and Order" involving a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children.

After Yates was convicted, attorneys in the case and jurors learned no such episode existed, the AP reported.

Jurors in 2002 sentenced Yates to life in prison in the 2001 deaths of three of her children. She was not tried in the deaths of the other two.

Yates told authorities that Satan told her to kill the children. Despite a documented history of mental illness, a jury rejected her plea of innocent by reason of insanity and convicted her of murder in 2002. She was sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole in 40 years.

So, what happens now? Retrial, Loony Bin or Freedom? It dosn't make it clear in the article.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-06 10:27am

Retrial.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2005-01-06 10:32am

retrial. and hopefully someone takes her to the vet and has her spayed.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-06 10:38am

She only gets the looney bin if she's found "not guilty by reason of mental defect" at her retrial. Not sure what the Texas standard for that is ... probably having money on Oklahoma in a national championship football game ......

Flakin · Post by **Flakin** » 2005-01-06 10:45am

Something else I just noticed was that they only tried her originally for three of the five children she killed. So even if the retrial goes in her favor, Texas could still bring charges on the other two, correct?

Jalinth · Post by **Jalinth** » 2005-01-06 11:58am

Flakin wrote:Something else I just noticed was that they only tried her originally for three of the five children she killed. So even if the retrial goes in her favor, Texas could still bring charges on the other two, correct?

I'd be surprised if they could - you'd have one jury saying she was legally insane and another saying she wasn't for the same act.

My understanding is that "legal insanity" in Texas is a very high standard (higher than in other places). So you can be considered to have a very serious psychological condition but still be held legally liable.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-01-06 10:30pm

Possibly a retrial, more likely she just gets locked in loony bin for good. Probably should be, she sounded like a real mess.

Now her smug bastard of a husband, he ought to be shot.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2005-01-07 12:11am

They've already said retrial, where I assume the defense will again try an insanity plea. There's no way the prosecutors let this woman walk anywhere but the Last Mile if they can help it.