rachel1997 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Closing arguments will begin Tuesday morning in the trial of a Texas woman who claims she was legally insane when she drowned her five children last year. The defense rested Monday after calling rebuttal witnesses in the trial of Andrea Yates. The prosecution rested over the weekend. Defense attorneys introduced more psychiatric testimony Monday in an attempt to show that Yates did not know right from wrong at the time she killed her five children June 20, 2001. The closing arguments will wrap up three weeks of testimony from police, medical experts and family members. Under Texas law, if jurors believe 37-year-old Houston woman knew right from wrong as she drowned her children one after another in the family bathtub, they cannot find her legally insane. If Yates is acquitted, the court will have to wait at least 30 days before deciding whether she should be committed to a mental hospital or go free. Dr. Lucy Puryear, a psychiatrist from the Baylor College of Medicine and an expert in women's mental health issues, testified Yates told her that as she was drowning her children she believed she was doing the right thing. The defense also introduced excerpts from an interview with Yates conducted by a prosecution psychiatric expert, Dr. Park Dietz, in which Dietz asked her if she thought she was doing the right thing as she drowned the children. She answered, "Yes." Dietz then asked her when she figured out that what she had done was wrong. "When I called police," she said. Yates is charged with two counts of capital murder, one covering the deaths of Noah, 7, and John, 5, and the other covering the death of Mary, 6 months. She is not on trial for the drownings of Luke, 3, and Paul, 2. The charges are based on provisions in Texas statutes. One charge covers the intentional deaths of two people in the same event or scheme; the other covers the death of a child under 6. The prosecution does not contest that Yates suffered from a severe mental disease, but contends she knew killing her children was wrong and that the acts were premeditated. The defense admits Yates killed her children, but argues she was insane. To prove insanity, her attorneys must show by a greater weight of evidence that Yates was too mentally deranged to know her actions were wrong. In Texas, a person is presumed sane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel1997 Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/03/12/yates.trial/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Unfucking real!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airatomic Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 i didnt know she wasnt on trial for killing Luke and Paul, y is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jaxl Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I saw earlier this evening that she was found guilty on two counts of murder and it may lead to either life in prison or the death penalty. And she still might be tried for the death of the other 3 kids. To chase your kids around the house so that you can drown them ----IMO she should be hung by her toenails. Can't believe that no one in her family saw that she was at the edge, could have stepped in and helped, maybe the kids would be alive today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echostar Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 i vote death penalty...what does everyone else think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennEfer Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I would rather lock her up in jail or a mental institution for the rest of her life. I think that in itself proves to be more torture than being sentenced to death. Let the bitch rot in jail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlea Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I think she should have her hands tied behind her back and dunk her head in a tub full of water. Dunk her head in and leave for about 40 seconds, pull her head up enough to gasp one breath and repeat.I'll do this for two days straight or as long as it would take for her to SLOWLY drown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illlogik Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I am discusted by this whole thing. For one, if a mother is going to kill her own flesh and blood she is without a doubt INSANE and should be locked up in a mental institution for the rest of her life. Killing her is just wrong. SHES IS FUCIN NUTS PEOPLE!! And secondly I think the father should be locked up in jail. Because this man knew this women was not taking her meds the day before. This man should of known she was not suitable for talking care these kids. Leaving your kids with a nut job?? what the hell was he thinking?? I think its half or all his fault. Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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