Andrea Yates' Conviction Overturned

[Train Wreck]

From the Associated Press:

Andrea Yates' Conviction Overturned
Thursday, January 06, 2005


HOUSTON — Andrea Yates' capital murder convictions for drowning her children were overturned Thursday by an appeals court, which ruled that a prosecution witness' erroneous testimony about a nonexistent TV episode could have been crucial.

Yates' lawyers had argued at a hearing last month before a three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston that psychiatrist Park Dietz was wrong when he mentioned an episode of the TV show "Law & Order" involving a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children.

After jurors found Yates guilty, attorneys in the case and jurors learned no such episode existed.

"We conclude that there is a reasonable likelihood that Dr. Dietz's false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury," the court ruled. "We further conclude that Dr. Dietz's false testimony affected the substantial rights of appellant."

Click here to read the decision.

The appellate ruling returns the case for a new trial, although prosecutors said they hoped instead to successfully appeal Thursday's ruling.

"We fully intend to pursue a motion for a rehearing," said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Alan Curry, who argued the case before the appeals court. "Barring that, we'll continue to appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. We still believe we have a good shot to prevail in appeal."

Apparently, a prosecution witness testified that Andrea Yates was an avid watcher of Law and Order, and got it into her head that she should be found innocent of murder by claiming insanity, showing that she did indeed know right from wrong.  But it turns out that such an episode never existed.

If you don't remember, she's the one that claimed Satan told her to drown her kids in a bath tub, or she did it to save them from Satan, or something.

[WayAbvPar]

I still struggle with the whole insanity defense. If someone is so batshit crazy that they are hearing voices and killing people. it is time for them to go away for good. Much like giving a rabid dog the old green shot...it just seems prudent.  It's not like a couple of weeks of counseling is going to fix her broken fucking head.

[HaemishM]

Innocent by reason of insanity really means guilty, but the voices told me to do it and I'm too fucking stupid (insane) to know to ignore them. I really don't think it was put in to mean what it's come to mean. I thought it was more along the lines of "I had no fucking idea what I was doing? I stabbed who?" or for retards who kill their kittens by squeezing too hard.

With that said, I'm sure there's been at least one L&O episode where the insanity defense was used as a ploy by a smart defendant.

[El Gallo]

Most institutions where people judged not guilty by reason of insanity go are pretty much indistinguishable from prisons anyway, and you are frequently forced to stay there longer than you would have been forced to stay in prison on a straightforward conviction, so it's not like you are really getting away with much in most cases.

[Train Wreck]

This was in Texas, for crysakes.  The only reason she didn't get the electric chair is because the jury KNOWS she is crazy as fuck.

[Signe]

I hope she gets off this time and they send that shrink to the chair in her place.

[MahrinSkel]

There was a L&O episode where a woman's paranoid delusions inspired one of her children to kill the others by overdose.  But there was no insanity defense involved AFAIK, and I think it came out *after* the Yates case and was inspired partly by it.

--Dave

[Dark Vengeance]

Apparently, a prosecution witness testified that Andrea Yates was an avid watcher of Law and Order, and got it into her head that she should be found innocent of murder by claiming insanity, showing that she did indeed know right from wrong.  But it turns out that such an episode never existed.

*blinks*

The court is suggesting that because there are no episodes of Law & Order in which the defendant tries to use the insanity defense (something I find hard to believe) that Yates was somehow unaware of this as a legal strategy prior to murdering her children? And that she therefore could not have murdered her children in her right mind?

She watched Law & Order. Holy Jesus fuck, apparently that must be the only source of knowledge about the legal process available....and it didn't clue her into that defense, so she couldn't have known it! /sarcasm

"There is no episode of Law & Order like that" was the defenses desperate attempt to say "OMFG LOOK AT TEH MONKEY", and the court should have damn well known that.

Bring the noise.
Cheers.............

[Kenrick]

Yes, because we have electric chairs here on every streetcorner.

Hello, 1927, meet Train Wreck.

[El Gallo]

If you read the opinion, it seems that this one expert was the only one who testified that Yates knew right from wrong, and that during their closing argument the prosecution laid out its "she knew it was wrong because she saw this TV show where a woman drowned her kids and got off with PPD insanity and consciously decided to emulate this strategy in order to knowingly do an evil act and get off anyway" theory based on that expert's testimony.

If there's other evidence of her decisionmaking and knowledge of right and wrong at the time of the act, or that she deliberately acted in such a way as to feign insanity, they are free to present it at the next trial.

[Paelos]

You don't kill your kids in Texas and walk. This is just a delay.

[El Gallo]

At best, she's just walking to some shithole psych prison for the rest of her life.  But I wouldn't be suprised if she got convicted again, the state just needs to pick a new fig leaf.

[Nazrat]

This is Texas.  Give us a chance to fix this one.  She isn't going free.  Despite Kenrick's protests, we do try to pretty much kill every criminal as soon as possible.  Some you can get easily.  Others make you work for it.  

I am still trying to figure out how they found a jury in Texas that didn't want to shoot her before the trial started.

[Paelos]

They make you check the guns at the courthouse now. It's a pity.

[Ironwood]

I can't figure out if the Texans in this thread are being serious or doing some really subtle self-mockery thing.

Let me know.

[Jayce]

I can't figure out if the Texans in this thread are being serious or doing some really subtle self-mockery thing.

Let me know.

As a former Texan, my guess is:
neither can they.

[Paelos]

I'm going to go with it's funny cause it's true. When I lived in Texas I though we were normal. It was only when I moved to Georgia that I realized traveling native Texans are really dickheads about the state sometimes.

But I do love Texas justice. Best anywhere.