A jury found Andrea Yates not guilty Wednesday, July 26, 2006, of the drowning murders of her five children by reason of insanity.
Yates drowned each of her five children in a bathtub, believing that Satan was inside her and she was saving them from hell.
If she had been found guilty she would have faced life in prison. As a result of this verdict she will be committed to a state mental hospital. She will appear at periodic hearings to determine if she could be released.
Yates? illness is certainly pitiable, and it?s impossible to say what her moral culpability is in the killings. However, it seems reckless to even consider releasing her any time soon.
She should be in a mental institution for a long, long time. This is not necessarily a matter of punishment; it is a precaution supported by common sense. Her actions, whether or not she?s morally or legally responsible, were abhorrent. If there is the slightest risk that she could repeat them society needs to be protected.
There is also reason to think that Yates and her husband Rusty deserve to be punished. At the trial, a doctor testified that she advised the couple not to have more children after Yates attempted suicide after their fourth child was born.
The doctor warned the couple that the postpartum psychosis that led to Yates suicide attempt would probably return if she had another child. Knowing this, the couple had another child and Yates developed the psychosis that led her to kill her children.
The editorial board does not claim extensive knowledge of psychosis, but it seems that for someone to systematically drown their own children, something would have to be profoundly wrong with their mind. We have to wonder if she can ever really be cured in this life.
Hopefully the judge overseeing her release hearings will recognize his duty to protect society from Yates? psychosis, and will have the judgment necessary to accurately assess the risk she may still pose.