The Insanity Defense of Andrea Yates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Insanity Defense of Andrea Yates - Essay ExampleJune 20, 2001, which had started as a normal day in the Yates family living in the suburban area of Houston, brought some tragic misfortunes to the family. quest her daily r bulgeine, Andrea Yates, a suburban housewife, made breakfast for her five children and then the hell broke out in the family when she dr consumeed each of her five children one by one in the familys guest bathroom.The first among the children, Noah, was just 7 geezerhood old and the youngest one, Mary, was only of 6 months. Her other three children whom she veiled were John, 5 years old, Paul, 3 years old and Luke, 2 years old. Once she found all of them to be deceased after drowning them in the bathtub, she spread the bodies of her four children out on her bed, and left Noah, her eldest child, floating in bathtub. After committing this horrifying crime, she called the police as well as her husband for disclosing the crime she had committed. (McLellan Keram )There is no doubt that no crime could be more heinous than killing ones own children. However, looking at the nature of crime committed by a mother, questions are bound to annul regarding the mental status of Yates at the time of the crime. It was her mental disorder which prompted her to commit such crime and considering her psychological problem her defendant demanded insanity defense in the first trial. She was under treatment and was taking drugs even off two days before the incident occurred. She claimed of having odd visions and hearing sounds which was not real. She believed that for the good of her children she must kill them. The act was committed when her husband had left her alone with the children despite the doctors instructions against it. However, in the first trial, she was accused of committing the crime of killing her own children and sentenced to life. (Keram) She was declared not guilty only in the second trial and released on