Andrea Yates Won Insanity Acquittal in 2nd Trial After Killing 5 Children
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Andrea Yates Won Insanity Acquittal in 2nd Trial After Killing 5 Children
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Summary
A second Houston jury found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity after she drowned her five children 25 years ago, in a case that became a landmark for postpartum psychosis.
Her first conviction was overturned after defense lawyer George Parnham showed the state's expert witness had given false testimony, including about a "Law and Order" episode.
Yates had said she believed she was saving her children from Satan, and the case highlighted how postpartum psychosis claims are judged under each state's insanity standard.
Most states require defendants to prove they did not understand their actions or that they were wrong, while some use broader tests such as irresistible impulse or whether mental defect caused the crime.
Massachusetts, where Lindsay Clancy is on trial, uses a less restrictive rule that puts the burden on prosecutors to show a mentally ill defendant still understood wrongfulness and could obey the law.