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

The Insanity Defense of Andrea Yates - Essay Example June 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. Following her daily routine, Andrea Yates, a suburban housewife, made breakfast for her five children and then the hell broke out in the family when she drowned each of her five children one by one in the family’s guest bathroom. The eldest among the children, Noah, was just 7 years old and the youngest one, Mary, was only of 6 months. Her other three children whom she killed were John, 5 years old, Paul, 3 years old and Luke, 2 years old. Once she found all of them to be dead 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 one’s own children. However, looking at the nature of crime committed by a mother, questions are bound to arise regarding the mental status of Yates at the time of the crime. It was her psychological 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 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 doctor’s 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