BREAKING NEWS: Andrea Yates Not Guilty in Retrial

[Air Force Met]

Ok, In my humble opinion, I come to this conclusion... She was definately mentally ill, but she was full aware of what she was doing. She contemplated suicide before but this time chose to kill her kids instead. So, she made a concious decision which makes me believe she knew what she was doing.

OK...I am going to say this for the last time...

She had not only "contemplated suicide" before...she TRIED twice and failed. The records show these were not cries-for-help attempts but reall attempts.

People...when you attempt suicide it moves you from "contemplating" to "suicidal." I say this because my sister-in-law has tried 5 times. 3 have been cries for help and twice have been real...no jokes.

The last one she took 60 valiums and 120 hydrocodones....and she DIDN'T throw them up.

That is NOT contemplation. That is an attempt.

Also...and I know it is your opinion..but how do you know it was a conscious decision and one made with knowledge of right and wrong? Have you seen the evidence? I haven't. I have seen the pre-trial stuff though about how messed up she was 2 weeks prior to all of this...

[Air Force Met]

The husband is definitley a dirtbag. I'm surprised that the DA didn't try to nail him with some form of negligence. Although I'm sure that teh way laws are structured in most southern states, it's not negliegent to saddle your wife with the sole care of 5 kids even when she's shown signs of depression and attempts at suicide.

that we can agree on

Yes we can. Unfortunately...we don't have a dirtbag law.

Sad part is there are women who are flocking to him out of sympathy.

He remarried!!

Yeah...I thought he did...but couldn't remember. I knew back in 2002-2003 women were flocking to him. I didn't keep up with him after that because...well...

[kmanWX]

this is what i am having a hard time accepting. you have indicated her supposed suicide attempts and tendencies. but when she made the meticulous planning of her kids deaths, she was able to overcome her suicidal tendencies and spared her own life. like you said, the verdict is in and she won

Prove that. PLease document that with evidence. The kids were drowned in a tub after the husband left for work. She grabbed them and dunked them and laid them on the bed or left them in the tub.

Prove that statement. I have PROVEd mental illness just by the fact she had documented mental illness after the 4TH child...AND teh 5th child...and 4 hospitalizations.

Prove what YOU are saying.

i am saying she was able to overcome her suicidal tendencies and spare her own life. the proof? she is alive today

She took it out on the KIDS....

DUH - anyone can see that

[sunny]

Yeah...I thought he did...but couldn't remember. I knew back in 2002-2003 women were flocking to him. I didn't keep up with him after that because...well...

I remember seeing it on the news. Big ole church wedding. TV crews there and all....

[Janice]

All I am having a hard time with is why she chose to kill her kids this time instead of another suicide attempt.

[Audrey2Katrina]

I'm just curious. How many of you claiming to believe she wasn't insane know what the DSM-IV is? And for those who do, have you read it?

Doesn't matter. That's like asking people who claim to believe one way or another on a religious disputation, if they'd read the entirety of the Vedas, or all the writings of Confucius, or the entire Qu'ran, or perhaps if they don't think a reported cause of a jet crash, if they'd read the entirety of a text on "possible"causes of jet malfunctions--irrelevant. One needn't be a reader of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (the latest adds TR, BTW), to have an educated opinion on this claim of insanity. In fact many professionals have some pretty well documented criticisms of this very book you suggest we read:

Dr. Paula J. Caplan is a clinical and research psychologist and co-author of Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765700018/002-4418298-9744048?redirect=true

She has called for Congressional hearings regarding DSM labeling and created a website criticizing the unscientific nature of DSM labels and purports that these labels have caused harm. The fact remains that DSM is no BIBLE of psychiatric diagnosis... and has more than its share of limitations AND critics among the very community it claims to speak for.

A2K

[Regit]

All I am having a hard time with is why she chose to kill her kids this time instead of another suicide attempt.

Because suicide and irrational behavior are completely different. Her insanity cause her to hear voices telling her to kill them.

Suicide is usually an escape from depression. She could have been euphoric during her period of hearing voices for all we know. Some insane people have periods of depression and some are quite happy.

[Audrey2Katrina]

And he was still by her side at the trial too. He is an odd dude.

At least most of us agree on this one... he IS a dirtball IMHO... words fail in describing the contempt for this (appropriate pejorative) that I feel.

A2K

[Air Force Met]

All I am having a hard time with is why she chose to kill her kids this time instead of another suicide attempt.

The problem you are having is you are thinking this in a clear, mentally ill-free mind.

You can't do that. That's the problem. If you have every worked with anyone or dealt with anyone who is severely mentally ill for an extended period of time...you would know that it is bizarro world.

Up is down. Left is right. Right is wrong.

You can't rationalize life through the eyes of those who are severly mentally ill...and my advice is don't even try.

Why would she kill her kids instead of herself? That is the "definition" of mental illness. It makes no sense in the real world.

[kmanWX]

And he was still by her side at the trial too. He is an odd dude.

At least most of us agree on this one... he IS a dirtball IMHO... words fail in describing the contempt for this (appropriate pejorative) that I feel.

A2K

Yea plus he remarried within a few months after when his kids were killed by his X-wife. It sounds like a cut throated person if you ask me.

[Skywatch_NC]

All I am having a hard time with is why she chose to kill her kids this time instead of another suicide attempt.

Because suicide and irrational behavior are completely different. Her insanity cause her to hear voices telling her to kill them.

Suicide is usually an escape from depression. She could have been euphoric during her period of hearing voices for all we know. Some insane people have periods of depression and some are quite happy.

Not in a case of like Adolph Hitler for ie.

[Regit]

All I am having a hard time with is why she chose to kill her kids this time instead of another suicide attempt.

Because suicide and irrational behavior are completely different. Her insanity cause her to hear voices telling her to kill them.

Suicide is usually an escape from depression. She could have been euphoric during her period of hearing voices for all we know. Some insane people have periods of depression and some are quite happy.

Not in the case of like Adolph Hitler for ie.

Well he killed himself because he was about to be captured/killed. That's completely irrelevant to this discussion. But as I said farther down in the post, you can be both insane and depressed.

[CajunMama]

Rainstorm, you are so knowledgable on this....were you there by her side and at the trial?

had i been there when she was killing her kids i would have done my best to save them. had i come upon her moments after she killed them, i would have lit into her like a bat out of hades. had i been on the jury, it would have been a hung jury.

I'm not asking what you would have done if you HAD been there. I'm asking a simple yes or no question. Were you by her side and at the trial? You keep telling us what she did, how she thought...were you there? Do you have facts to back up what you are saying? Yes or no.

[Janice]

How long has she been mentally ill? Is there any chance her medication over a period of time could have caused her some problems? I took Ambien last week and I was completely out of it. I stopped taking it. I know she stopped taking some of her meds, but could they have done some damage? Or her overdose?

[Janice]

I want to thank you guys, I am really learning a lot here.....

[Air Force Met]

How long has she been mentally ill? Is there any chance her medication over a period of time could have caused her some problems? I took Ambien last week and I was completely out of it. I stopped taking it. I know she stopped taking some of her meds, but could they have done some damage? Or her overdose?

She was first diagnosed after the birth of her 4th child as being severly post-partum and psychotic. Her and Russell were advised not to have any more children as that would probably cause her to go over the edge. She was hospitalized after the 5th child 4 times because she was Postpartum psychotic. Given Luke was 2 years old...I guess it had been going on for as long as he had been alive, with a short interval when they thought she was cured.

[Janice]

Too bad her parents didn't step in. Maybe they were told to stay out of their business by her husband.

[rainstorm]

Rainstorm, you are so knowledgable on this....were you there by her side and at the trial?

had i been there when she was killing her kids i would have done my best to save them. had i come upon her moments after she killed them, i would have lit into her like a bat out of hades. had i been on the jury, it would have been a hung jury.

I'm not asking what you would have done if you HAD been there. I'm asking a simple yes or no question. Were you by her side and at the trial? You keep telling us what she did, how she thought...were you there? Do you have facts to back up what you are saying? Yes or no.

here is what i know. she killed 5 kids. she killed her own kids. she did it with planning. she made what i think is a quite rational choice to spare her own life even though she was looking at her dead kids right after they died a hideous death at her own hands. i know that even though she was supposed to be suicidal, this supreme act of human barbarity did not overcome her instinct for self preservation. i also know 100% of my sympathy lies wiith her brutally killed kids. the jury let her off, so its a done deal

[rainstorm]

i was just watching o'rielly and he and geraldo agreed with me. they thought this verdict was horrific. i didnt even realize this woman hunted down each kid individually in the house, and drown them one at a time. this had to take a very long time to do. o'rielly pointed out that it was inconceivable that yates didnt realize what she was doing. it wasnt like this act of brutality took a second or 2. geraldo also asked the same question i have asked. why hasnt this woman taken her life after this brutal act?. they also said she has shown no remorse at all, though she recoiled at the pictures of her dead kids. again i have to ask, has she attempted suicide since she killed her kids?

anyway, bill and geraldo werent impressed with the verdict or andrea. they ripped her husband as well

[CajunMama]

Rainstorm, you are so knowledgable on this....were you there by her side and at the trial?

had i been there when she was killing her kids i would have done my best to save them. had i come upon her moments after she killed them, i would have lit into her like a bat out of hades. had i been on the jury, it would have been a hung jury.

I'm not asking what you would have done if you HAD been there. I'm asking a simple yes or no question. Were you by her side and at the trial? You keep telling us what she did, how she thought...were you there? Do you have facts to back up what you are saying? Yes or no.

here is what i know. she killed 5 kids. she killed her own kids. she did it with planning. she made what i think is a quite rational choice to spare her own life even though she was looking at her dead kids right after they died a hideous death at her own hands. i know that even though she was supposed to be suicidal, this supreme act of human barbarity did not overcome her instinct for self preservation. i also know 100% of my sympathy lies wiith her brutally killed kids. the jury let her off, so its a done deal

i'd like to see FACTS to back this up...sources cited. AGAIN, you sidestepped my yes or no question. I didn't ask what you thought. Quit evading the direct questions and answer.