Newspapers all over the nation are full of articles reporting 'child killings' are on the rise. We have backward nations where ugly anatomical practices are still performed. Millions of children were left to die during years of tribal strife of from starvation, murder, and other causes.
On January 7, 2005, I was emailed an alert from CNN regarding Andrea Yates verdict being reversed. Although in 2001, Andrea Yates (a high school valedictorian and an officer in the National Honor Society) admits to drowning five of her children in a bathtub, the 1st Court of Appeals overturned Mrs. Yates' conviction because of erroneous testimony. Is she any less guilty of taking her young children's lives? It is quite possible that a new jury will determine the answer to this question. However, is Andrea now stating that she did not kill her children? No. Does she stand a chance of being allowed out of prison? Only a new trial will determine that. Does Andrea still need psychological care? Yes, above all means, she does. Will a new truthful trial find that Andrea Yates still drowned Noah 7, John 5, Paul 3, Luke 2, and 6-month-old Mary on June 20, 2001? Yes, it probably will.
Additionally, during the trial, five mental health experts testified Yates did not know right from wrong or that she thought what she did was right. She repeatedly saw knives and blood in her mirrors and heard voices speak to her about the children going to hell without her actions. These are classic signs that show in parents who have mental illness. You might ask in a case such as this one, "How on earth could she have done this?" The answer very well could be that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Since Andrea's conviction, other cases in Texas surfaced with Lisa Ann Diaz being accused of drowning her two daughters; Deanna Laney admittedly killed her two sons by using rocks to bash in their skulls; and Dena Schlosser was charged with capital murder after cutting off her daughter's arm. These women are now undergoing treatment at the state mental hospital in Wichita Falls because of the same such illness.
Are all of these women mentally ill beyond a reasonable doubt? Yes. Are they all the cause of the death of their own children? Yes, the law has shown this to be true. Yet, do they all need to be given fair and reasonable trials and deserve to get the psychological help that they need? Yes, I believe they do. What causes "All-American City" parents to kill their own children?
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