Andrea_Yates,_Mental_Illness,_and_the_Legal_System

Andrea Yates, Mental Illness, and the Legal System By Sherri L. Schnipke PSY 303 Abnormal Psychology Professor Cheri Hansen December 20, 2010 Andrea Yates, Mental Illness, and the Legal System In Houston, Texas on the morning of June 20, 2001, former nurse Andrea Yates killed her five young children by bathtub drowning. Throughout the trial, it became clear that Yates was suffering from mental illness, raising many questions about how this impacted her understanding of what was right and what was wrong. A brief exploration will be made into the history of Ms. Yates’ symptoms and behaviors, treatments she had received, and an opinion on the retrial verdict that eventually cleared her of responsibility for the crime. Andrea’s initial hints of mental instability appeared soon after the birth of her first baby when she started to have violent hallucinations about “a knife flashing, dripping with blood” and “the knife stabbing someone” (Hyman, 2004). Her condition worsened to where she withdrew and refused to speak, frequently paced, and became fixated on watching the television for long periods. She also dug at her scalp, becoming bald in patches. In June of 1999, she attempted a suicide by overdosing on sedative medication (Hyman, 2004). Even though she was still symptomatic, the hospital sent her home in late June due to limitations on the length of stay that her insurance would pay for. A second attempt at suicide came at the end of July, when she put a knife to her own throat and was cutting herself based on a voice telling her to “get a knife” (McLellan, 2006). Andrea had been caring for all five of her young children and her father, who had Alzheimer’s Disease. After he passed away at the end of February, 2001, a severe cluster of symptoms appeared. She would not speak or drink liquids and refused to feed the fifth baby (still an infant) due to believing she was eating too much. She believed she was being recorded in her home by video cameras in the ceilings (Charen, 2006). She also believed that cartoon characters on the television were telling her that she was not a good mother and voices were prompting her to find a knife (McLellan, 2006). Again, she was taken to a hospital where she was started on another regime of antipsychotic drugs. She was released to go home within ten days, in spite of still refusing to talk and being seriously depressed. Andrea engaged in more bizarre behaviors after her release, including filling up the bathtub “just in case she needed it” (McLellan, 2006). Believing the bathtub incident might have suicidal intent, her treating psychiatrist hospitalized her again on May 4, 2001 (Charatan & Eaton, 2002). After her release on May 14, 2001, her psychiatrist started to gradually take her off of the antipsychotic medication. She suffered a drastic deterioration during this time which her doctor neglected to treat with anything except his advice to “think positive thoughts” (McLellan, 2006). This advice was given to Andrea on June 18, 2001, just two days prior to the death of the Yates’ children (McLellan, 2006). After her arrest for the murders, Yates stated in jail that she had thoughts of killing her children for the past two-year period. She believed that she was possessed and was a poor parent as “they were not developing correctly” (McLellan, 2006) and “were not behaving properly” (Hyman, 2004). Yates felt they were damned to burn in hell and she had to save them from her influence so they could go to heaven (Hyman, 2004). She further believed that she was under demonic possession and had pulled out handfuls of her own hair in search of a sign of the beast, the number 666, which left her scalp raw and bleeding. She felt that by a guilty conviction, she would be put to death and this would also destroy Satan (McLellan, 2002; Hyman, 2004). She walked in continual circles (Meier, 2006) and was agitated by seeing images of satanic ducks and teddy bears that she claimed were on the walls of the jail cell (Hyman, 2004). The landmark case divided the country on the issue of mental illness and criminal responsibility. After a jury trial in 2001, Andrea Yates was convicted of capital murder, which carried a life sentence. This conviction was eventually overturned due to an error in testimony and a retrial was awarded. On July 26, 2006, the retrial resulted in the previous conviction being overturned. She was found not guilty due to reason of insanity (NGRI) and hospitalized (McLellan, 2002). I agree with the jury decision to find Andrea Yates not guilty due to reason of insanity. I believe her extensive history of bizarre behavior, hallucinations, delusions, self-injurious, and suicidal behavior speaks strongly of the mental illness she had been suffering from for a significant length of time. Her mental illness and the extreme amount of stress she was under caused an inability to maintain regulation of her emotions and control over her behavior. People who are psychotic lose the ability to judge their behavior according to the consequences. Many struggle with how to oppose what the “voices” direct them to do, even when this involves dangerous behavior (Paquette, 2002). Yates’ poor mental state only worsened with time and with the inadequate treatment she received. As she bore more and more children, the condition was exacerbated and a disastrous result was imminent. The Yates case brought the issue of mental illness to the forefront of the American public. It became clear that many changes needed to be made, such as how mental illness was defined and how it should impact personal responsibility. However, progress still needs to be made for more accurate diagnosis and fair treatment of the mentally ill.   References Charatan, F., & Eaton, L. (2002). Woman may face death penalty in postnatal depression case. British Medical Journal, 324(7338), 634. Retrieved December 19, 2010, from Research Library. Charen, M. (2006). Yates might be insane, but she is still guilty. Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. Hyman, R. (2004). Medea of Suburbia: Andrea Yates, Maternal Infanticide, and the Insanity Defense. Women's Studies Quarterly, 32(3/4), 192-210. Retrieved December 16, 2010, from Research Library. McLellan, F. (2006). Mental health and justice: the case of Andrea Yates. The Lancet, 368(9551), 1951-4. Retrieved December 16, 2010, from Research Library. Meier, E. (2002). Andrea Yates: Where did we go wrong' Pediatric Nursing, 28(3), 296-7, 299. Retrieved December 18, 2010, from Career and Technical Education. Paquette, M. (2002). This is insane! Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 38(3), 77-8. Retrieved December 18, 2010, from Research Library.