My Take On The Yates Trial

The second trial of Andrea Yates is now over, and she was found "not guilty by reason of insanity". She will now be sent to a state hospital to await her release. I have heard a couple of people say she will spend the rest of her life in a mental hospital. This is just not true. The presiding judge could send her home tomorrow, if he wanted to. She will be out on the streets again in a few years.

Personally, I thought she should have been found guilty. Many are celebrating now because poor Andrea will get the help she needs. I find this sickening. Andrea Yates is NOT the victim in this case, her children are. This woman brutally and viciously murdered five innocent children. She should never be allowed within arm's reach of another child the rest of her life. I don't care if she's insane or not, she should be locked up for the rest of her life.

But Andrea Yates is not the only one guilty in this case. There is also the matter of her husband. What the hell was this cretin thinking? He knew she had psychological problems after the first child. Shouldn't this have been taken care of before they had four more children? He just kept piling the pressure on his wife, child after child. Then he decides that she doesn't have enough to do, and makes her home school the children. He had chances to lessen her burden and address her illness, but did nothing. He must accept his share of the blame.

I believe the wacko right-wing fundamentalist version of christianity should get part of the blame also. In the last couple of years, about a half dozen mothers have killed their children in this part of our country. All of them were trying to send their children to heaven, including one woman who chopped her daughter's arms off. I'm not talking about mainstream christianity here, but the extremist elements of the religion. Somehow, these groups take the religion of peace and hope, and find plenty of room in it for guilt and hatred.

Maybe I'm just a mean old man, but this is just happening too often in our country. I guess it is good that Yeats will get treatment, but why couldn't we give her treatment AND lock her up for the rest of her life. There are five innocent children dead because of her, her husband, and their extremist view of religion.