Does anyone agree Andrea Yates should not be given a life sentence for murdering her 5 children?

Question

She is on trial again for murdering her five children after the life sentence she received was thrown out. She is now trying to get off on reasons of insanity! You must be crazy to cold heartedly murder your children but that shouldn't mean you don't get punished.

Unfortunately they are not seeking the death penalty in her case.

Answer 1

Sometimes a crime is so horrible that it is impossible to define the appropriate punishment. People should be held responsible for their actions. But the simple fact that we are decent good people means we cannot even imagine a punishment fitting for her.

Our society has become one of excuses, explanations, and political correctness. It is evident in the number of kids we medicate with amphetamines (all in the name of normal behavior), the number of broken families (if mom and dad don't get along, get a divorce) and the number of criminals living in our neighborhoods (insanity, civil rights, reeducation programs).

People need to be responsible for their actions; make their children responsible for their behaviors; and remember the cardinal rule of poker...a card laid is a card played.

Death is too good for her. She should be branded with "Baby Killer" across her forehead, stripped naked, set free on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Answer 2

This situation is very complicated. As much as I feel for those children who lost their lives, and everyone around them, I do honestly think Andrea Yates is very ill (mentally). Obviously, she is mentally ill to be capable of committing such a crime, so, in fact, she should be locked up in an institution, instead of being murdered. I hate feeling like it's ok for humans to decide who does and does not get the death penalty, therefore, I say give her treatment and don't let her back into society again. As for death, I don't feel that is my decision to make.

Answer 3

Those of you who are answering about how horrible this woman is, and that she deserves the death penalty (which I won't debate), are you aware of the ACTUAL circumstances surrounding this woman's crime?

Did you know how her husband constantly told her that she was a terrible parent? How she was confined to the house 24/7 to care for the children by her husband? That she was not permitted to see or speak to anyone outside of her mother-in-law who would visit for one afternoon per month? How she begged for some time away from the kids because she was going stir crazy?

This woman was a prisoner in her own home, who felt that the only way she could save her children from the same hell she was trapped in was to "give them back to Jesus".

The better question to ask is: Why was her husband not charged with anything? Of course he did get remarried very quickly after having his entire family "conveniently" removed from the situation.

Answer 4

No she absolutely shouldn't get off, maybe you wig out and kill one, but she had to move the bodies of one aside to go get the next to murder them too. Not to mention at some point she was still sane enough to say number one: i can't handle anymore kids lets not have any 2: i'd do better if they went to school and i wasn't with them 24/7 3: I NEED HELP either when she was at home or when they were kicking her out of the hospital 4: she was rational enough to call the police AFTER she killed them, why not call them BEFORE and say i'm going to kill my children if someone doesn't come here right now and stop me.....phooey with all the evil bs, she didn't kill herself because the world is such a horrible place just the children she brought in to the world, she is what made their world an evil place and she should pay for it with her life. she didn't go off and shoot them which could happen in seconds, she filled the tub and used the fact that they trusted her to get them in it and then held each one under long enough for them to drown and then she did it over and over again. no way she gets off on insanity. she's not insane, just selfish and stupid, if i'm not mistaken they lived in a bus for a while, what person with a brain has children while living in a bus? i personally feel her husband should be held accountable to some extent too, he had to know, you don't live with someone and watch them interact with the children all day and NOT know something is wrong, you just don't want to be bothered with it. you also don't have FI VE children with or leave children alone all day, everyday with someone who has a history of mental illness thats just bad parenting.

Answer 5

I believe the Death Penalty is in order. Was she "Crazy" when she had the children? Anyone that can kill their own children( or any body's children ) does not and should not get the right to keep living. She did not give her children the option of living so why should the Justice System give her the option?

Answer 6

the sad thing is , she will probably spend the rest of her life in an institution because they will find she was temp.insane at the time of the murders. people can't imagine someone doing something like that and NOT be insane. I would love to see her put to death but that would be too good for her, she would be humanely euthanized and not subjected to the unimaginable terror she put her kids through, unless someone gets ahold of her while she's incarcerated....
I know she will get what's coming to her on the other side, either way

Answer 7

Crazy is your state of mind. It doesn't mean that your not guilty at all or do not deserve punishment. The death penalty is just too easy for this murderer. I hope she gets to rot in jail each and every day, and think about what she's done. All of your children? NO way..and that husband of hers needs to rot with her. She had a history of depression and psychotic behavior before 5 children arrived on this earth. He was never home and "ignored" her obvious issues. Being a homemaker all day, every day--tests every mother and GOD BLESS them all but that husband saw something..and he never got her help. ROT IN JAIL....

Answer 8

The question is: did she appreciate the fact that what she was doing was wrong. If not, clearly it would be wrong to punish her, and yet she must be removed from society by mental commitment to protect the rest of us. If she did, harsh punishment is in order, but her mental illness mitigates against the death penalty, which would otherwise be proper. Life seems fair in that case; again, society needs to be protected.

Answer 9

Yes, I agree with you that the woman needs to be punished in some way. It's difficult though since she now understands that she killed her five children and suffers daily because of it. So, what can be more punishment than that? What she needs is to be given psychiatric care for the rest of her life and to be forbidden to have more children.

Answer 10

She murdered five helpless children, she should get the death penalty. She knew what she was doing, she had it planned a head of time. Her husband should be held responsible too, he knew she was having problems and didn't to much to help.

Answer 11

By definition:
""Psychosis should also be distinguished from the state of delirium, in that a psychotic individual may be able to perform actions that require a high level of intellectual effort in clear consciousness""

That she walks, talks, and pursues actions in support of a crazed belief does not make her SANE.

Give the poor afflicted woman a treatment facility and psychiatric care. She started out crazy and what she has done in that condition would drive a sane person mad, as well.