Do you think that if a woman killed her four children she would get the death penalty?

Question

Like this guy did?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296509,00.html
Or would they only give her life in prison like they did to Andrea Yates?
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/yates/
I know they are different states but I am asking if you think that in Tennessee would a woman get the death penalty for killing her four children. Since this guy generally had the same argument as post partum murdering mothers. He suffered from depression and PTSD too so why is it that women like Yates are held to a different standard? When is the last time you heard of any state executing a woman for killing her children?

Mantis: It does not matter that much that you give birth. Men have equal rights to their children as women. It is opressive thinking like your that enables the discrimination against father's. I will not give you a thumbs down because it is your opinion, no matter how sexist it might be.

Of course it's different. A father's bond and a mother's bond with their children are both unique but one is not better than the other. I presume that based off your argument, mantis, that you would accept the argument that the wage gap is justifiable since men are biologically able to perform better at various jobs which pay more?

OK mantis, what is the difference in that argument and yours? Both are based off of the argument that biology has something to do with special exceptions. I, by the way, never said that my position was the one I illustrated but was simply drawing the connection that you made with biology and how one could make that argument and if they were not a hypocrit make the other argument as well. My statements and your stance does explain the difference as you said, however it would be that you are in fact a hypocrit.

Answer 1

I'm not sure where I stand on the issue of the death penalty. I do think, however, that women should be held just as accountable for their actions as men are. Murder is murder. I think it's especially a heinous crime in cases where parents murder their own children. Can you imagine the horror those children went through in their last moments on earth- knowing that the one that gave them life, the one they trusted and loved more than anything else in this world is hurting them? The child's last thought probably being, "Mommy (or daddy) WHY are you doing this to me? I love you!" It makes me SICK to think of it. Mental disorders like depression or PTSD are not valid excuses for murder.....there is no excuse, in my opinion, except perhaps a severe psychosis or in cases of life-threatening self-defense. Neither of those seem to apply to this case. I have suffered in the past from severe depression and PTSD. I have three kids. I've been in an abusive marriage. And NEVER would it have EVER crossed my mind to harm my children. I can't fathom any court allowing these conditions to be considered or used as a legal defense for murder.

Answer 2

November 1941: Ethel Leta Juanita Spinelli was the first woman executed in California. Death by gas chamber *Note: There was also a woman by the name of Barbara Graham executed in San Quintin Prison by gas chamber. June 3rd, 1955.

Answer 3

In our politically correct "justice" (and I use that term lightly) system?? No way. A man would get the death penalty for the same crime, but not a woman. There is always an excuse when a woman commits such a crime.....she had been molested, she was temporarily (but justifiably, of course) insane, her husband had abused her, she had just lost her job, she was taking prescription drugs.....and on and on and on. "Equality" for men and women?......what a joke.

Answer 4

Here's another woman from MI. Today's News (no post partum): ONLY WOMEN ARE NUTS but MEN ARE NOT???
-------------------------------------------------------------
A verdict has been reached in the Jennifer Kukla trial.
Kukla, 30, was found guilty but mentally ill on first-degree murder charges.
The jury took two hours on Tuesday and one hour on Wednesday to reach the verdict. However, they did not agree she was legally insane.
Kukla was convicted of killing her two children. Ashley, 5, and Alexandra, 8, were fatally stabbed inside a mobile home off M-59 in Macomb Township.
Kukla rocked in her seat as she heard the verdict and showed no visible emotion. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled to her relatives before being taken from the courtroom.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said even though three psychologists testified her mental illness made her insane, there were clear reasons why the jury came back with the verdict they did.
"Those voices that she claimed that were in head telling her to kill her children and herself. She said I wasn't going to do that. She chose not to kill herself. She made choices. In addition, when police showed up she said 'I am going to hell for what I did,'" said Smith.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said the situation was very graphic, very sad and the officers were left shaken.
The scene was "very difficult," Hackel said. "Even the officers were having a hard time with that one.... That was one that left you with not much sleep last night, that's for sure."
Police were notified on Feb. 4 by the 30-year-old woman's sister after she visited the home. "When she approached the door, the door was open already," Hackel said. "She called her sister's name, she came out to the door area and she explained that she had harmed the kids."
Hackel said the sister never entered the dwelling. She told police she had visited her sister Saturday night to help her clean the house out of concern for her sister's children, the sheriff said. She reported leaving around 11 p.m.
----------------------------------------------------------

Soon I'll post a question to discuss why women teachers who sexually abuse middle school students serve little to no jail time, while men is the same circumstance serve decades.

Answer 5

To me it doesn't matter if you're male or female...you deliberately hurt a child you're going to have hell to pay.

Edit: Especially in prison. Child abusers/rapists/molesters are considered the lowest of the low amongst the prisoners. They are among the first and most frequent prisoners targeted by fellow inmates.

http://boards.courttv.com/showthread.php?s=e324e8dfff5fc4562cc0b817b7dde025&threadid=299128&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

Do not click unless you think you can handle it, this is a YouTube video that shows what can happen to a child molestor in prison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex4o3SjGwD0

Answer 6

Firstly, I would like to present the issues as I see pertinent, and then I will comment....so hang in there....

Post Partem Depression is a medical condition and, in severe cases, medical professionals have recognized that the woman suffering from SEVERE hormonal imbalance may, in fact, experience extreme shifts in personality and judgement. (Andrea Yates is one of those cases.)

In Holden's case, it is not reported that he had medical testimony, only that he claimed to be severely depressed, might have suffered Post Traumatic Distress, and most importantly, he blamed his actions on his wife not allowing him to see his kids. His actions were retaliatory.

Now...my thoughts. As for different treatment for men and women - assuming both are in the same state of mind...both should be punished in equal measures. Afterall, thats equality, right?

Answer 7

Daryl Holton, 45, had confessed to shooting his three young sons and their half-sister in 1997 in the town of Shelbyville, about 50 miles south of Nashville.

Holton told police he killed the children because his ex-wife had refused to let him see them. He said he intended to kill her and himself, but instead turned himself in.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The main difference between Yates and Holton, is the reason they killed their children. He killed his children out of spite. His logic was "If I can't have them nobody can, and you're next". But then stopped short of killing her and himself.

Yates logic was that her children would be safe in heaven. She felt the world had become evil and she was trying to protect them, not take them away from anyone out of spite.

If his reason for killing his children was because he was trying to save them, I don't think he would have gotten the death penalty. Depression doens't make you homicidal, anger can, and that is what he was expressing. Andrea Yates wasn't just depressed, she was psychotic. She really thought she was saving her children, not harming them. He knew he was harming them, but didn't care. Hers was a selfless act, his was a selfish act.

Answer 8

Har Bloody Har! This is a joke question, right?

A woman... receive the death sentence? Don't make me larrrrfffffff..


Oh.. wait, I geddit...

You meant the "DEAF" sentence.

The jury turn a deaf-ear to all her wrongs and let her off.

Yes, yes, while men receive the DEATH sentence, women receive the DEAF sentence.

Answer 9

"why is it that women like Yates are held to a different standard?"

woMen carry babies in their boDies for 9 months and give laBor sometimes for days
we are biologically connected to our baBies in different ways than mEn (come on bring those thumbs down)
therefore "held to a diFFerent stanDard" if life were fair mEn would giVe biRth too
YaTes is still a monSter tHo
aNd she will suffer so

**mEn loVe thEir baBies I agRee but I have to say it is diFFerntlE
sorrE?

See the fact that you equate these two concepts of the work world with a woman's hormonal connection to her children clearly illustrates how DIFFERENT

Answer 10

Nah she wouldnt, in fact Iam surprised she got life in prison.