Another Andrea Yates? Woman drowns her kids...will the law be blind to her sex, or give her a pass?

Question

I often wonder why it didn't occur to anyone that Scott Peterson was mentally ill to do his crime, maybe someone here can expain it?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3677088

samantha, andrea admitted to it, and it didn't matter to the jury.

siamese, I don't think she's on death row...last I heard, a psych institute.

jurydoc...it's too short to be a rant...lets call it a semi-rant.

Jurydoc...I'm familiar with DSM related excuses, I work in the field. Thanks though!

la ange...great answer!

I've watched the clinical interview of andrea yates, and it seems that she did know that killing her kids was wrong, and that she had the capacity to ignore the voices. In that sense, she's guilty in my book...lots of people have postpartum depression or bipolar disorder and avoid multiple homicide. Her husband is a piece of work too. Scott Peterson is a sociopath...and arguing sociopaths don't belong in jail would leave only drug addicts incarcerated. Thanks for the response.

run lola run...amen!

Answer 1

I think it shows a big divide between how women are treated in the justice system and how men are treated.

She did show signs of premeditation..but it was sold that NO mother in her "right mind" would do that, therefore she MUST be mentally ill and despite the fact there was clear evidence to the contrary.

Another example is the woman who just shot her husband in the back while he was sleeping (the "preachers wife" case) and she got maybe two years if that.

Answer 2

Of course he's mentally ill...no one in their right mind would do what he did. There's a book by Dr. Keith Ablow about Scott Peterson, "Inside the mind of Scott Peterson" It's an interesting read and talks about his childhood, his parents and how his upbringing shaped him as an adult. This is the book that has made me warn women on this site about boys/men who exhibit the same kind of personality traits that Scott Peterson did.

Here's my opinion on how Scott Peterson and Andrea Yates are "different", and I hope it might help you see the difference.
Andrea Yates has a chemical imbalance. She had been in mental hospitals in the past and suffered extreme depression for years, some think as soon as her first child was born. If you're familiar with postpartum depression, you'll get somewhat of an idea of what she may have been going through. It's almost unfathomable, to be that far "gone" that you would do what she did. In my opinion, I feel that what she did was out of her control, and sadly enough could have been prevented.

If you read that book about Scott Peterson, you'll see that his behavior was a bit more psychotic. He killed his wife and child to fit the lies he was telling. It was premeditated, calculated and so planned out, he had lied about Lacy being dead months before he even killed her. He's a menace to society and is definately in the right place...

Answer 3

There is a vast difference between mental illness and a "successful" plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity." It is up to one's defense attorney, if charged with a crime, to determine whether an insanity plea is the way to go. Take into consideration that notorious criminals like Jeffrey Dahmer were unsuccessful in their claims. If you want more education on insanity pleas I'll be glad to provide it. If you just want to rant, I can't stop you.


Still I was right, you didn't want an ACTUAL answer to your question.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

The question is, will the law be blind to her gender, or be blind to the plight of her kids?

Who cares if Scott Petersen was mentally ill? A woman and an unborn child died at his hands. A rabid dog can't help what he does, either, but we don't permit them to just roam among us.

Answer 6

Andrea Yates isn't mentally ill...she's evil. It took force for her to drown her children. They were submissive to her - since they were her children - but anyone being held under water would struggle to survive. She watched each and every one of her children struggle to survive. She is NOT mentally ill. She is EVIL. Pure and simple. She's a murderer that got off on a mentally ill ticket ... she should have been sentenced to death. I think that would be only fair! After all, she sentenced her children to death - MAKE THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME! Wow. I never get sick of saying that when it comes to her!

Sorry, I know you were asking something else, but I had to say it.

Answer 7

dont raed news too depressin.but i feel woman or man doesnt matter dont nor can we discriminate.if they kill ther kids life for a life like america dont waste good money feedin them teachin them educatin em jus zap em in the electric chair that way prisons woudnlt be so full and if they think mite get wrong decision them put em on lie detector test surely lie detector test and ellectric chair be cheaper than 25 yrs feedin em etc in jail +jury costs etc zap em thas wot i say i ave kids and you ave to ave issues to do that and so many childless couples who want kids yet cant

Answer 8

I really think in a lot of cases the insanity plea is a copout. I mean, who in their right mind just goes and kills someone? In almost any murder case, the person comitting the crime is obviously a little crazy, based on our standard of "normal", right?

Answer 9

Only time will tell...that's a horrible crime, but unfortunatley things like this happen every day. It's just the world we live in. The only thing we can hope for is that she will be punished to the full extent.

Answer 10

I was not aware that Andrea Yates was walking around free. She must be hanging out with O.J., Robert Blake, and Phil Spector.