Bid made to save life of mother who drowned children
Defence lawyers today launched efforts to save Andrea Yates from execution after she was convicted of murder for drowning her five children in the bath.
Jurors deliberated for less than four hours yesterday before rejecting arguments that the 37-year-old Texas mother was insane when she held the children underwater until they stopped breathing.
Her defence team argued there was no case for the death penalty, which the prosecution are seeking.
‘‘If drowning five children by a loving mother isn’t a gross psychosis, there isn’t any such thing as gross psychosis,’’ defence lawyer Wendell Odom said in his closing arguments.
‘‘Mental illness is still not understood and not appreciated,’’ defence lawyer George Parnham said after the verdict. ‘‘I hope we’ll be able to save her life.’’
Sentencing was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Yates has no previous criminal record and Parnham said it will be hard for the state to prove she poses a danger to society.
The Houston mother was convicted of murder in the deaths of seven-year-old Noah, five-year-old John and six-month-old Mary. Charges were not filed in the deaths of Paul, three, and Luke, two.
Both sets of lawyers agreed Yates was mentally ill, but prosecutors said evidence showed she knew her actions were wrong.
‘‘That’s the key,’’ prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said. ‘‘Andrea Yates knew right from wrong, and she made a choice on June 20 to kill her children deliberately and with deception.’’
Yates, a former nurse, thought about harming her children for years and called police after the murders, Williford said. Yates was overwhelmed with home schooling and housekeeping duties and may have committed the crime to punish her husband, the prosecutor said.
Dianne Clements, head of the Texas pro-death penalty group Justice For All, praised the prosecutions work.
‘‘They were the only two voices who spoke for the children, and they were obviously heard loud and clear,’’ Clements said.
Defence lawyers argued Yates believed killing the youngsters would save them from eternal damnation.
The eight woman, four man jury heard testimony from 38 witnesses over more than three weeks.
As the verdict was read out, Yates’ husband, Russell Yates, muttered, ‘‘Oh, God,’’ then buried his head in his hands. Dora Yates put her arm around her son.
Deborah Bell, president of the Texas chapter of National Organisation for Women, said she was shocked at the verdict. She held a candlelight vigil last night outside the court, where about a dozen people attended, including some of Yates’ relatives.
‘‘The devil was in her, and that devil’s name is schizophrenia,’’ said Bell, who founded the Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition. ‘‘I think a lot of good will come out of this case. Unfortunately, it’s too late to save Andrea.’’
