Understanding the Insanity Plea
Below you will find newspaper articles about two cases of maternal filicide – one deals with Andrea Yates who was convicted of murder and the other discusses Dena Schlosser who was found Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity.
Afyer reading anser these questions;
What standard of insanity does it seem like Texas uses?
Why do you think Andrea Yates was found guilty while Dena Schlosser was found not guilty by reason of insanity?
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Case 1
Case of Texas mother goes to jury
HOUSTON (CNN) — Jurors in the trial of Andrea Yates began deliberating her fate Tuesday afternoon after attorneys and prosecutors made closing arguments about whether the Texas mother was sane the day she drowned her five children in the family bathtub.
The panel of eight women and four men went behind closed doors to decide whether she was guilty of capital murder or not guilty because of the psychosis that gave her delusions.
A conviction would bring either life in prison or death by lethal injection, while an acquittal would send her to a state mental hospital until she is deemed cured.
Yates is charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths last summer of Noah, 7, John, 5, and Mary, 6 months. One of the counts covers the two eldest children. She is not on trial for the drownings of Luke, 3, and Paul, 2.
Prosecutors said Yates knew what she was doing was wrong, and she acted deliberately when she drowned the children.
“This is a crime of horrific proportions. This is a crime where she made a choice, knowing it was a sin, she had to conceal this act because others would stop her from doing it,” prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said in her closing argument. “It was wrong in the eyes of God, and it was wrong in the eyes of the law.”
Prosecutors also suggested that Yates may have killed the children to get back at her husband, Russell.
After the closing arguments, Russell Yates said, “I think anyone who has a mental illness (and) who watched that should be offended.”
Andrea Yates has confessed to killing the children, but has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
“If this woman doesn’t meet the test of insanity in this state, then nobody does,” defense attorney George Parnham told the jury. “We might as well wipe it from the books.”
Prosecutor Joseph Owmby during Tuesday’s closing arguments. Yates attorney Wendell Odom argued that Yates was an “extremely sick woman” when she drowned the children.
“The state is looking for a technicality on how to convict her, because some people simply do not want to accept the fact that you can be so mentally ill that you kill five people,” he said.
Odom said that a number of the medical experts who testified said Yates was the sickest patient they had ever seen, suffering from schizophrenia, depression and other mental conditions. He said those conditions, combined with postpartum depression following Mary’s birth, cause a “full-blown psychosis.”
Odom also challenged the credibility of several prosecution witnesses, including high-profile UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz — implying his testimony might be for sale. “I know one thing, that if we had between $50,000 and $100,000 and we called him first, Park Dietz might have been testifying for the defense,” Odom said.
Dietz had testified that Yates was mentally ill, but still knew that her actions were legally and morally wrong. They also played video and audio tapes in which Yates confessed to the killings and said what she did was wrong.
Under Texas law, if jurors believe Yates knew right from wrong at the time of the killings, they cannot find her legally insane.
Williford described the steps Yates took in preparation to drown the children and said it took about three minutes for Paul to lose consciousness.
“I would ask that you take at least three minutes of silence, and sit there in silence and realize, realize how long it takes for a child to lose voluntary control of their body,” she said.
Yates’ attorneys asked for a mistrial Tuesday, after prosecutor Joseph Owmby asked jurors to look at the charges against Yates, saying “there was no question” that Yates acted knowingly and intentionally when she drowned her five children.
Odom argued a new trial should be granted because Owmby inappropriately defined the charges.
Judge Belinda Hill did not comment on the motion, and Owmby continued presenting his closing argument.
The arguments wrapped up three weeks of testimony from police, medical experts and family members. The defense rested Monday after calling rebuttal witnesses in the trial of Andrea Yates. The prosecution rested over the weekend.
Yates remained unemotional during the closing arguments, as she has through most of the trial.
The charges Yates faces are based on provisions in Texas statutes. One charge covers the intentional deaths of two people in the same event or scheme; the other covers the death of a child under 6.
The prosecution does not contest that Yates suffered from a severe mental disease, but contends she knew killing her children was wrong and that the acts were premeditated.
The prosecution has not charged Yates in the deaths of two children, preserving its right to charge her later. Legal analysts have speculated whether or not this would constitute double jeopardy — trying a person twice for the same crime — which is unconstitutional.
If Yates is acquitted, the court will have to wait at least 30 days before deciding whether she should be committed to a mental hospital or go free.
Case 2
Mother accused of cutting off infant’s arms found not guilty
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — A woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms was found not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity in her retrial Friday.
Police arrested Dena Schlosser in November 2004 after finding her baby Margaret dying in her crib and Schlosser covered in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn. Schlosser will be sent to the maximum security Vernon State Mental Hospital. Schlosser, 38, didn’t say anything as bailiffs led her away after the verdict.
“We have a just verdict in a just case, but yes, it is bittersweet,” defense attorney David Haynes said. “She wanted to be sent to the state hospital in Vernon. She feels it is her best chance to get better.”
A judge issued the verdict after brief proceedings. Defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed last week to have Judge Chris Oldner decide the case after a jury deadlocked in February, forcing a mistrial.
The case hinged on whether Schlosser had severe mental problems that kept her from knowing the wrongfulness of the crime — the Texas standard for insanity. Last week it was revealed that Schlosser had a brain tumor that defense attorneys said could have caused hallucinations before the killing, but neither the tumor nor any other evidence was discussed Friday.
Both sides waived closing arguments Friday, and the judge ruled based on evidence presented in the first trial.
Prosecutors didn’t immediately comment, and jurors declined to talk about the case.
Schlosser will be sent to the Vernon hospital for 30 days, after which time the hospital will issue a report on her mental health and a judge will decide whether she needs to be recommitted. If she is recommitted, a judge will review another report after six months, then another each year she’s hospitalized after that.
“My own expectation is that she will remain at the hospital for many, many years,” Haynes said.
Bob Nicholas, Schlosser’s former stepfather who helped raised her and the only relative in attendance Friday, said the verdict was the best possible scenario.
“This whole case, this whole situation with Dena, was a tragedy,” Nicholas said. “We’ve got the loss of Maggie, who never reached her first birthday. We’ve got two little girls coping with the loss of their sister and of a loving, caring mother.”
John Schlosser, Schlosser’s husband, has filed for divorce and has custody of the couple’s two other daughters.
Dena Schlosser’s tumor was a new element in the defense’s argument, which had focused on her psychological disorders. Several psychiatrists in her first trial testified that Schlosser lost touch with reality, suffered severe mood swings and experienced religious hallucinations and delusions.
While one witness alluded to a possible brain lesion, miscommunication between doctors delayed further testing until three weeks after the mistrial. A neurologist’s confirmation of a brain tumor gave the defense another argument, which it presented at a hearing March 31.
During her first trial, one doctor said Schlosser told him she wanted to cut off her baby’s arms and her own limbs and head and give them God. Other medical testimony referenced erratic behavior and hallucinations, including apostles rising out of blood-filled streets to herald the apocalypse.
Testimony in the first trial lasted seven days and also included police, acquaintances, family, social workers and Schlosser’s preacher, Doyle Davidson.
The defense faulted Schlosser’s husband for not getting her adequate mental health treatment and also blamed Davidson, who believes only God can cure mental illness.
The state argued the defense was trying to deflect responsibility from Schlosser. Prosecutors presented a methodical case, focusing on possible inconsistencies and behaviors that might indicate Schlosser knew killing her baby was wrong.
After 42 hours of deliberations, the jury deadlocked with 10 of the 12 agreeing she was insane. Oldner declared a mistrial February 25.