After 12 hours of deliberation a Houston jury brought back a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict. It ended a four year drama which included two trials after the first one was overturned due to a huge lie by one of the prosecution’s expert witnesses, Dr. Park Dietz. He testified in the first trial about an episode of “Law & Order” in which a woman got away with drowning her children in the bathtub by pleading insanity. Prosecutors suggested in her first trial that Yates watched the show and saw it as “a way out.” But it was soon discovered that no such episode existed. He testified in the second trial, but was barred from telling that he was the reason the first verdict was overturned. He was paid a six-figure fee for his testimony.
Russ Yates, the husband of Andrea Yates was in the courtroom. He has remarried in the last couple of years. Many felt that he should have been prosecuted as well, since he knew of his wife’s mental illness and used the teachings of a wayward preacher to isolate her, remove her medication, and forced her to homeschool her children. She also had several suicide attempts, yet he did little to intervene.
Andrea Yates will be sent to the state hospital until a team of doctors declares her not a danger to herself or others. Experts say it will be decades before that is a possibility.
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