After having a baby, any woman is susceptible to post-partum depression. Andrea Yates ended up with Post-Partum Psychosis. She claimed to have visions of knives after some of her children were born. Her family had history of mental illness. Her illness was so bad that she was not only having visions but in her own testimony stated that her and her children were watching cartoons one day and the program stopped just so the cartoon characters could tell her children to stop eating so much candy, and then resume broadcasting. She was not fully connected with reality that she didn’t understand her actions were that of wrong doing. She had reoccurring hallucinations, multiple stays in the mental institutions, two suicidal attempts, and severe depression. …show more content…
While everyone around her, and the world for that matter, believed she should fry for the murder of her children, she herself didn’t fully understand what was right and what was wrong. Andrea was led to believe, by Woroniecki, that her children, “would perish in the fires of hell”. ALL of this was when Woroniecki sent her a newsletter that called modern mothers “jezebels” and expressed concern for their “disobedient” children. She believed that if she killed them when they were young that God would have mercy on their souls. Some of the social factors that affect Andrea Yates were mentioned to you previously before. Her family had a history in mental illness and they had sought professional help. This made her susceptible for mental illness. She was a bright young girl, didn’t date, but went to college for a degree in nursing. Eventually ending up marrying Russell Yates and proceeding with 5 children. After her first son was born she had told the doctors that Satan told her to get a knife and stab someone. She has more children and then a breakdown where she attempts suicide by overdosing on her father’s Trazadone. She was taken to a …show more content…
“Not Guilty” doesn’t mean the person didn’t commit the crime, it just mean that when the person committed the crime he/she could not tell right from wrong. I believe that Andrea profile does not fit the profile of legally insane. Yes, Andrea has major mental issues and suffers from many mental diseases, however, at the time of the murder I believe she was at the right state of mind. Under the definition of law a person can only be declared insane if at the time of the crime the person was unable to understand right from wrong and knew the consequences of his/her actions. She knew that it was legally wrong to kill another human being thus waiting to do it when her husband was not home who was of solid mind. She also planned out which child to kill first because of them alerting the other children and risking them escaping. She was found guilty but ended up having a second trial which she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. According to a juror, during the time of the Yates case, the Insanity Law in the state of Texas stated, "As a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his/her conduct was wrong", this would be changed to, "as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, the defendant was unable to appreciate the nature and
Today postpartum psychosis is known to be a serious psychiatric crisis that affects one to two women per thousand in the first few weeks following childbirth. Women tend to experience visual, aural, and olfactory delusions and hallucinations that enables a risk of self-harm,
The punishment in the State of Texas for committing two capital crimes is life in jail or the death penalty. Andrea’s lawyer tried to show her innocence by protesting that she was insane at the time of the killings. This plea of insanity could have kept her from life in jail or the death penalty. Sure, she would have served a couple years in jail, but she would have been given the opportunity to come out on parole. Now, if this lady was insane like some believe, then how could she know she committed a crime and not know she was doing wrong when actually drowning the children? Mrs. Yates knew exactly that she hurt the innocent children and was awfully aware of what was going on. Mrs. Yates even called the police and her husband to inform them of what she had done. If the death penalty was on her mind while she was drowning the children, then she might have shown some moral awareness before drowning them instead of after they had died. I believe Andrea to be a sane woman, even though she was depressed or had postpartum depression.
With murder charges of fifteen people, cannibalism, and necrophilia hanging over his head, Jeffery Dahmer plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Since Dahmer was a child he had shown withdraws and avoidance of society. He had a habit of collecting dead animals, and he would dissect, dissolve them in many different ways. When Dahmers plea of insanity was rejected by the court, he was then charged with fifteen counts of murder (Yoong). Many believe that when Jeffrey Dahmer 's plea was rejected that it was the end of anyone using, but that isn’t the case. It is used quite rarely, but it is still in use. In all reality, the insanity plea should always be rejected. The only way it should be allowed is if the criminal is fully innocent. “The insanity
Every once in awhile, a case comes about in which the defendant confesses to a crime, but the defense tries to argue that at the time the defendant was not sane. This case is no different; the court knows the defendant is guilty the only aspect they are unsure about is the punishment this murderer should receive. The State is pushing for a jail sentence and strongly believes that the defendant was sane at the time of the murder. It is nearly impossible for the defense to prove their evidence burden of 51%. The State claims that the defendant was criminally responsible at the time of the murder. By using excessive exaggeration, premeditation and motive, the Prosecution will prove that the defendant knew exactly what he was doing and how wrong it was.
Pregnancies are often correlated with the assumption that it will bring happiness to the household and ignite feelings of love between the couple. What remains invisible is how the new responsibilities of caring and communicating with the baby affects the mother; and thus, many women experience a temporary clinical depression after giving birth which is called postpartum depression (commonly known as postnatal depression) (Aktaş & Terzioğlu, 2013).
From the beginning, Aileen Carol Pittman was dealt an unlucky hand. Her mother, Diane Wuornos, got pregnant with her as a teenager, and her father, Leo Dale Pittman, was in prison and he hung himself before she was ever able to meet him. Leo was also a psychopathic child molester. Born on February 29, 1956, she was abandoned by her mother not too many years later. By the age of four, she had been abandoned, and eventually ended up living with her grandparents with her elder brother, Keith. Unfortunately, this was possibly an even worse situation than living with her mother would have been. To begin with, her grandparents decided not to tell her and Keith that they were their grandparents, and decided to just say they were their adoptive parents. It was not made known to Aileen until she was twelve that she had been living with her grandparents. Aileen's grandmother was an abusive alcoholic, and her grandfather abused her physically and sexually. Aileen's grandfather sexually abused her, and she was also having sexual relations with her own brother. The sex with her brother led to her
Bell grew up in a nightmare. Her mother, Betty McCrickett was a mentally, unstable alcoholic and prostitute. According to Gitta Sereny in her book, Cries Unheard: The Story of Mary Bell, Betty would force Bell to take part in prostitution. Others say Betty had tried killing Mary making it seem like an accident. There were suspicions that Betty suffered from Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, which could explain why she acted the way she did with her daughter. Due to the bad home environment, it could have possibly affected Bell’s personality. At school, she had an unpredictable and violent behavior. Even though she was violent, nobody did anything to stop it from continuing and it eventually got out of proportion. May of 1968, Bell strangled a four-year-old. This was ruled an accident and no act was taken. Later, Bell and her friend Norma Joyce Bell broke into a nursery and vandalised it, but police considered it a prank. July of 1968, both Mary Bell and Norma Bell strangled a three-year-old. Eventually both deaths were linked and both girls were charged with two counts of
Postpartum depression is indeed a major psychological disorder that can affect the relationship between mother and baby. At this time, the cause of postpartum depression is unidentified, although several factors experienced during pregnancy can contribute to this disorder. Fluctuating hormone levels have been traditionally blamed for the onset of postpartum depression. Jennifer Marie Camp (2013), a registered nurse with a personal history of postpartum depression, states in the Intentional Journal of Childbirth Education that “current research demonstrates that PPD may be a compilation of numerous stressors encountered by the family, including biochemical, genetic, psychosocial factors and everyday life stress” (Camp, 2013, p. 1). A previous history of depression, depression during pregnancy, financial difficulties, a dif...
Slobogin, Christopher. "The Integrationist Alternative to the Insanity Defense: Reflections on the Exculpatory Scope of Mental Illness in the Wake of the Andrea Yates Trial." American Journal of Criminal Law (2003): Vol. 30 Issue 3, p315-341.
Many people may know of the Casey Anthony trials that started in 2008. Casey Anthony was officially convicted guilty under the court of law in 2011 for what exactly? If Casey Anthony would stand right next to someone they would not even know her face but when people say her name they will know that instantly. Casey Anthony was arrested for the murder of her two year old daughter Caylee. She was also alleged to be charged with child abuse and fraud charges filed by Organ County. Years would go by without her even being put on trial for the chargers filed against her. The years she served before her trials will come back and help her in the long run with good time. Many people still think to this day along as with myself still think she is guilty, but there was poor evidence produced by the prosecutors. The vitric would stun everyone in the United States that was following the case in justice for the two year old girl Caylee. There were many noticeable risk factors that were following Casey Anthony while she was in in her late teens. There were many options of treatment programs available for Casey Anthony if her crimes didn’t act consecutively.
Andrea Yates craved a quite household. With four young boys and a female infant, Andrea was constantly engulfed in noise. Also, the death of Andrea’s father had caused her to feel as if she was a terrible caregiver and she was responsible for his death. Andrea also felt that every time her children had behaved incorrectly she was at fault, fearing that she would hold her children back in life. Andrea had even attempted suicide twice because she felt that she was an incompetent mother to her children and felt that they would be more successful without
When someone commits a crime, he or she may use mental illness as a defense. This is called an insanity plea or insanity defense. What the insanity defense does is try to give the alleged perpetrator a fair trial. At least in extreme cases, society agrees with this principle. The problem is where do we draw the line. Under what circumstances is a person considered insane, and when are they not? The trouble with the insanity defense in recent years is the assumption that virtually all criminals have some sort of mental problem. One important point is that the crime itself, no matter how appalling, does not demonstrate insanity. Today, the insanity defense has become a major issue within the legal system. If the defendant is clearly out of touch with reality, the police and district attorney ordinarily agree to bypass the trial and let the defendant enter a mental hospital.
A. Aileen Wuornos was born to a teenage couple. Her father was arrested for child molestation and hung himself in jail. Her mother abandoned her, and the maternal grandparents assumed guardianship. Most of western culture can agree the abuse of a child is a deviant act. In the case of Aileen, what social factors and “social controls” impeded the recognition of such deviant behavior?
In the 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder Lieutenant Frederick Manion is accused and tried for the murder of Barney Quill; the accused rapist of Mrs. Manion, the wife of the defendant. Citing temporary insanity due to an “irresistible impulse” to seek justice for his wife’s rape, a jury finds Lt. Manion not guilty in the death of Barney Quill by reason of insanity Although the Hollywood interpretation of the insanity defense in Anatomy of a Murder results in a verdict favorable to the defense, this is not typically the case in real life criminal trials due to the specificity of circumstances that are required to support that defense. Specifically, if Lt. Manion’s trial were a real case and tried in the state of Maryland in the year 2014, his defense strategy
When viewed from a strictly medical, psychological aspect, Andrea Yates medical history indicates that after the birth of her first child, she began to suffer from various forms of depression and suicide attempts. If one only examines the paper trail and doesn’t think beyond what the medical history does or does not indicate, then perhaps, Andrea would be innocent by reason of mental insanity as the 2006 acquittal suggest. However, when viewed form a legal aspect there are several inconstancies that challenge if this former nurse was insane or if she in fact premeditated the murder of her children as well as her acquittal.