JUSTICE FOR ANDREA?
Texas Mom's Murder Convictions Overturned
HOUSTON (AP) - Andrea Yates' capital murder convictions for drowning her children were overturned Thursday by an appeals court, which ruled a prosecution expert witness gave false testimony at her trial.
Yates' lawyers had argued at a hearing last month before a three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston that psychiatrist Park Dietz was wrong when he said he consulted on an episode of the TV show "Law and Order" involving a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children. (Emphasis added)
After jurors found Yates guilty, attorneys in the case and jurors learned no such episode existed.
"We conclude that there is a reasonable likelihood that Dr. Dietz's false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury," the court ruled. "We further conclude that Dr. Dietz's false testimony affected the substantial rights of appellant."
Dietz was the ONLY mental health professional of several who interviewed Andrea Yates who testified that she was competent. He said she told him "Satan" told her to drown her kids - and, in his opinion - she knew "Satan" is evil - hence, she knew that following his direction would be wrong.
OH, PLEASE! This poor abused & deranged woman was the brood-wife of a nut-fundie husband who impregnated her twice after she experienced bouts of post-partum depression. Then he set her up in a Christian separatist home schooling regimen with five young children even though people around her saw that she was unraveling.
And her doc took her off antidepressant meds - w'as'sup wit dat?!?
Unfortunately, a still-fragile Andrea will have to endure another trial - and she's still stuck with the clueless husband . . .
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Good fortune. Please spread the meme. Comment. Don't smoke in bed.
Da Rev