Thursday, July 27, 2006

Ecstatic

Finally, finally, finally...a jury got it right. Yes, I'm referring to the Andrea Yates trial. This woman is the classic example of 'not guilty by reason of insanity' She was so sick for YEARS, in and out of mental hospitals, multiple suicide attempts etc., if she would have gone to prison it would be nothing more than a true miscarriage of justice. I'm sure some of you bloggers will disagree with me on this one, but trust me, the people who should be blamed for this are her own husband and the idiotic psychiatrist who TOOK HER OFF HER PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATION before the murders. Here are some fun facts and interesting tidbits:

  • at one point during their marriage Rusty Yates came home to find that his wife had systematically pulled out all of her fingernails...hmmm, his solution was to move them out of the van they were sharing with 4 children and into a house. Ok, that should do it.
  • "The couple and their four sons moved from the bus into their house on Beachcomber Lane in a Houston suburb. She recovered while using Haldol, but eventually stopped taking the medication. Against the advice of her psychiatrist, Andrea soon became pregnant again with their fifth child, Mary. Within months, following the death of her ailing father, her psychosis returned. Instead of taking her back to the same doctor who'd treated her before, Rusty told jurors that he and Andrea went to the Devereux-Texas Treatment Network, where Mohammed Saeed became Andrea's psychiatrist. Rusty testified that he never knew that Andrea had visions and voices; he said he never knew she had considered killing the children. Neither did Dr. Saeed, even though the delusions could have been found in medical records from 1999. Andrea would not talk or eat." I worked as a caseworker for years and anytime we got a new client the first thing we did was request and get medical records. Without them, you really have no clue the history of the person which is quite important. Idiot!
  • "After only slight improvement, Andrea was released from Devereux. A month later, she had another episode. Rusty took her back to Devereux. Again, she was released. Dr. Saeed reluctantly prescribed Haldol, the same drug that worked in a drug cocktail for her in 1999. But after a few weeks, he took her off the drug, citing his concerns about side effects. Though Andrea's condition seemed to be worsening two days before the drownings, when her husband drove her to Saeed's office, Rusty testified, the doctor refused to try Haldol longer or return her to the hospital. Rusty was frustrated, he told the jury, and he didn't know what else to do." Ok, his plan for her was...NOTHING! Sounds like a good one to me given her history, oh, wait, he didn't know her history. Duh!

For those of you who don't know anything about Haldol, it is an extremely potent psychotropic medication that helps in stopping hallucinations. One is not prescribed this medication lightly as it has potentially lethal side effects. I think it is clear that this woman is the epitome of "mentally ill" and I couldn't be happier that our "kill 'em all" society has finally done something that could potentially help someone AND shed light on the seriousness of postpartum issues.

If you want to hate on some moms feel free to do so to the following: Susan Smith
or Amy Grossberg or Melissa Drexler

4 comments:

Keithclan said...

I can testify that denial during pregnancy is a powerful thing. It can honestly keep your tummy from getting very large, and from experiencing a whole lot of side effects, and discarding any you do as a stomach flu, allergies, etc. However, at some point, like when the baby is coming out? You have to realize you are/were pregnant. Don't want the baby? Leave it somewhere where someone can find it.I just don't buy that they didn't realize the tiny, crying baby with fingers, toes, eyes, ears, nose ,mouth, etc. was a "real person".

Amen to the Andrea thing. I challenge anyone who thinks she is getting off scott free to spend a week in a mental institution as a patient.

brooke said...

I agree with you that she obviously had been mentally ill for years. and that her husband should have some responsibility, along with her psychiatrist. but i really do think she should have to go to jail after she is deemed 'mentally competent or whatever. if that will ever happen. i mean she killed 5 kids. 5 kids. drowning them in each others shit and vomit. jail. not the death sentence. just jail.

brooke said...

and ps. typepad fucked up my original post about this. i'll try to repost it tonight. :)

Anonymous said...

I could not agree with you more on Andrea Yates verdict...she's a nutcase not a criminal. Her husband should be getting the life sentence in jail for allowing his children to be in her care! It is maddening that he's not being held more accountable for this tragedy!!!

Meredith