who was andrea yates attorney

by Prof. Christopher Rodriguez Jr. 8 min read

attorney George Parnham

See more

Apr 06, 2022 · Andrea Yates, the 36-year-old Texas mom who killed her five children in 2001 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity, waived her competency review. ... Yates' defense attorney also told TODAY he ensures the grass is cut properly at the grave sites.Despite an attorney-client relationship that has spanned the course of more than two ...

image

Who is Andrea Yates?

Andrea Pia Yates (née Kennedy; born July 2, 1964) is a former resident of Houston, Texas, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001. She had been suffering for some time from very severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and schizophrenia.

Where did the Yates family live?

Killings. At the time of the murders, the Yates family was living in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake City. She continued under Dr. Saeed's care until June 20, 2001, when Rusty left for work, leaving her alone to watch the children against Dr. Saeed's instructions to supervise her around the clock.

Who drowned her children?

Weapons. None (drowning) Andrea Pia Yates (née Kennedy; born July 2, 1964) is a former resident of Houston, Texas, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001. She had been suffering for some time from very severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and schizophrenia.

What was the M'Naghten rule?

Her case placed the M'Naghten rules, along with the irresistible impulse test, a legal test for sanity, under close public scrutiny in the United States. She was convicted of capital murder, but the jury refused the death penalty option. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

Who is Andrea Yates' attorney?

"If this woman doesn't meet the test of insanity in this state, then nobody does," said Andrea Yates's defense attorney George Parnham to the jury as they prepared to deliberate as to whether his client was guilty or insane.

Why didn't the jurors find Yates insane?

Then why didn't the jurors find Yates to be insane? One answer may come from the fact that many people have difficulty understanding that people suffering from delusions and psychosis can know what they are doing, and yet not know that it is wrong.

What is a prima facie case?

To do so, the prosecution would have needed to introduce evidence that Yates would be a danger to herself or others while imprisoned.

Which state has the most insanity defense laws?

All but two states have laws creating an insanity defense. But these laws vary from state to state. Texas has one of the most stringent insanity defense standards in the country.

Is Texas a death penalty state?

Texas is a death-penalty-hungry state. Since executions resumed in the United States in 1976, Texas has executed more than three times as many defendants as its closest competitor, Virginia. As of March 15 of this year, 262 defendants had died in the Texas death house (compared to 84 in Virginia).

When did Andrea Yates drown?

Andrea Yates: 20 years since the tragedy that shocked the nation. 20 YEARS LATER: On June 20, 2001, the story of a Clear Lake mother who drowned her five children in a bathtub shocked the nation. ABC13's Jessica Willey hears from those who saw the Andrea Yates case unfold, from a paramedic who responded to the family's home to Andrea's longtime ...

How many children did Andrea Yates drown?

On June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five small children one by one in the bathtub of her Clear Lake home. Yates, who is now 56, was tried twice for the deaths of her children. In 2002, she was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Who is Andrea Yates' husband?

Back row, Andrea Yates, pregnant with daughter Mary, and her husband, Russell. Front row are John, 5, Luke, 2, Paul, 3, and Noah, 7. Andrea Yates is accused of drowning her five children in the family bathtub. Twenty years after their killings, attorney George Parnham still dutifully visits the graves of Andrea Yates’ five children.

Who is Hannah Dellinger?

Reach Hannah on. Hannah Dellinger is the Houston Chronicle's suburban education reporter covering 30 plus school districts in the region. She started in Houston as a Hearst Journalism Fellow writing general assignments and breaking news with a focus on domestic violence.

Did Rusty Yates divorce Andrea?

Yates divorced Andrea in 2004. The former NASA engineer said he forgave his ex-wife in an Investigation Discovery documentary released last year. He also said he regularly visits her at the mental hospital. Rusty Yates remarried in 2006 and had another child. He has since divorced his second wife.

image

Overview

Andrea Pia Yates (née Kennedy; born July 2, 1964) is an American woman from Houston, Texas, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001. She had been suffering for some time from severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and schizophrenia. During her trial, she was represented by Houston criminal defense attorney George Parnham. Chuck Ro…

Background

Yates was born in Hallsville, Texas, the youngest of the five children of Jutta Karin Koehler, a German immigrant, and Andrew Emmett Kennedy, whose parents were Irish immigrants. She suffered from bulimia during her teenage years. She also suffered from depression, and at 17, she spoke to a friend about suicide.
She graduated from Milby High School in 1982. She was the class valedictorian, captain of the sw…

Murders

At the time of the murders, the Yates family was living in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake City. She continued under Dr. Saeed's care until June 20, 2001, when Rusty left for work, leaving her alone to watch the children against Dr. Saeed's instructions to supervise her around the clock. His mother, Dora Yates, had been scheduled by Rusty to arrive an hour later to take over for Andrea. In the space of that hour, Andrea drowned all five children.

Trials

Yates confessed to drowning her children. Prior to her second trial, she told Dr. Michael Welnerthat she waited for Rusty to leave for work that morning before filling the bathtub, because she knew he would have prevented her from harming them. After the murders, police found the family dog locked up; Rusty advised Welner that it had normally been allowed to run free, and was so when he had left the house that morning, leading the psychiatrist to allege that she locked it in a cage …

Divorce

In August 2004, Rusty filed for divorce, stating that he and Yates had not lived together as a married couple since the day of the murders. The divorce was granted on March 17, 2005, after which Rusty began dating his second wife, Laura Arnold. They married on March 25, 2006, and had one son. She filed for divorce in 2015.

See also

Other cases of filicide in Texas:
• Darlie Routier
• John Battaglia
• Deanna Laney murders
• Ronald Clark O'Bryan

Sources

• Bienstock, Sheri L. Mothers Who kill Their Children and Postpartum Psychosis, (2003) Vol. 32, No. 3 Southwestern University Law Review, 451.
• Keram, Emily A. The Insanity Defense and Game Theory: Reflections on Texas v.Yates (2002), Vol. 30, No. 4, Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, p. 470.

External links

• Documentary series from Court TV (now TruTV) "MUGSHOTS: Andrea Yates" episode (2002) at FilmRise
• Timeline of Andrea Yates's Life and Trial (Archive)
• "Who is Andrea Yates? A Short Story of Insanity"