From news reports, it sounds like Andrea’s mother was in the courtroom when the sentence came in. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she sues her son-in-law for contributing to the deaths of her grandchildren.
It was acknowledged by the prosecutors that Yates was mentally ill. But the law in Texas states that you must not be able to tell right from wrong to be acquitted. The sentencing has just come back and the jury has given her life in prison. Parole available after 40 years. Just because a person is unbalanced, mentally ill, or a complete wacko doesn’t mean that they are not responsible for their actions.
Title says it all
I am really not crying about her sentence, she won’t be causing anyone else any harm, and she is being punished. As she should be, I just suspect the better punishment might have been life in a mental institution rather than a penal one, and the fact that Texas law says this is right, does not make it right!
i wonder if the jury would have voted differently if they knew that going with insanity mrs yates would be institutionalized for life, let out only in a coffin. going with the guilty verdict with “life” she has a chance at leaving prison alive.
i also wonder if texas is a state that allows conjugal (sp?) visits. that could be trouble.