THE CASE OF ANDREA YATES

HER BACKGROUND Graduated from high school as valedictorian Captain of the swim team Officer in the National Honor Society Worked as a registered nurse at the University of Texas M.D. Cancer Center from 1986 – 1994 Met her husband in a religious study & planned to have as many children as nature provided Had 5 children: 4 boys and 1 girl

GROWING CONCERNS Andrea got into an extremist religious group that preached women are derived from the sin of Eve and bad mothers go to hell, along with their children First suicide attempt: 1999, tried overdosing on pills  diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and released from the hospital

SPIRALING DOWNWARDS Andrea did not take the medication  started self mutilation & refused to feed her kids because she thought they were eating too much Video cameras in the celings; said characters in the cartoons were talking to her children Attempted suicide again in front of her husband with a knife to her neck  hospitalized again and was in a catatonic state for 10 days

WARNED ABOUT RISKS OF HAVING MORE BABIES She was effectively being treated with Haldol, an antipsychotic drug; she seemed like herself again. Doctor warned her to not have any more kids because it could bring on more psychotic behavior due to hormonal changes Her husband purchases a bigger home, and her condition continued to improve  had relationships with her children again

THE TRAGIC END March 2000, Andrea becomes pregnant with her 5th child, Mary  husband urges her to stop taking the Haldol A few months after she was born, Andrea’s father died Stopped taking meds, refused liquids, mutilation, and wouldn’t feed Mary Frantically read the Bible She was sent back in to a different hospital, but told she didn’t appear psychotic. She was told to “think happy thoughts and see a psychologist” Two days later, she drowns all 5 children in her bathtub

THE TRIAL May 2000: The Trial of Andrea Yates lasted 3 weeks Found guilty of capital murder, and sentenced to life in prison  in 2041 (77 yrs old), eligible for parole July 2006: appealed the life sentence  found Andrea not guilty of murder by reason of insanity Sentenced to spend an indefinite amount of time in a mental facility

VIDEOS The Andrea Yates Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/4006974 #4006974 Six Years Later, Jury Finds Yates Not Guilty http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/1404318 6#14043186

WHAT DO YOU THINK? GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY?

THE SIX PERSPECTIVES ON ANDREA YATES What perspective do YOU think best explains her behavior? 1. Cognitive: Mental functioning – she thought she was possessed by the devil and her children were not developing properly 2. Biological (neuroscience): biological defect, bipolar diagnosis, neurotransmitter problems, postpartum depression, or mood disorder that runs in the family 3. Social-Cultural: Family dynamics, husband and extended family not supportive 4. Behavioral: learned response, negative environmental influences 5. Psychoanalytic: childhood conflicts or trauma results in unconscious forces prevailing 6. Humanistic: Lost faith in self as a mother, hopelessness