Andrea Yates

IMO , when someone hears the voice of God telling them to harm another or themselves it isn't God speaking
Angie

I agree... but she didn't know the difference?

but let me add..voices..God or whoever is speaking..I believe the term Command Voices come to memory..compel someone to act a certain way...even when they would normally not...leaving God out of the equation..she obviosly was atune to something internal that overwhelmed her ability to recognize that she was murdering her children..when she was being told she was saving them..problem is it occurs over and over again in our society..PPl need to be able to discuss it..but when you tell someone you hear God talking to you..a bunch of red flags go up...but unles you can talk to someone about it openly..its like it becomes more powerful..because your alone with it..just you and the voice..whomever that happens to be..then you start believing it..it understands you..it cares for you..and you trust it...you develop a relationship with it..you do what it tells you to do..its an illness..its not something logical...just my opionion..

AH, yes we need to discuss the logic, or lack thereof??? Um mmm.

from MSNBC Perspectives this week....

"Wow!" Rusty Yates, after his ex-wife, Andrea, was found not guilty by reason of insanity; in 2001, she had drowned the couple's five children. Rusty Yates supported the reversal of a 2002 guilty verdict, saying, "[Andrea] was psychotic. That's the whole truth."

Sigh. I guess we should all be careful for what we wish? What if the system did find Rusty Yates and the doctors liable for these murders? Can we apply that to our own lives? Would we want to be liable for someone we love who is mentally ill, or perhaps senile? Would we want anyone in our lives responsible for something we might do in a psychotic break?

I still think they should have been made to do community service with disadvantaged or something... ? He knew she was psychotic, and yet he's not guilty. IMO he isn't innocent either.

I have to say, it fascinates me, the turn this thread has taken ... given that it was initially posted looking for support .... but I'm glad you've all been able to have an adult conversation! It's a rare thing here these days.

CB

(((((((((((((((((((CANDYBEAR)))))))))))))))))))))))))) Hope you are feeling better....and if not..hope you feel better soon! Know you were looking for support..Hope that you found it..and thanks you for this forum..I believe it has been great for us..showing that we all can have different opinions and not jump down each others throats to voice them..

Candybear said: </font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
when my family pisses me off one too many times and I do them in, y'all tell the jury I was a regular here, and I'll have my pdoc testify I've been on psych meds for a million billion years and done some time in a mental hospital, and the jury will let me off because they feel sorry for me, k?

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I promise to add my 2cents for you, too

I am sorry Candybear, I did not realize that the thread was started initially for support. I guess I had such strong feelings on the case that I didn't throughly read your first post.

I did go back and reread the post, and I am in awe of the tough decision you made. To have the courage to think of someone else before yourself is a rare thing these days, and I truly admire you. You should be VERY proud of the fact that you were able to make such a gesture of love.

Again, I am sorry that I missed the need in your post. And although I throughly admire your decision, I still agree with the second verdict in the Andrea Yates case.

I firmly believe it was a "perfect storm" of bad decisions in her case. A strong history of mental illness, past hospitalizations and suicide attempts, additional children when doctors strongly advised against it and the removal of a strong anti-psychotic (haldol) shortly before she murdered her children. So many people let her down and true psychosis is such an awful thing to have to deal with...she truly was psychotic in my opinion......and thankfully the opinion of the second jury.