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STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES

Exhibits to the redirect testimony of Park Dietz, MD, PhD. STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES. Testimony About Hallucinations in Prior Proceeding.

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STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES

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  1. Exhibits to the redirect testimony of Park Dietz, MD, PhD STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES

  2. Testimony About Hallucinations in Prior Proceeding • The only data that could be mistaken for evidence of any hallucination before the drownings was Dr. Thompson’s assistant’s interpretation of Mrs. Yates’ statement about hearing a voice and having a vision in her mind about a knife • Mrs. Yates indicated to me she did not hear a voice, but had thoughts and fears • This was not a hallucination, but an obsession • I could find no credible evidence of any hallucination prior to the drownings .

  3. Question in Prior Proceeding • Would you explain to the jury the significance of this interview in relation to the knowledge of wrongfulness, at least in the pre-homicide phase of your evaluation?

  4. Answer in Prior Proceeding • Well, the first point is that Mrs. Yates indicates that at that time before the homicide she had the idea of killing her children and she attributed the origin of that idea to Satan. So, of course, the idea comes from her mind, but she's mistakenly thinking Satan put it there. The fact that she regards it as coming from Satan is the first indication of her knowing that this is wrong. Because she recognizes even the idea of killing your children is an evil idea that comes from Satan. She doesn't think this is a good idea that comes from God. She thinks it's an evil idea that comes from Satan and she thought it was Satan who was somehow urging or encouraging or recommending that she do this. So she knows already it's a bad idea.

  5. Additional Information • Mrs. Yates denied hearing any voices before her arrest with Dr. Welner, too • Mrs. Yates herself wanted to correct the false press reports that she had acted on orders from Satan • Mrs. Yates wrote to one of her pen pals about the difference between the thoughts and images she had before the drownings and the voices she heard the first days she was in jail

  6. Before the Drownings • Mrs. Yates considered her obsessive thoughts of and impulses to harm her children “bad thoughts,” for which she blamed Satan • For weeks, she concealed from everyone her thoughts of harming the children and her plan to drown the children • She made up her mind the evening of June 19th to drown the children the next day [D] • She had no “visions” of drowning the children; she agreed it was just an idea [W-4] Cont.

  7. Before the Drownings (cont.) • She tried to behave as normally as possible so Rusty wouldn’t know anything unusual was happening • She waited for an opportunity when no one was home so that she would not be stopped from drowning the children • She believed that killing the children would be sinful and would be the last of the Seven Deadly Sins for her to commit • She believed she was not raising the children properly, did not pay enough attention to them, and that they might get in trouble Cont.

  8. Before the Drownings (cont.) • She believed that killing the children would guarantee that they go to heaven and prevent them from one day becoming unrighteous, criminal, a burden on the state, or vulnerable to Satan, and for these reasons thought it was right for the children [E] • She did not believe that the children were already suffering at the hands of Satan but rather from lack of guidance (reported to Dr. Resnick)

  9. During the Drownings • Knew she would be arrested and put in jail • Knew her conduct was illegal • Knew society would judge her conduct as “bad” [F] • Believed God would judge her conduct as “bad” Cont.

  10. During the Drownings • Felt “the presence” of Satan during the drownings, but did not think he was “in her” until after her arrest [G] • Anticipated being punished by the state [W-3] • Acted with determination to accomplish her plan of drowning each child before Dora arrived Cont.

  11. During the Drownings (cont.) • Found it most difficult to drown Paul and Noah and “tried to numb myself to it” [W-9] • At the time of the drownings, she had doubt whether killing her children was the right thing for them (reported to Dr. Resnick 7/14/01) .

  12. After the Drownings • Called 911 and asked for the police because “that’s who you call . . . when you’ve done something wrong,” and she thought she had done something wrong • Called the police quickly because she wanted them to arrive before Dora did “because I didn’t want her to see what I had done” • Told Sgt. Mehl she was prepared to go to hell for what she had done Cont.

  13. After the Drownings (cont.) • Told Sgt. Mehl she wanted to be punished by the criminal justice system for what she had done and asked when her trial would be • After her psychosis worsened in solitary confinement in jail, Mrs. Yates for a time believed her execution would kill Satan and that the killings had something to do with a prophecy

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