Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity for killing her five children. The defense attorneys were stunned when the verdict was read. They thought that they had again lost the case. If there will be a quintessential case study in a "not guilty verdict by reason of insanity plea," this will be it.

This case illustrates the inability of our society and justice system to take seriously the issue of mental illness. If the Harris County District Attorney had, there would not have been a trial that cost the tax payers between $1,500,000 to $2,000,000.

The prosecutors case of not being insane was based on a confession that Andrea Yates had made that she knew right from wrong. I am not sure if they really understood what she meant by "right." She felt that the right thing to do was to kill her children. Her older children were about to reach "the age of accountability." This is the age when many Christians believe that you understand right from wrong, and you are accountable for your sins before God. If you believe that your salvation is never really secure, then you may have a constant fear of going to hell. Take this belief and put it in the mind of a psychotic, depressed, and delusional person who believes that she is a terrible mother and that her children are doomed. Add some voices and delusions and you may begin to understand what she was going through.

What Andrea Yates did was wrong, however, she thought the wrong thing to do was right. Of course her issues are very complex and by no means simple to understand. If you have ever met someone who is deep into mental illness, you may can get a grasp of what I am writing about. If not, go to an inner city mission and start talking to some of the folks who are being fed and ministered to.

Mental illness is not an excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior is often a consequence of mental illness. What can our society do? First, get our priorities straight. Our priorities are screwed up as a nation. I am not saying that we should spend more on mental illness than national defense or more on education than social security (unless because of careful study and analysis that is the right thing to do). I do believe that our government throws money at problems without actually solving anything. This filters down from federal to state to local.

Second, we need to make sure that the mentally ill are getting the best treatment available. There are so many drugs that can make a difference in the life of someone today. Andrea Yates was on Haldol three different times when she was in prison. She was getting better, and then the state would take her off. Each time she became depressed and delusional.

Third, we need to have compassion. "Get a job!" is the cry of the person who has no compassion for the homeless person who is talking to himself at the street corner. This would be like telling a diabetic to "get over it." Disease is disease whether it is mental illness or cancer.

Some of prosecutors said that this may trigger an insanity plea in other cases. In all cases there is a context to the crime. There was a context to Andrea Yates. This must be taken into consideration .

Andrea Yates is not going to a Beverly Hills resort the rest of her life. She is going to a treatment center to get help. It will probably take years before she approaches stability. Guilt and shame may take over and never let her go.

What if Andrea Yates had realized that "you are saved by grace?" What if she knew that salvation did not have anything to do with what we did, it is what Christ did (for more information on theological issues check out www.edwardfudge.com). It may not have prevented mental illness, however, she may have been obsessed with something else, not so deadly. Just a thought. What do you think?