I am hearing a lot of talk about the posibility of Russel Yates being charged with a crime in relation to his 5 children being murdered by his wife, Andrea Yates. Sam Donaldson (sp?) was on National Radio yesterday morning interviewing people about their thoughts on his culpability in the kids death.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?? Is he guilty of a crime in his childrens deaths by his wife's hands?

David

I have 5 children myself and have also suffered depression (although not to an extreme degree).My husband was the only one who knew i felt as bad as I did and even he didn't know how deep it went...So to say he is guilty ...perhaps he should have done things different-not agree to having more children after he saw she was depressed, demanding better care for her, or even not leaving her alone with the children...but I am sure that he felt he was doing the best he knew and if he knew this was what was to come he would have done things different..but is that a crime? I dont think so.When a family member is sick, mentally or physically, you dont always know if the road you are taking is the right one and we tend to trust doctors to guide us.This man has lost his 5 babies and his wife-ultimately his whole world.He will have to live with that forever.I feel if they charge him with any crime it would be an outrage! I personally dont think Andrea Yates should be in "prison" either, she obviously is not well and has never recieved the proper treatment..I am surprised I feel this way, being a mother and all.

Let's all keep them both in our prayers!

This whole situation is very sad. Mental illness is not something to be scoffed at nor ignored. We sort of shut it out of our minds and never really see the real picture. No, Russel Yates should not and cannot be charged for a crime he did not commit.

He probably was a Male who believed that his family belonged totally to him and he made all the decisions. Some men really do that today even tho women are more independant than ever. It did not used to be that way and I can remember my Grandmother never going against what my Grandfather said or asked. He was the head of the family and that was the way it was no matter what.

I have kept close watch on this case because of the seriousness of what has happened and because of the loss of life of 5 children who were so inocent and could not defend themselves. This lady really is sick. Yes, I believe she planned to kill those children. But, I do believe she is very mentally ill and should be treated. Yes, Russell Yates should share the blame but not to the extent of being procecuted. He also, to a point needs some help. He probably needs counseling or some sort of help before he ever gets married again and has children. I am sure he will divorce his wife at this point and want to get married again. Having children seems to be a real thing for him. I do blame him, but he cannot be actually procecuted.

Donna

I wonder does anyone know anything about ANdrea Yates before she had babies? Did she go to school, have a job etc..I am curious..

What can i say YES they will.

Amelia,
Yes, she was the Validictorian at her Highschool.. Exeplery student.. Never had a brush with the law.. "Great Mother", etc.. This turned out to be a shock to most everyone. Especially those who did not know she was battling depression like she was.

Now that i know a little more about the yates situation i am convinced that she was psychotic at the time of the drownings--especially after i talked with some colleagues (in Mental Health) that heard the actual 911 call on tv--they said it was very obvious that she was psychotic--people do not like to recognize the power of mental illness especially when such a tragic thing like the death of these children happens- but my opinion now is that the verdict was WRONG-- one thing that does bother me though is that a clinician who treated andrea told them (andrea and her husband-)-that it could be potentially dangerous to have more children--apparently they quit seeing that therapist and scoffed at the advice--so apparently neither andrea or her husband acknowledged the reality and severity of her mental illness ---as far as him actually being charged, I don't see it happening, but I do think he is at least partially at fault that she did not get the MHtreatment she needed--sherri

Unfortunately Sherry, one of the very symptoms of so many mental illnesses is denial or a lack of insight about the dysfunction a mental illness results in... Addiction is the perfect example... everyone in the world can see that an addict is out of control LONG before the addict can acknowledge this.... So many more people are coming to understand addiction, but don't see it as a mental illness and don't see other mental illnesses the same way either.... This is such a difficult issue though, because of the issue of our rights.... The "system".... including mental health treatment, children and family services, etc are never going to be able to prevent such things from happening, because to give the system that much control would impede on our rights... It may make sense in RETROSPECT that these people should NOT have continued to procreate... But imagine being told that you shouldn't have children if that is what you wanted and you thought you would be a good parent? Ok... I am getting off topic, so I will end here... It is a terribly tragic case and I do hope that BOTH get some long-term treatment!

it is hard to say if they will charge him. Honestly I have pondered the same question in my mind. It will be interesting to watch what happens.

In the interview with CNN. He advised all people to seek out the best possible treatment. He claimed his PPO insurance would not treat his wife with the correct medications and harrassed the hospital when she was an in patient treatment. They asked what would he have done differently and he said he would have paid out of his pocket the best care for his wife.

He explained the reason they believed it was ok to have more children was that they had a good doctor that prescribed Andrea the correct medicetion and the correct dose. During this time Andrea was doing great. He thought the new Doctor would treat her the same and she would be ok. Instead the insurance refused her recommended treatment and they fiddled with medication and treatment.

He totally blames the insurance and medical system for what happened.











ww

IT IS HARD TO SAY IF IT WAS THE RIGHT MEDICATION AT THE RIGHT DOSE-CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING PREGNANCY CAUSE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HAD MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS PRIOR TO PREGNANCY TO HAVE POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION AND/OR PSYCHOSIS---SO WHAT WAS THE RIGHT MED/DOSE PRE-PREGNANCY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT MED/DOSE POST- PREGNANCY--PLUS IF SHE WAS ON ANTI-DEPRESSANTS PRE-PREGNANCY, THOSE ARE NOT THE SAME AS ANTI-PSYCHOTICS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT MEDS SHE WAS ON, SO CAN'T REALLY COMMENT MUCH MORE ON THAT.

I DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH MANAGED CARE-PARITY IN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES--BUT AM NOT SURE THEY CAN BE CONSIDERED SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS SITUATION--

ANDREA AND RUSSELL MADE SOME CHOICES AFTER RECIEVING SOME SOUND CLINICAL ADVICE THAT THEY CHOSE NOT TO HEED--IN MY MIND IT IS EQUAL TO BEING TOLD THERE IS A HUGE PERCENTAGE CHANCE THAT YOUR CHILD WOULD BE BORN WITH A PROFOUND PHYSICAL DEFECT AND CHOOSING TO HAVE ONE ANYWAY. I THINK IT IS SELFISH.
JUST MY OPINION

SHERRI

A link to the latest development. "Husband may face charges in Texas drowning case." IMO he should be held partly responsible. He has blamed everbody and everything and not once has he said anything about himself. I have watched him on a few shows and it sickens me to hear him say "Andrea will be fine in prison, she is a good woman", what the he** kind of statement is that.
Gillian

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Andrea_Yates_Trial/

I have to agree his is making it seem like it is a party or something. First of all he does not relize that a child killer is in prison with a hole lot of mothers. They probably are not that fond of her. I will be surprised if she makes it the first 3 years. At first they will be watching her but once the guards let that go those women are going to get her. So how does that make it so she will be fine in prison because she is a strong woman. What ever. This hole case has make me sick right from the start and it is sad that 2 people had 5 babies and as far as I am concerded they both killed them. If he knew his wife was unstable he had no business leaving them with her. He is just as much at fault as the mental health system for letting these children and there parents domn. There is enough blame to go around but in the end the same result happens 5 kids lost their precious lives and all of the finger pointing and trial and law suits will never change that.

I agree he is very smug about this. But the media and public is attacking him so I can understand it is hard to remain humble. The repeated accusations has angered him and so it has hardened him. He has made some stupid statements. Most people do.

Of course he never believed his own wife could kill her children. I can't believe she could have done it and I don't know her.

"He should have known and never left his kids alone with her"
Hindsite that is easy to accuse. But what were his options. He stated in a interview that Andria had treatment and improved at an earlier time. He believed she was able to do that again. He can't publicly admit any blame to this or his ass is going to prison too, I think in his heart and mind he blames himself everyday. What could he have done.......what could he have said.........Should he have called her......etc.... etc.

He is under attack from the brutal media and he is in the fight mode. He needs a Public Relations manager to spin this for him. SO he looks sad enough and says the political double speak the public likes to hear.

Could he have saved his children from thier mother?
If he divorced her. She still would have had court ordered custody rights. He would have had to prove through a lenghty and costly court battle she was unfit to get her visitation rights revoked. It is nearly impossible to prove that in Texas.

Were those childrens lives always in danger or was it one twisted moment? I don't think he could save them by changing something he did or didn't do.

It is hard to tell if anything could have been done but like i said before nothing will change the fact that 5 children were murdered by there mother.

What is she doing in prison anyway? She should be in a mental hospital. It's pretty obvious that she's very sick.

Ignorance of the innocent by insanity plea. The Texas jury and most of the public do not understand the difference between a mental institution and the penal institution. She knew what she did was wrong so she was not considered mentally insane.

If she was sent to the mental instituion they thought she would be considered innocent and could walk out when she claimed she was sane.

It's just Texas messed up system showing its ignorance to the world.

As a mother, I find it appaling that he couldn't have known how sick his wife was. However, as someone daily dealing with mental illness myself (PTSD w/PSYCHOTIC TENDANCIES), I know how easy it is to fool your loved one into thinking you are taking your medications and acting like you are functioning "normal". I feel it is very possible that he knew NOTHING at all about how very serious her problem was.

For a prosecuting attorney to say this man was culpable of the murder of his children at the hands of their mother, is absurd. Does he share the blame? To an extent yes, because he did know that she was clinically depresed. Does this make him responsible for the death of his children? No, I do not think so. That would be like saying if I committed suicide while my husband was home, that he was partly to blame because he knew of my mental illness and did nothing.

Just my opinion.
Tracy