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07-03-2011, 11:02 PM
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10 Years Later: Yates Tragedy Remembered
Andrea Yates Could Be Released By End Of Year
By Robert Arnold
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011
Updated: 6:08 am CDT June 21, 2011
Videox
Houston -- Houston was in shock on June 20, 2001. A mother had just killed her five children inside her Clear Lake home and the world asked why. A decade later, those on the inside of the Andrea Yates tragedy are remembering the case, the lives lost and the gains made in the awareness of mental illness. "It was obvious from the very first time I met her that she was so sick," said George Parnham, Yates' attorney. Parnham became Yates' attorney almost by blind chance. Yates admitted to police she had killed each of her children -- Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and Mary, 6 months. She had drowned them one by one in the family's bathtub.
Hours after she was charged with the crime, Parnham got a call from another attorney who had worked with the Yates family on some civil law issues. "The next morning, I went down to the Harris County Jail and met Andrea," Parnham said in a recent interview with Local 2 Investigates. "When I saw her when she came in, I knew (she was mentally ill). She said, 'Don't leave me alone.'" That meeting changed Parnham's life. The Yates case ignited his passion to define and defend mental illness and severe postpartum depression. Parnham said Yates was suffering severe postpartum psychosis, producing a chemical imbalance that affected her brain and her ability to make rational decisions.
Ironically, Parnham said it was the guilty verdict in Yates first trial that helped spark the movement to really understand mental illness. "I said at the time, 'We're going to reverse this case,'" Parnham remembered. "And I said this is the best thing that could happen for mental illness. Had she been acquitted, there would have been a storm on the steps of the legislature to do away with the insanity defense. "In a retrial, a jury found Yates not guilty by reason of insanity. She was sent to a state mental hospital.
George Parnham "You cannot not be affected by what went on in that case," said Joe Owmby, a former Harris County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Yates. "It's amazing an event that's not your family or relative can just consume your whole life and change everything about you for a period of time." Owmby is now a criminal defense attorney. He said he doesn't second guess the decision to take the Yates cases to trial and said it was the correct decision. "The evidence was there that she knew right from wrong," Owmby said. "For this case, for the kind of attention it got and for the magnitude of the crime, we needed to have a trial."
Ten years later, Owmby said the case split a community and put his team of prosecutors right in the middle of it. "It really didn't matter how the case came out; there was going to be a substantial amount of people who were going to vilify us because of what we were doing," Owmby said." But there was a substantial part who were behind us." As for Andrea Yates now, friends told Local 2 Investigates she spends time in a state hospital in Kerrville watching videos of her children. They said it somehow provides her comfort. Parnham said medicine and healing bring a clear awareness of what happened to her children. It's something Yates now faces every day. Parnham said Yates grieves, but also remembers the happy times.
"She is as well as I have ever seen her," Parnham said after a recent visit with Yates. "Talking with her is like talking with my daughter." Yates is doing so well, Parnham said there's a chance a medical review in November could recommend her release. A court hearing would have to approve it. Friends said Yates wants to leave the hospital and take care of her elderly mother. "I trust in her doctors," said Parnham. "I trust their treatments and recommendations. I hope that 10 years has brought about a certain realization of mental illness, although I'm not naive to the degree that everyone out there understands or accepts she could be released."
Whatever happens, there's no doubt Yates' case sparked awareness for mental illness. "Ten years ago, nobody talked about postpartum issues," said Parnham. "It's my belief we have made some major strides." Parnham, his wife and the Mental Health America of Greater Houston established the Yates Children Memorial Fund. It helps to increase screening and awareness of postpartum issues for new moms. So, far the effort has distributed information packets to more than 500,000 mothers in Houston and across Texas.
Joe Owmby "We need moms to know there is hope in every situation," said Betsy Schwartz, president and chief executive officer of Mental Health America of Greater Houston. "There's just no reason to suffer in silence." Supporters called it a positive legacy to such a horrific tragedy. "This doesn't end with Andrea," Parnham said. "This is something that's going to be ongoing." Local 2 Investigates tried contacting Rusty Yates, Andrea Yates' ex-husband. He did not respond. He is now remarried, has a new child and is attending law school.
Previous Stories:
•July 31, 2006: Yates Juror Concerned About Not Guilty Verdict
•July 26, 2006: Yates Found Not Guilty In Second Murder Trial
•July 6, 2006: Grandmother Testifies Yates' Filled Tub Before Slayings
•June 16, 2006: Yates Ordered To Surrender To Jail As Retrial Approaches
•March 21, 2006: Yates Reacts To Overturned Convictions With Smile, Shock
•March 17, 2006: Yates' Attorney To Appeal Retrial Again
•March 15, 2006: Yates' Ex-Husband To Remarry On Saturday
•February 27, 2006: Yates Rejects Prosecutors' Plea Deal
•February 2, 2006: Andrea Yates Posts Bond, Is Sent To Hospital
•January 9, 2006: Yates Pleads Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity -- Again
•November 9, 2005: Yates May Get Plea Bargain Or New Trial In Kids' Deaths
•January 7, 2005: Yates Trial Expert Admits To Mistake
•August 3, 2004: Andrea Yates' Husband Files For Divorce
•July 28, 2004: Yates' Mother Discusses Weekend Visit With Daughter
•May 28, 2004: Yates' Family Home Sold
•April 29, 2004: Yates' Attorney Files Motion To Withdraw From Case
•January 26, 2004: Yates Maintains Wife's Prosecution Unnecessary
•October 14, 2003: Andrea Yates On Suicide Watch
•September 12, 2003: Grand Jury Investigates Yates Witness
•June 2, 2003: 1 Year Later: Yates Defends Wife, Mourns Children
•September 30, 2002: Report: Russell Yates Leaves Clear Lake Home
•June 14, 2002: DA: Yates' Husband Not Responsible For Children's Drownings
•May 30, 2002: Yates' Attorney Comes Up With Money
•April 3, 2002: Yates' Attorney Files Appeal
•March 21, 2002: Andrea Yates Becomes Texas Inmate
•March 18, 2002: Yates Formally Sentenced To Life
•March 15, 2002: Jury Sentences Yates To Life
•March 15, 2002: Lawyer Reads Yates' Thank You Note
•March 15, 2002: Yates' Husband Offended By Prosecution
•March 14, 2002: Defense Urges Jury To Spare Yates
•March 13, 2002: Yates Case Should Spark Interest For Mental Illness (3/13/02)
•March 13, 2002: Jury Finds Andrea Yates Guilty
•March 8, 2002: Star Witness Surprises Yates Trial
•March 7, 2002: Exclusive KPRC Video Allowed In Yates Trial
•March 5, 2002: Psychiatrist Insists Yates Psychotic During Drownings
•March 4, 2002: Doctor Grilled About Yates' Medication
•February 28, 2002: Yates' Husband Describes 'Dark Place'
•February 27, 2002: Yates' Husband Testifies In Murder Trial
•February 26, 2002: Witness Declares Yates Insane
•February 22, 2002: Prosecution Rests, Defense Begins In Yates Case
•February 18, 2002: Yates Murder Trial Under Way
•February 15, 2002: Yates' Author Sues For Access
•January 28, 2002: Lawyers Pick 12 Jurors In Yates Case
•January 22, 2002: Articles Hurt Search For Yates' Jurors
•December 25, 2001: Russell Yates Pays Andrea Christmas Visit
•December 18, 2001: Yates' Lawyers Want Murder Charge Thrown Out
•December 11, 2001: Russell Yates In Limbo Over Gag Order
•December 4, 2001: Russell Yates Testifies In Wife's Hearing
•November 30, 2001: Yates Defense Fund Lacks Donations
•October 30, 2001: Yates' Attorneys Try To Keep Out Evidence
•August 13, 2001: Mother Of Accused Child Killer Breaks Silence
•July 3, 2001: Andrea Yates' Attorneys Bring New Evidence To Light
•June 29, 2001: Yates To Have Limited Visitors
•June 21, 2001: Mother Battled Depression With Medications
Copyright 2011 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved.
10 Years Later: Yates Tragedy Remembered
Andrea Yates Could Be Released By End Of Year
By Robert Arnold
Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011
Updated: 6:08 am CDT June 21, 2011
Videox
Houston -- Houston was in shock on June 20, 2001. A mother had just killed her five children inside her Clear Lake home and the world asked why. A decade later, those on the inside of the Andrea Yates tragedy are remembering the case, the lives lost and the gains made in the awareness of mental illness. "It was obvious from the very first time I met her that she was so sick," said George Parnham, Yates' attorney. Parnham became Yates' attorney almost by blind chance. Yates admitted to police she had killed each of her children -- Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and Mary, 6 months. She had drowned them one by one in the family's bathtub.
Hours after she was charged with the crime, Parnham got a call from another attorney who had worked with the Yates family on some civil law issues. "The next morning, I went down to the Harris County Jail and met Andrea," Parnham said in a recent interview with Local 2 Investigates. "When I saw her when she came in, I knew (she was mentally ill). She said, 'Don't leave me alone.'" That meeting changed Parnham's life. The Yates case ignited his passion to define and defend mental illness and severe postpartum depression. Parnham said Yates was suffering severe postpartum psychosis, producing a chemical imbalance that affected her brain and her ability to make rational decisions.
Ironically, Parnham said it was the guilty verdict in Yates first trial that helped spark the movement to really understand mental illness. "I said at the time, 'We're going to reverse this case,'" Parnham remembered. "And I said this is the best thing that could happen for mental illness. Had she been acquitted, there would have been a storm on the steps of the legislature to do away with the insanity defense. "In a retrial, a jury found Yates not guilty by reason of insanity. She was sent to a state mental hospital.
George Parnham "You cannot not be affected by what went on in that case," said Joe Owmby, a former Harris County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Yates. "It's amazing an event that's not your family or relative can just consume your whole life and change everything about you for a period of time." Owmby is now a criminal defense attorney. He said he doesn't second guess the decision to take the Yates cases to trial and said it was the correct decision. "The evidence was there that she knew right from wrong," Owmby said. "For this case, for the kind of attention it got and for the magnitude of the crime, we needed to have a trial."
Ten years later, Owmby said the case split a community and put his team of prosecutors right in the middle of it. "It really didn't matter how the case came out; there was going to be a substantial amount of people who were going to vilify us because of what we were doing," Owmby said." But there was a substantial part who were behind us." As for Andrea Yates now, friends told Local 2 Investigates she spends time in a state hospital in Kerrville watching videos of her children. They said it somehow provides her comfort. Parnham said medicine and healing bring a clear awareness of what happened to her children. It's something Yates now faces every day. Parnham said Yates grieves, but also remembers the happy times.
"She is as well as I have ever seen her," Parnham said after a recent visit with Yates. "Talking with her is like talking with my daughter." Yates is doing so well, Parnham said there's a chance a medical review in November could recommend her release. A court hearing would have to approve it. Friends said Yates wants to leave the hospital and take care of her elderly mother. "I trust in her doctors," said Parnham. "I trust their treatments and recommendations. I hope that 10 years has brought about a certain realization of mental illness, although I'm not naive to the degree that everyone out there understands or accepts she could be released."
Whatever happens, there's no doubt Yates' case sparked awareness for mental illness. "Ten years ago, nobody talked about postpartum issues," said Parnham. "It's my belief we have made some major strides." Parnham, his wife and the Mental Health America of Greater Houston established the Yates Children Memorial Fund. It helps to increase screening and awareness of postpartum issues for new moms. So, far the effort has distributed information packets to more than 500,000 mothers in Houston and across Texas.
Joe Owmby "We need moms to know there is hope in every situation," said Betsy Schwartz, president and chief executive officer of Mental Health America of Greater Houston. "There's just no reason to suffer in silence." Supporters called it a positive legacy to such a horrific tragedy. "This doesn't end with Andrea," Parnham said. "This is something that's going to be ongoing." Local 2 Investigates tried contacting Rusty Yates, Andrea Yates' ex-husband. He did not respond. He is now remarried, has a new child and is attending law school.
Previous Stories:
•July 31, 2006: Yates Juror Concerned About Not Guilty Verdict
•July 26, 2006: Yates Found Not Guilty In Second Murder Trial
•July 6, 2006: Grandmother Testifies Yates' Filled Tub Before Slayings
•June 16, 2006: Yates Ordered To Surrender To Jail As Retrial Approaches
•March 21, 2006: Yates Reacts To Overturned Convictions With Smile, Shock
•March 17, 2006: Yates' Attorney To Appeal Retrial Again
•March 15, 2006: Yates' Ex-Husband To Remarry On Saturday
•February 27, 2006: Yates Rejects Prosecutors' Plea Deal
•February 2, 2006: Andrea Yates Posts Bond, Is Sent To Hospital
•January 9, 2006: Yates Pleads Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity -- Again
•November 9, 2005: Yates May Get Plea Bargain Or New Trial In Kids' Deaths
•January 7, 2005: Yates Trial Expert Admits To Mistake
•August 3, 2004: Andrea Yates' Husband Files For Divorce
•July 28, 2004: Yates' Mother Discusses Weekend Visit With Daughter
•May 28, 2004: Yates' Family Home Sold
•April 29, 2004: Yates' Attorney Files Motion To Withdraw From Case
•January 26, 2004: Yates Maintains Wife's Prosecution Unnecessary
•October 14, 2003: Andrea Yates On Suicide Watch
•September 12, 2003: Grand Jury Investigates Yates Witness
•June 2, 2003: 1 Year Later: Yates Defends Wife, Mourns Children
•September 30, 2002: Report: Russell Yates Leaves Clear Lake Home
•June 14, 2002: DA: Yates' Husband Not Responsible For Children's Drownings
•May 30, 2002: Yates' Attorney Comes Up With Money
•April 3, 2002: Yates' Attorney Files Appeal
•March 21, 2002: Andrea Yates Becomes Texas Inmate
•March 18, 2002: Yates Formally Sentenced To Life
•March 15, 2002: Jury Sentences Yates To Life
•March 15, 2002: Lawyer Reads Yates' Thank You Note
•March 15, 2002: Yates' Husband Offended By Prosecution
•March 14, 2002: Defense Urges Jury To Spare Yates
•March 13, 2002: Yates Case Should Spark Interest For Mental Illness (3/13/02)
•March 13, 2002: Jury Finds Andrea Yates Guilty
•March 8, 2002: Star Witness Surprises Yates Trial
•March 7, 2002: Exclusive KPRC Video Allowed In Yates Trial
•March 5, 2002: Psychiatrist Insists Yates Psychotic During Drownings
•March 4, 2002: Doctor Grilled About Yates' Medication
•February 28, 2002: Yates' Husband Describes 'Dark Place'
•February 27, 2002: Yates' Husband Testifies In Murder Trial
•February 26, 2002: Witness Declares Yates Insane
•February 22, 2002: Prosecution Rests, Defense Begins In Yates Case
•February 18, 2002: Yates Murder Trial Under Way
•February 15, 2002: Yates' Author Sues For Access
•January 28, 2002: Lawyers Pick 12 Jurors In Yates Case
•January 22, 2002: Articles Hurt Search For Yates' Jurors
•December 25, 2001: Russell Yates Pays Andrea Christmas Visit
•December 18, 2001: Yates' Lawyers Want Murder Charge Thrown Out
•December 11, 2001: Russell Yates In Limbo Over Gag Order
•December 4, 2001: Russell Yates Testifies In Wife's Hearing
•November 30, 2001: Yates Defense Fund Lacks Donations
•October 30, 2001: Yates' Attorneys Try To Keep Out Evidence
•August 13, 2001: Mother Of Accused Child Killer Breaks Silence
•July 3, 2001: Andrea Yates' Attorneys Bring New Evidence To Light
•June 29, 2001: Yates To Have Limited Visitors
•June 21, 2001: Mother Battled Depression With Medications
Copyright 2011 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved.