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Andrea Yates verdict reaction

(CNN) -- Here are reactions to Tuesday's verdict finding Andrea Yates guilty of two counts of capital murder:

'Demonized woman'

Parnham
George Parnham, defense attorney  

"I thought we laid out a strong case for mental illness and the insanity defense. At some point in time, this state has got to address the issues concerning mental illness and the law. I'm not critiquing or criticizing the verdict, but it seems to me that we're still back in the days of Salem witchcraft, when you take a demonized woman and take her life."

'Very serious crime'

Coulter
Ann Coulter, conservative commentator  

"They absolutely made the right decision, which came as a relief. Listening to all the feminists and criminal defense lawyers on TV, I was worried that the jury might be thinking the same thing. When you kill your five children and you know it's wrong, that is evidence of a very serious crime. The criminal justice system does allow for mercy -- I'm not saying she absolutely must be put to death, or even necessarily that that is the way I'd rule, but certainly [it] ought to be one of the penalties that she's eligible for."

'Devastated and horrified'

Bell
Deborah Bell, National Association for Women  

"I'm devastated and horrified that this is what passes for justice in the state of Texas: to take someone who is so horribly mentally ill and have them persecuted, not just prosecuted. I'm so stunned. I'm so shocked. I just do not see how anybody could sit there and do that. And we have to wait until tomorrow [to learn] whether she'll face life imprisonment or be put to death -- be murdered by the state of Texas. There needs to be some serious changes in the law, because the jury never got to hear that an acquittal meant that Andrea would be sent to a mental institution and receive the care and treatment that she deserves and needs."

'Nauseating'

Allred
Gloria Allred, attorney  

"I was a bit surprised, mainly because I was hoping that there would either be a not guilty by reason of insanity [verdict] or a mistrial. I just think this is so sad, this result, so horrific and so nauseating. This woman, in my mind, was clearly psychotic at the time that she killed her children. ... With all of their experts, I felt that [the defense] had proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Andrea Yates was insane at the time of the killings."

'A revenge killing'

Moore
Shelby Moore, law professor and prosecution consultant  

"Focus on the things that Mrs. Yates said and the things that she did -- planning; knowing she had an hour; knowing the night before that when she got up she was going to kill the kids; the cruel way in which she left the children floating; her statements immediately after the killing. ...Even if she had psychosis, and I believe that she did, I don't believe that it necessarily goes to the fact that she didn't know right from wrong. In addition, I never believed, after some period of time looking at the case, that she actually killed for altruistic reasons. ...I think it was a revenge killing, and I think the revenge went to Mr. Yates.



 
 
 
 



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