Andrea Yates R.N.

Jo Dirt · Jun 30, 2006

I don't want innocent people murdered either. But I also have problems with the lack of motivation to be educated in the health profession regarding mental illness. Mental illness is seen by most as a dirty family secret, and mental health patients are among the most despised patients in any hospital. I find it morally reprehensible how these patients are treated by those that should know better.

:yeahthat:

This lynch mob mentality I see on here is very disturbing, especially among people who are supposedly health care professionals.

Of all the illnesses to have, mental illness is about the worst kind of illness there is.

Jo Dirt · Jun 30, 2006

They were fortunate to have enough of their faculties to realize that there was a problem and to come in to get help. Or, perhaps, their family recognized the problem and had them emergency-detained. Unfortunately, this woman had no safety nets. Everyone around her, INCLUDING HER ATTENDING PSYCHIATRIST, failed her.

Boy, you got that right. How people "expect" someone who is mentally ill to always realize they are sick and need treatment is ludicrous. If they had enough of their faculties to realize they were a threat then they wouldn't be a threat.

Sheri257 · Jun 30, 2006

Of all the illnesses to have, mental illness is about the worst kind of illness there is.

True, but that's assuming that they are, in fact, mentally ill. You CAN also fake mental illness. Talk to any doctor in a criminal psych facility, and they will tell you that up to a third of the patients who are in there are fakers who really belong in prison. There's a reason that malingering is such a common problem.

My point is: as long as you can fake a mental illness, and the doctors can be fooled then, we will always have this debate. Because even the doctors can't always accurately determine who's faking and who's not.

:typing

LydiaNN · Jun 30, 2006

True, but that's assuming that they are, in fact, mentally ill. You CAN also fake mental illness. Talk to any doctor in a criminal psych facility, and they will tell you that up to a third of the patients who are in there are fakers who really belong in prison. There's a reason that malingering is such a common problem.
My point is: as long as you can fake a mental illness, and the doctors can be fooled then, we will always have this debate. Because even the doctors can't always accurately determine who's faking and who's not.
:typing

But why would Andrea Yates have been faking it for all those years? What would her motivation be? I absolutely agree that this defense is often, maybe even usually, merely a manipulation of the justice system. Not this time, though. Given the symptoms she was displaying, if her psychiatrist couldn't figure out she wasn't faking, his license should be pulled. I think the woman clearly needs to be confined, but to a locked psychiatric facility, not a prison.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Jun 30, 2006

If she was faking it, then what other motivation would she have for killing her children? Lets think about this rationally. What thing did she have to gain? Money? Another man? I've actually heard of a few mothers killing their kids for these things but for all the reading everyone has done on this case has there been anything presented about another motive she would have had that people could have said she was faking her illness? NO!!! She was crazy. Plain and simple.

She truly believed that something bad was going to happen to those kids if she didn't kill them. That was why she chased them. I mean, what kind of hell did her sick mind tell her was going to happen to her children that killing them would be a better option?

IMHO the psychiatrist needs to be held accountable and sent to trial.

Larry77, RN · Jun 30, 2006

Nobody in their right mind could drown any child let alone their own kids. Some very interesting posts on this thread...I don't think I would put this lady in the same catagory as true scum of the earth who deserves death...she is/was very sick and needs some serious help.

Jo Dirt · Jun 30, 2006

There is an obvious difference to me, between Andrea Yates and Susan Smith.

When I first learned of Andrea Yates, I was furious, wanted to kill her myself. But the more I learned the more sorry I felt for the kind of hell she lives in. This is the saddest thing I ever heard.

Susan Smith, I still say string her up.

SharonH, RN · Jun 30, 2006

andrea yates suffered from post-partum psychosis not post-partum depression. the two are not the same. thousands of mothers every year suffer from post-partum depression and do not kill their children. there are many effective treatments including anti-depressants (which often can be taken for short periods of time per md directions) which can alleviate post-partum depression.
the fact that ms. yates had been taking haldol is a red flag indicating a much more serious problem. her doctor failed her miserably and imo should be sued for malpractice for suggesting that she could 'will' herself out of this serious mental illness.
btw, why are we surprised that ms. yates was a nurse? i know plenty of nurses that have just about every mental health diagnosis. it is not a diagnosis solely for the uneducated 'trailer trash' masses. having a mental health diagnosis doesn't preclude someone from being a healthy, happy and productive member of society.

:yeahthat: thank youuuuu. i am really disappointed that nurses once again demonstrate their lack of understanding of mental illness, we should know better. also the fact that she is a nurse is not all that remarkable, how many threads have been posted on this very board about nurses with mental health disorders? we are not immune in any way and mental illness can strike anyone.

SharonH, RN · Jun 30, 2006

Talk to any doctor in a criminal psych facility, and they will tell you that up to a third of the patients who are in there are fakers who really belong in prison.
:typing

?????

Okay, I'm struggling with this. Only a physician can diagnose someone with mental illness and if they believe someone to be faking, all they need to do is say so.

Sheri257 · Jun 30, 2006

If she was faking it, then what other motivation would she have for killing her children? Lets think about this rationally. What thing did she have to gain? Money? Another man? I've actually heard of a few mothers killing their kids for these things but for all the reading everyone has done on this case has there been anything presented about another motive she would have had that people could have said she was faking her illness? NO!!! She was crazy. Plain and simple.

Or maybe she was just tired of taking care of her kids.

When I did my criminal psych rotation, we had one patient who had been found not guilty by reason of insanity for killing his wife due to psychosis. But, since a few hours later he got into his car, drove across town and killed his sister ... he was found guilty of pre-meditated murder with the second case ... even though all of this happened on the same day.

Of course all of this begs the question: was he truly sick with the murder of his wife or not?

Personally, I think we would have to read all of the documentation in the case files to make an accurate determination. What you read in the press usually isn't the whole story.

:typing

Sheri257 · Jun 30, 2006

?????
Okay, I'm struggling with this. Only a physician can diagnose someone with mental illness and if they believe someone to be faking, all they need to do is say so.

Now there are some malingers are temporarily sent to a criminal psych facility while their case awaits trial, and some of them are sent back to prison. If there's no court ruling then the MD can do something about it.

But, once the court rules that they are not guilty by reason of insanity, and the appeal deadline has passed ... that's it. You cannot reverse that finding. Nothing can be done unless they commit another crime.

Even the MD's will tell you that a lot of it depends on how good their lawyer is. If they have a really great lawyer then, they can beat the system.

:typing

runningfool · Jun 30, 2006

http://www.courttv.com/trials/yates/docs/psychiatric1.html

I think this is interesting to read, if anyone cares.