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Yates sentence Since first hearing that Andrea Yates drowned her five children in Houston, James Young has paid careful attention to the story that so parallels his own.
contrasts isle case
A Hawaii woman who drowned
her 5 kids in 1965 was sentenced
to psychiatric prisonBy Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.comIn 1965, Young's wife Maggie drowned their five children, ages 8 months to 8 years, in a bathtub in their Aiea home.
Though charged with first-degree murder, Maggie Young never stood trial. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, she was committed to the State Hospital in Kaneohe, where she hung herself six months later.
James Young stood by his wife until the end.
Young, who now lives in California, insists that Andrea Yates needs psychiatric help, not prison or execution. But a Harris County jury rejected Yates' insanity plea and sentenced her yesterday to life in prison. Yates, 37, will have to serve at least 40 years before she is eligible for parole.
Young, 73, had been driving home from work when he heard the news of Yates' verdict.
"To say I was disappointed is a great understatement," Young wrote in an e-mail to the Star-Bulletin. "I have been following the Houston Chronicle coverage of the trial on a daily basis, and based on the coverage I have read, I could not believe a jury would find her guilty.
"Even the prosecution's expert witness had left the door open for an insanity verdict."
A Texas native whose children are buried in San Antonio at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Young said he was ashamed of "the Wild West 'hang 'em high' mentality -- especially in the Houston courts."
Texas has sentenced more people to death than any other state, 262 since 1982. Harris County, where Yates was tried, has 157 convicted killers on death row.
Young was relieved that the jury sentenced her to a psychiatric prison, rather than execution.
"Under the circumstance, I am pleased. ... At least she will receive treatment," he wrote yesterday.
"I can't help but feel sorry for her and Rusty," he said.
Russell "Rusty" Yates said yesterday that he will continue to support his wife, as he has since the drownings, although he does not know if they will remain married or how often he will visit.
"I believe in Andrea. She is the kindest, sweetest, gentlest person I've ever met," he said.
He said the family was disappointed by Tuesday's guilty verdict and that the life sentence was not much better than lethal injection.
Yates said he thinks often of his children: Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and Mary, 6 months. Yates, who delivered the eulogy at his children's funeral, said he talks to them sometimes.
"Tonight I'll pray for the kids, talk to the kids a little bit. I'll say hello and ask them to pray for Andrea," he said. "They loved their mommy. I know they don't hold this against her. They know she was sick and they know she loved them."
He said he is not angry with his wife but wonders why she never mentioned she had thought about harming the youngsters for years. If he had known that, he said, the couple would have stopped having kids.
After Andrea Yates' two suicide attempts in 1999, a doctor told the couple she likely would suffer from postpartum depression again if she had another child.
But Russell Yates said the couple loved children, wanted more and thought they could "nip it in the bud" by getting the same treatment if Andrea started feeling depressed again after childbirth.
He blames doctors for not prescribing the same medicine that helped after her suicide attempts. He said he knew she was depressed and sought help for her but never thought she was a danger to the youngsters.
Andrea Yates was hospitalized again last spring but was taken off anti-psychotic drugs a few weeks before she drowned her children.
"How could she have been so ill and the medical community not diagnose her, not treat her, not protect our family from her?" Russell Yates asked. "They miserably failed us."
He said he is considering suing some of her doctors.
Young, who believes that postpartum depression and psychosis led his wife to drown their children, said he hopes that the Yates' high-profile case will raise awareness about the condition.
"We need to recognize postpartum depression with psychosis earlier and successfully treat it," he wrote. "We must do whatever we can to prevent another mother killing her children."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.