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Florida International University *

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2010

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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1. Briefly describe the Andrea Yates case. Legally, is she sane or insane? Take a position and back up your argument . Many people are unsure about whether Andrea Yates is sane or crazy in this particular circumstance. Andrea was first and foremost quite ill; she had both postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Despite having a strong affection for her kids, she killed them because she thought it would protect them from the devil, a mental belief. Yates saw hallucinations related to religion, yet why especially religious hallucinations? People's experiences with hallucinations are typically shaped by their history, society, and upbringing. Yates had always been deeply religious; in fact, her "repent-or-burn zeal" is what really led her to believe that she was an unfit mother, and that her children were suffering because of her obsession with obeying God and her devotion to the Bible. Her years before that terrible day had been marked by serious mental health problems. A forensic mental health evaluation was provided to her, encompassing information from the years she lived before her children were murdered. The evaluation addressed several aspects of her life, including her family history, socioeconomic standing, mental disorders, and present state of mind. The evaluation assisted in determining when Andrea Yates initially started exhibiting signs of instability and demonstrated how the signs developed over time. The examination assessed the duration of the symptoms, the degree of intensity, and the treatment she received throughout this period. In an attempt to determine Andrea's precise personality and determine whether or not her mental condition may have been influenced by outside factors, a personal history was gathered. Determining Andrea Yates's insanity and whether or not she was conscious that her acts were wrong was the main goal of the evaluation that was conducted on her. In Andrea's case, it was found that her mental condition prevented her from properly processing the repercussions of her conduct at the time of her crimes, even though she was able to acknowledge that killing her children was immoral and illegal. Andrea's psychological state was affected by her mental disorder at the time of the acts. This led to her being declared innocent due to insanity. (McLellan, F., 2006). She saw that her children were not growing up the way they ought to and felt that she had failed as a mother. Andrea said that Satan had marked her and would take possession of her children if she did not murder them. She thought that Satan would be annihilated if she killed her children, and the state executed her as retribution. Andrea most definitely accomplished this with her ill-conceived ideas about the insignia of Satan. Andrea committed these murders in the state of Texas, where at the time a defendant could only claim legal insanity if they were suffering from a significant mental illness or deficit that prevented them from realizing their action was improper at the time of the crime. It's obvious that Andrea suffered from severe mental illness, but she and her husband decided not to seek assistance despite her awareness of the condition. However one cannot blame Andres for not “seeking help” she was ill and not thinking well, but she did voice this concern to others in her family and they did not think much of it as a concern to be medicated, which in a way her insanity unraveled a big can of worms in the end for not seeking professional help.

References: McLellan, F. (2006, December 2). Mental health and justice: The case of Andrea Yates - The Lancet . Mental health and justice: the case of Andrea Yates. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(06)69789-4/fulltext

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