This whole Andrea Yates thing has me thinking...

I know, I mean like I said I'm in no way saying that her sickness isn't real - but I think just casually putting her in a mental institution is just not real justice KWIM! I mean, 5 innocent children's lives were taken, she definitely needs help, but she needs to get help in prison! Not some hoity-toity mential institution!

I get what you're saying. I don't necesarily agree though..and I'll tell you why. Think about it this way, with this example:

My father is an alcoholic. He can have 10 beers and function as if I haven't had even one. Say my dad is driving in his car with my daughter for some reason, one odd time where he's actually sober. He has a liver attack in the car, the car swerves, hits an oncoming car, and my child dies.

Sickening, tragic scenario... but it could happen. Does that mean that my father should be jailed for not taking care of his liver properly by being an alcoholic? No, because he wasn't drunk at the time, he was sober. Still, he had a disease (alcoholism), and he should have seen the signs... or at the very least, his wife. Or me. Or anyone else that's around him.

Ok - so it's totally not the same thing... lol

I just think that yes - she deserves justice... but she deserves help too. Maybe help is what she needs right now. If you've ever been in a mental institution, well, jails seem to be nicer.

I do not think it fair to compare serious mental illness with alcoholism. And I detest it being called a disease when it is something one does to oneself.
That irritates me to no end. Ask a leukemia patient about disease, not an alcoholic, who can, yes CAN stop putting that liquid to his or her mouth and "cure" themselves. And it is not easy I understand, but it is a choice. I highly doubt anyone who is well chooses to kill her children, nor does he or she choose to die a painful death.


I'm done now . .

I am not trying to flame anyone here, just a hot button of mine. I have alcoholics and mentally ill folks in my family. I have seen very young friends struggle with and/or lose battles to diseases like leukemia and breast cancer. I see very big differences with these and am astounded that alcoholism is labeled a disease anywhere. .

I promise not to type any more about this here.

I'm sorry for offending you. It's just been drilled in my head that alcoholism is a disease... my dad really is an alcoholic.

But you're right.

I think that she has a very real illness..but in the end, she broke the law..5 times at that. She didn't get caught speeding..she KILLED! A person who takes another person's life, aside from the act of self-defense, should be in prison. Period.
If she is sick enough to kill 5 babies that she brought into this world, then why would she have mercy on a person she didn't know? Why should anyone in society feel safe in her presence?

The analogy of alcoholism was brought up..well, if an alcoholic who is intoxicated gets behind the wheel of a car and then ends up killing someone because of it, they go to jail for homicide..not a mental institution until they are deemed no longer a threat to society!!! They are punished for the consequences of the clouded vision that caused their poor judgement and decisions. Alcohol is a disease...PPD and PPP are also diseases..but if they cause someone to end another person's life..then they should be held accountable.

To be honest..I am so sickened by this case. But I do feel a bit sorry for her..b/c it is so apparent that she still has no true sense of remorse for what she did. She's very cold and robotic. But I have even more disgust where her husband is concerned! My true pity lies for those children..although they are probably in a better place considering the environment in which they were being raised!

In the end..yes ..we've all had our days where we say things we regret to our kids..or think bad thoughts b/c we've reached our breaking point..but when it gets to the point that you're acting on those thoughts..then that is when in my opinion, you're no longer in control of yourself and don't need to be the one in charge of children. and if you get to the breaking point and don't know it...then like I said before..yes, you are mentally ill..but that is still no excuse for murder! She deserves to get help..but not in a girl's camp, she deserves to be in prison.

hannasmommy: I agree that she should be punished. However, if you really think about it, being in a mental institution is a bigger punishment, because if she stays in jail she won't get the proper treatment for her problem and that lack of treatment will continue to allow her to feel no remorse. If she's in a mental institution and she gets the proper treatment then she will become sane enough to grasp the full magnitude of what she did. Which means that she will have to spend the rest of her life living with the full knowledge that she killed her own children. I think that's punishment enough.

msoulz: I disagree with your statement that alcoholoism shouldn't be considered a disease. To say that a disease of the mind (such as this one) isn't as bad as cancer or some other disease of the body is like saying that physical illnesses are more real than mental ones, and I don't believe that they are. Not to mention, diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes (and a whole host of other illnesses) have a lot of risk factors such as poor diet, poor lifestyle, etc. So in a sense, a person does contribute to their physical illnesses as well (in a sense they inadvertantly choose those illnesses). And before someone accuses me of being insensitive towards those who are sick, I am saying this as a person who has seven different chronic illnesses.

OH, I am sorry - I was just venting, not offended. It takes more to offend me than that! I did not want offend you either!!!!

And Mei-ling, If you consider it to be a mental illness to be an alcoholic, then I understand your point. I see it as a weakness and a choice. But I get what you are saying too. This is a point on which my husband and I agree to disagree as well. He thinks some folks are genetically predisposed to it, which may be true, as well as other illnesses, be they physical or mental. I just see it differently and I hope I did not offend you either. And I hope you are well now!

msoulz: You didn't offend me at all. Just having a friendly debate.

Although I somewhat agree with this statement, I think the beating she's going to get in prison from all the prison b****s is going to be punishment enough.

I'm sure Big Bertha will find her and make her, her B%$&*

I'm not a raging psychopath, but I actually spent some time in a psychiatric center... and depending on what course of action they may take to treat her, it's really not all hardcore like they play on TV/ in the movies. It's really up to the patient to decide to take the treatment... they are completely happy to keep you strapped to the bed all day and out of their hair, unfortunately. They don't really dilligently force treatment on the patient... so she really wouldn't have to be confronted with what she did, and I agree with what a lot of you said on here, the woman shows no remorse anyways. I still think she is a total Sociopath... and I think some jail time with psychiatric counseling is the smack in the head that she needs... not a slap on the hand for 5 murders!