Andrea Yates Church Pass Request After Killing Her 5 Children
Andrea Yates, the mother who killed her five children by drowning them in a bathtub, has requested that she be allowed a two-hour weekly pass to attend church.
Yates was convicted of capital murder in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison after she was charged with drowning all five of her children in a bathtub. During court proceedings it was revealed that Noah, the eldest child, who was seven at the time, had fled after witnessing his mother's attacks. Yates, however, chased the boy down and forced him into the bathroom where he was killed.
In 2006 Yates was granted a new trial and allowed to escape her life in prison sentence after she was found innocent by reason of insanity. Yates was then transferred to a state psychiatric hospital. In November, Yates will be up for review where the court will rule whether or not Yates is well enough for outpatient care.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"It's going to be the judge's call. All the doctors and medical professionals now say that she's ready to be brought back in and acclimated to society," George Parnham, Yates defense lawyer said on "CBS This Morning."
In the meantime, Yates is seeking a two-hour pass in order to attend church.
"Defense attorney George Parnham said he expects Yates' doctors at Kerrville State Hospital to file a letter in the next week, asking the state district court in Houston to let Yates, now 47, leave for two hours weekly to attend services," the Houston Chronicle reported.
Parnham has expressed confidence in his client's abilities.
"We're now going to be asking for a pass for two hours," Parnham told the Chronicle adding, "I think she's ready for outpatient care."
Some people who have followed the case expressed concern over Yates release.
"I said it once and I will say it again. If Yates is allowed out of the mental facility, she should be forced to work for Parnham as a nanny for his grandchildren. If he thinks she is ready for society then she is ready for unsupervised care of his grandkid," Scrounger wrote on the Chronicle's blog.
Rusty Yates, who remained married to Andrea Yates for four years after she committed the crimes, has since divorced her and remarried. In 2008 his new wife gave birth to his sixth child.
