Andrea Yates Arguement Last June 2001, a 37-year-old woman named Andrea Yates was arrested for killing her five children. Most people like me would agree that she was of sound mind and that the death penalty would have been the right punishment for Mrs. Andrea Yates. The punishment in the State of Texas for committing two capital crimes is life imprisonment or the death penalty. Andrea's lawyer tried to prove her innocence by protesting that she was insane at the time of the murders. This insanity plea could have kept her from a life sentence or the death penalty. Sure, she would serve a couple of years in prison, but she would be given the opportunity to get out on parole. Now, if this lady was as crazy as some believe, then how could she know she had committed a crime and not know she was doing something wrong when she actually drowned the children? Mrs Yates knew exactly that she had harmed innocent children and was horribly aware of what was happening. Mrs Yates even called the police and her husband to inform them of what she had done. If he had had the death penalty in mind while drowning the children, then he might have shown some moral awareness before drowning them rather than after their deaths. I believe Andrea is a sane woman, even if she was depressed or suffered from postpartum depression. Life is truly precious and I believe the death penalty is an ideal way to support this fact. These children were Andrea's flesh and blood, who she literally gave birth to. Evidently Andrea had planned the crime because he waited until everyone had left the house to harm the children. According to the Associated Press, "Her husband was at work and her mother was out of town for a week." The only thing that... middle of paper... was sentenced to life in prison on March 14, 2001, for killing her five children. I agree that Andrea was sane, but the right punishment should have been the death penalty. Bibliography: Roche, Timothy. “The Yates Oddysey” New York Times January 20, 2002: editorial page. AOL News. America online. April 6, 2002. Keyword: Andrea Yates.Associated Press. “Yate's Husband Misses Jury Duty.” CBS.com March 24, 2002. America Online. 02 April 2002. Route: interview with Russell Yates; The Andrea Yates case; CBS.com.Kersy, Allan. "The Complete Story of Andrea Yates." COURTTV.com December 03, 2001. America Online. April 01, 2002. Route: Texas vs. Andrea Yates; The jurors speak; Family pleads for Yates' life; The Penalty Phase begins; COURTTV.com.Koch, Edward. "Professional Writing". Death and Justice. Ed. Jewell, Leah. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2000. 449-54.