It takes two tries, but America’s most famous post-natal abortionette gets off:
A jury found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning deaths of her young children in the bathtub of their suburban home. Yates will be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. If convicted, she would have faced life in prison….
In Yates’ first murder trial, in 2002, the jury deliberated about four hours before finding her guilty. That conviction was overturned on appeal.
Even the most die-hard equalitarian feminist considers women to be quasi-children; this can be easily discerned by the societal distaste for holding them responsible for anything from military service to murder one.
Also, the medicalization of evil is a trend that has long troubled me. It bothered me when Saddam was declared crazy – he isn’t, he simply miscalculated – and this verdict, with its implication that a few counseling sessions and a prescription or two will set things right, bothers me too.