Andrea Yates Gets a New Trial
Andrea Yates, the Texas woman convicted of drowning her children, will get a new trial after a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling Wednesday. The court upheld a lower court`s decision the erroneous testimony of the prosecution`s key mental-health witness was enough to retry the case, The Houston Chronicle reports.
The Clear Lake-area woman was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for the 2001 drowning of her children and subsequent three-count capital murder conviction.
California psychiatrist, Park Dietz, was a key witness for prosecutors. He testified he was a consultant for the TV show ‘Law & Order’ and that just before Yates drowned her children she watched an episode of a similar incident where the mother was found innocent by reason of insanity. After the conviction but before the sentencing it was found there was no episode like that.
The 1st Texas Court of Appeals ruled in January that District Judge Belinda Hill should have called a mistrial. No date has been set for the next trial.
Source: Monsters & Critics
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