Grim testimony opens Laney trial; defendant, officers weep as boys' deaths detailed

The Dallas Morning News ^ | March 30, 2004 | By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News

[MeekOneGOP]

03-29-2004:
Trial begins for mother who stoned sons to death;
she says God told her to do it

Randy Eli Grothe / DMN

Smith County Sheriff's Deputy James Finch
broke down on the stand after being asked to
identify the victims in crime scene photos.

_____________________________________________________

Questions and answers

Q. What is the legal standard for insanity in Texas?
A. Jurors must first find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a person has committed a crime. The defendant may be then found not guilty by reason of insanity only if jurors decide a preponderance of evidence showed he or she suffered from a mental disease or defect so severe that the accused did not know the conduct was legally wrong.

Q. What's the difference between "preponderance" of evidence and "reasonable doubt?"
A. Preponderance of evidence is the lower standard of proof used in civil cases. That means more than half of the evidence supports the finding.

Q. Who else uses that standard to determine insanity?
A. About 25 states and federal courts use some form of it. The version used by federal courts and some states is less strict, requiring proof that a person is so mentally impaired that they cannot "appreciate" right from wrong.

Q. Where did this standard come from and how long has Texas used it?
A. Called the McNaughton rule, it dates back to 19th century British law. Texas and other states adopted it in the 1980s amid public criticism of insanity standards after John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for trying to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.

Q. How often is the insanity defense successful?
A. No statistics are available, but experts say it is raised in less than 1 percent of criminal cases nationally and succeeds in less than half of those.

Q. What happens if someone in Texas is found not guilty by reason of insanity?
A. Defendants found insane are sent to a state mental hospital for evaluation. They must stay until state psychiatric experts recommend that they are sane enough to function in society. At least once a year, a court must decide whether the defendant remains institutionalized.

[Bikers4Bush]

This woman should be executed immediately.

[MeekOneGOP]

Jurors in Laney trial view crime scene video, autopsy photos

01:54 PM CST on Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Associated Press

TYLER, Texas - Jurors in the trial of a woman who said God told her to beat her children with rocks saw a crime scene video Tuesday of two boys with their skulls smashed lying near garden signs that read "Mom's Love Grows Here" and "Thank God for Mothers."

Deanna Laney's oldest sons, 8-year-old Joshua and 6-year-old Luke, were found on a porch in their underwear with heavy rocks on their chests. The video also showed a large spot of blood in a baby bed, where Laney severely injured her youngest son, Aaron, 14 months old at the time.

To show the severity of the attack on Joshua, prosecutor Matt Bingham hammered a 16-pound rock into the floor of the courtroom eight times. Vibrations could be felt throughout the courthouse.

Also Online

Video: Bill Brown reports at noon Tuesday

Laney, a 39-year-old stay-at-home mother who homeschooled her children, has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to charges of capital murder and serious injury to a child.

Laney sunk her head during morning testimony and wept as graphic autopsy photos were shown to the jury of eight men and four women. Her husband, who has supported her, shifted in his seat a few rows behind and often sighed deeply and lowered his head.

All the psychiatric experts consulted in the case, including two for the defense, two for the prosecution and one for the judge, say Laney was legally insane during the killings.

Defense attorney F.R. "Buck" Files Jr., has argued that Laney was overcome by psychotic delusions of what she believed was God's voice telling her to kill her children.

Laney called 911 after midnight May 10 and told a dispatcher, "I just killed my boys."

---

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/033004dntexlaneytrial.d7fa2f5b.html

[MeekOneGOP]

It looks that that's not an option in this case. She plead insanity:

She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. If acquitted, she would be sent to a mental hospital for treatment; if convicted, she would go to prison for life.

[Victor]

There are no words.....

[SF Republican]

not guilty by reason of insanity. how can anyone claim that killing another human is sane?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Those poor, poor babies. I think I'll just sit and weep for a while.

[7.62 x 51mm]

Don't waste the drugs or a cell; execute the subhuman upon conviction.

[dljordan]

Obviously then she must be INSANE.

[Bikers4Bush]

Oh I know what they say the options are, I'm just saying what should be done.

If Andrea Yates was sane then this freak is too.

[7.62 x 51mm]

Ten-to-one she gets "Dahmer-ized" in the prison. Full pardon to the inmate who does it.

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh, yeah, sorry. I agree. This is the most awful thing I've seen. I thought maybe you missed that part.

I bet she'll be found guilty. These jurors won't have any sympathy I think.

[Dick Vomer]

Ten-to-one she gets "Dahmer-ized" in the prison

nope, women's prison is different then men's prison. Very little of that stuff goes on. Maybe some beatings and occasional homicide but not the full blown malevolent hell hole a "real" prison is like.

[M0sby]

Me too..weeping for these little souls...

[Catspaw]

This trial is on Court TV. I couldn't bear to watch it.

[hopespringseternal]

Sometimes, even spending eternity in hell just doesn't seem like enough.

[semaj]

"This woman should be executed immediately."

There be monsters.

[Bikers4Bush]

This kind of stuff makes me physically ill.

I know a guy through a buddy of mine who's three year old son was just recently (Feb) diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma.

While his family and doctors fight to keep the little guy alive freaks like this woman are still breathing.

[luvbach1]

Amazing parallels to Andrea Yates case. Religious, home schooler, "God told me to do it" (or was it satan?).

[luvbach1]

...how can anyone claim that killing another human is sane?

You're not suggesting that every murderer is insane are you?