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We accept responsibility for what we do when we drink too much, though we are not in control of our facilities.

Diabetics are also responsible for what they do when they have low sugar blood, though in that state they have impaired judgment as well. They should carry around some food with them at all times if they wish to prevent this, despite the inconvenience.

Andrea Yates did not get there in a day. From everything I've read, it was a gradual process; she got there over the period of at least 5 years (the age of her oldest child, I believe), and clearly exhibited symptoms in addition to enough sanity during those years to function. She should've sought help, as was her responsibility to herself and to society. I would've voted guilty.

She should've sought help, as was her responsibility to herself and to society. I would've voted guilty. She DID seek help. They threw her out when her insurance ran out and Rusty did nothing. The doc actually could have gotten her state care and he had better things to do. It was the system that failed her when she asked for help and they didn't want to give it to her. That's a big thing that changed my mind about this case - here she was, sicker than a dog, asking for help, and that doc didn't want to work with a public-funds case. He ought to have his license yanked since he abandoned a patient over the issue of money despite Andrea's own pleadings. Scumbag. Just as guilty as Rusty. And that evil creature who gave false TV-show testimony in an earlier trial. And the dirtbag prosecutor with his political ambitions. To heck with them all, I hope all their careers are in ruins. They certainly had a good time abandoning Andrea for their own selfish reasons even as she pleaded for help.

The problem with saying she should have sought help is you're assuming she knew she was nuts. Part of the problem with insanity is from the inside it looks perfectly normal, the more seriously whacked people don't know they're not normal. You have to have some level of sanity to understand that you're in a version of reality that doesn't match the rest of the world, that's actually one of the most dangerous points in the life of the seriously disturbed, lots of people kill themselves when they start to realize just how nuts they have been, it's a very depressing realization.