[Puddleglum]

I'm not trying to lecture you, lonestar - sorry if you feel that way. I'm just trying to explain what I think and why I think it. I'm glad you feel free to do the same, and I never feel that you're lecturing me or anyone else. Peace, huh? We're both Texans, and probably closer neighbors than that. Maybe we'll meet at a freeper rally if Bill Clinton, Gore, or a related crony comes to Dallas to raise funds someday!

I appreciate the detail you put in your posts to explain why you believe what you do.

Should Rusty be as accountable for his actions as Andrea? Yes - if he broke the law, then haul him into court. If he did not, then maybe someone needs to examine what laws are needed. I take his defense-presented portrayal with a grain of salt, but can see from it why people would think he was a monster.

But in my mind, if he is ever proven to be a monster, then that puts two monsters on the radar screen. The first is Andrea who murdered five innocent, relatively defenseless children, premeditated. I simply do not want to see one more excuse added to the million our society already has for why someone else should be blamed for their actions; and in her case, I do not see, as sympathetic as she is, why that one more excuse is warranted.

[lonestar]

I think the last thing we need is more laws. However, "moral responsibility" was being discussed and I think, laws or no, that Rusty Yates contributed to the deaths of his five children. I think he is a sick man. The conditions inside this household were abnormal; the expectations he placed on Andrea were abnormal--even if she had not been having mental/depression problems.

I am not making excuses for Andrea Yates. However, I think there were very valid reasons why the murders were allowed to happen. She should have never been left alone with those children. The woman belonged in a hospital. There is too much psychiatric history in her medical records for her to be the lone killer of five children. I do not see Andrea as a victim for killing her children.

However, was she not a victim of a husband who at best was in denial regarding her condition and a psychiatrist who altered his records pertaining to her condition?

I get Houston TV and newspapers. I've probably "seen" more, read more about Rusty than has been in the national news. He is extremely weird. "He doesn't like to cry in public" so he does his crying when alone. Excuse me! How can a "normal" person control their tears to that extent?

I still think if she'd been in her "right mind" she would have killed him.