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CNN Live Today

Prosecution Rests in Penalty Phase of Andrea Yates' Trial

Aired March 14, 2002 - 14:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Want to go to Houston now and to the case of Andrea Yates and the jury that convicted that Texas mother of drowning her children, now hearing testimony on whether Yates should live or die. Ed Lavandera outside the courthouse where the penalty phase is now well under way. Ed, hello.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. The main headline from here in Houston this afternoon is that the prosecution isn't putting up much of an argument to make sure that Andrea Yates is sentenced to death. In fact, when they were asked if they had any witnesses to present to this testimony, the prosecutors just said that the state rests its case and that they would let all the evidence they put in over the last three and a half weeks stand as their own case. The defense continues, however, bringing 11 witnesses to the witness stand, just bringing them on one by one, family and friend, very quickly. Russell Yates was on the stand.

The jury must decide whether or not Andrea Yates will spend the rest of her life in prison or she will be executed by lethal injection. Russell Yates took the witness stand this morning for about four minutes to describe Andrea Yates as a very loving mother. Very short testimony from him. The most emotional testimony coming from the mothers, Dora Yates, Russell's mother, described how she keeps a book where she writes about her favorite people and people who are special to her. She said Andrea's pages take up -- are the longest.

And Karen Kennedy, Andrea's mother, who is 73 years old, says: "I'm here pleading for her life." She described how Andrea Yates got into nursing here in Houston, and said: "Andrea has been helping people all her life, and the two times she really needed help, it wasn't given to her long enough."

And of course, a lot of emotional appeals to this jury, the same jury that convicted her of drowning their five children and found that Andrea Yates was not legally insane when she did -- committed the murders on June 20 of last year. The court is taking the lunch break right now. Testimony resumes here at 1:30 Central time. And it looks like it's coming to an end. Defense attorneys say they only have one more witness to put on, and the court is still trying to decide when the closing arguments to the punishment phase of this part of the trial will begin. So things wrapping up here quickly, and the main headline, of course, the prosecution not putting up much of an argument at all. HEMMER: Are those arguments possible later today, Ed?

LAVANDERA: We've asked that. We've gotten conflicting information. Prosecutors say it will be tomorrow morning. Defense attorneys say that it still hasn't been decided in the case so far. So perhaps in the past, over the course of the last three and a half weeks, a lot of things have been decided here at lunch time, and perhaps we will get a little better understand within the next hour or so.

HEMMER: Fair enough, OK. Ed Lavandera, thanks, outside the courtroom there in Houston, Texas.

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