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American Morning
Interview with Defense Attorney George Parnham
Aired October 14, 2003 - 07:43 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The lawyer for Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her five children, says Yates may be trying to starve herself to death in prison. Yates is serving a life sentence. A Texas jury last year rejected her insanity defense.
She is now under a suicide watch, and her attorney, George Parnham, recently visited Yates in prison. He joins this morning from Houston, Texas.
Good morning to you, Mr. Parnham. Thanks for joining us.
GEORGE PARNHAM, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREA YATES: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Update us on the condition of Andrea Yates, if you can.
PARNHAM: Yes. Andrea has recently just decompensated a mental meltdown, if you will. And the reality of her situation is that she's under excellent care where she is in, in Skyview (ph), by her doctors and the law enforcement authorities. But the catch-22 is the better you get mentally, the more you are able to understand and appreciate, much like us, what occurred. And as a consequence, that triggers setbacks. So, we're going simply through that process.
O'BRIEN: There have been reports that she's trying to starve herself. Are those reports accurate?
PARNHAM: I can't really characterize it. I know that she is having a difficult time eating. She is getting better, thanks to the care that she's receiving. But precautions have been taken to protect herself from herself and to make sure that she gets back on track. And I'm heartened by the fact that the last report is that she is improving.
O'BRIEN: I'm curious to know why you're coming forward now, and how much of that has to do with the fact that you are appealing her conviction. Can you answer that for me?
PARNHAM: Sure, and I am appealing her conviction, but I think the larger picture, Soledad, is that the public needs to understand the realities of mental illness. And the public by and large does not appreciate nor understand the true world of the psychotic, and that's the world that Andrea was in, in June. Until about four weeks ago, she was doing extremely well.
I saw her a month ago, and I was heartened by where she was. And unfortunately, she's had a downturn in the last three weeks. That's simply the reality of the situation and is a portion of the larger picture that I hoped eventually the public, to include medical doctors, begin to understand.
O'BRIEN: So, your theory, then, is since her condition to some degree is worsening as her mental illness is treated, she's sort of getting what she's done, that certainly helps your appeal down the road, right?
PARNHAM: Well, I'm not sure it helps the appeal one way or the other. The appeal is based on the law. But what I am striving to do is to try to improve the acceptance and the understanding and the reality of mental illness as perceived in the minds of the public. We have to understand that the world of the psychotic person, the world of Andrea Yates is not our world. Her reality is upside down.
One of the tragedies in this situation, and in every situation involving a mother who takes the life of a child, is that intact within the mind of the mother are the same, loving, caring, concern for the dangers of her children, but the reality of those dangers is upside down. We have the horrible situation of a mother who cares as Andrea did for her children and does now, misses her children desperately, but because she doesn't understand and because her world is not our world, that she reacts to what she perceives to be unreal dangers.
O'BRIEN: George Parnham is an attorney for Andrea Yates and filing an appeal on her behalf. Thanks for joining us, Mr. Parnham.
PARNHAM: Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 14, 2003 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The lawyer for Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her five children, says Yates may be trying to starve herself to death in prison. Yates is serving a life sentence. A Texas jury last year rejected her insanity defense.
She is now under a suicide watch, and her attorney, George Parnham, recently visited Yates in prison. He joins this morning from Houston, Texas.
Good morning to you, Mr. Parnham. Thanks for joining us.
GEORGE PARNHAM, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREA YATES: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Update us on the condition of Andrea Yates, if you can.
PARNHAM: Yes. Andrea has recently just decompensated a mental meltdown, if you will. And the reality of her situation is that she's under excellent care where she is in, in Skyview (ph), by her doctors and the law enforcement authorities. But the catch-22 is the better you get mentally, the more you are able to understand and appreciate, much like us, what occurred. And as a consequence, that triggers setbacks. So, we're going simply through that process.
O'BRIEN: There have been reports that she's trying to starve herself. Are those reports accurate?
PARNHAM: I can't really characterize it. I know that she is having a difficult time eating. She is getting better, thanks to the care that she's receiving. But precautions have been taken to protect herself from herself and to make sure that she gets back on track. And I'm heartened by the fact that the last report is that she is improving.
O'BRIEN: I'm curious to know why you're coming forward now, and how much of that has to do with the fact that you are appealing her conviction. Can you answer that for me?
PARNHAM: Sure, and I am appealing her conviction, but I think the larger picture, Soledad, is that the public needs to understand the realities of mental illness. And the public by and large does not appreciate nor understand the true world of the psychotic, and that's the world that Andrea was in, in June. Until about four weeks ago, she was doing extremely well.
I saw her a month ago, and I was heartened by where she was. And unfortunately, she's had a downturn in the last three weeks. That's simply the reality of the situation and is a portion of the larger picture that I hoped eventually the public, to include medical doctors, begin to understand.
O'BRIEN: So, your theory, then, is since her condition to some degree is worsening as her mental illness is treated, she's sort of getting what she's done, that certainly helps your appeal down the road, right?
PARNHAM: Well, I'm not sure it helps the appeal one way or the other. The appeal is based on the law. But what I am striving to do is to try to improve the acceptance and the understanding and the reality of mental illness as perceived in the minds of the public. We have to understand that the world of the psychotic person, the world of Andrea Yates is not our world. Her reality is upside down.
One of the tragedies in this situation, and in every situation involving a mother who takes the life of a child, is that intact within the mind of the mother are the same, loving, caring, concern for the dangers of her children, but the reality of those dangers is upside down. We have the horrible situation of a mother who cares as Andrea did for her children and does now, misses her children desperately, but because she doesn't understand and because her world is not our world, that she reacts to what she perceives to be unreal dangers.
O'BRIEN: George Parnham is an attorney for Andrea Yates and filing an appeal on her behalf. Thanks for joining us, Mr. Parnham.
PARNHAM: Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
