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CNN Live At Daybreak

Arraignment Hearing for Andrea Yates

Aired August 08, 2001 - 07:03   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.
VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: In Houston, Texas this morning, an update on a gut-wrenching case. Thirty-seven-year-old Andrea Yates, accused of drowning her five children, is being arraigned.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is at the courthouse for a preview.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Vince.

That arraignment hearing is scheduled to start in about three hours at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. Andrea Yates could enter a plea in this case. Of course, she is accused of drowning her five children in the Yates' suburban home in the family's bathtub.

Attorneys have been suggesting since this case first started back in June that Yates might plead innocent by reason of insanity. About a month ago, her attorneys filed some paperwork with the courts here in Houston talking about that she has been -- arguing that she is unfit to stand trial.

She has undergone some psychiatric evaluations, and her attorneys in letters to the court say that she has remained in a psychotic state since the murders of her five children -- the alleged murders of her five children. And that she has been unable to have meaningful conversations with her attorney, and that she has been unable to understand exactly what's going on.

We were able to speak briefly with Andrea Yates' mother yesterday. And she told us that she felt her daughter had been getting better since the murders. But -- better in the sense that from a psychological standpoint, but that also meant that she was also starting to understand what had happened. And that that was starting to disturb her very much.

Of course, Andrea Yates has been indicted for the deaths of three of her children. One count of capital murder for the murders of Noah and John, and one count of capital murder for the murder of the six- month-old girl, Mary. Indictments have not been filed on the deaths of the other two children. Prosecutors initially said that that would leave them more legal options a little bit further on down the road.

Andrea Yates' husband, Russell, has long defended his wife, saying that the woman who murdered her five children -- these are his words -- is not the woman that he married.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL YATES, HUSBAND-FATHER: And that really just sent her spiraling down, and I think she was just primed, you know, for that depression -- you know, that post-partum depression. And, you know, the environment just triggered it, you know, with her dad dying. And she -- you know, we were all hopeful that she would respond to the same medications that she did the first time, but she never responded that well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Andrea Yates has been held in the Harris County jail, where she has remained in the psychiatric unit of that jail.

Because of a gag order in this case, we don't know exactly what kind of treatment she has been under. Perhaps those are some of the issues as attorneys start arguing the issue of mental capacity in this case. And perhaps some of those things will be talked about later on this morning.

I am Ed Lavandera, CNN in Houston.

CELLINI: All right. Ed, we'll be checking in with you regarding that situation.

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