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Family Supportive of Laney
Aired May 13, 2003 - 15:33 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: An attorney representing a Texas mother charged with murdering two of her sons says there are obvious comparisons to the Andrea Yates case. Deanna LaJune Laney is accused of bludgeoning her three sons with rocks over the weekend, killing her two older boys and critically injuring her 14-month-old son, Aaron.
Art Harris is covering the case. He joins me now from Tyler, Texas -- Art.
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Friends and neighbors I talked with had only empathy for Deanna Laney, as a mother and a friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN MAYNE, LANEY'S NEIGHBOR: She was a wonderful, normal mother. She was always there, and took care of them, and it's hard to say. I mean, she was just a normal, wonderful, caring mother. Not only for her kids, but for my kids, when they were over visiting and the other neighborhood kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But when we talked with women who did not know her personally, we found no sympathy for the Texas mother accused of beating two young sons to death with rocks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: If you were on a jury, could you vote for a death penalty?
JESSICA COOPER, RESTAURANT HOSTESS: Yes, I would.
HARRIS: Why?
COOPER: For those kids. They didn't have a chance at life. She did. She was their guidance. She did them wrong. That's innocent lives taken. That's something that you can never bring back. She had her chance. She messed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The defense has said it will raise the issue of mental competence. Texas law and Texas juries have been unsympathetic to that line of defense.
Last year, a Houston jury convicted Andrea Yates of murder in the drowning deaths of her five sons, and she had a documented history of mental illness.
Kyra, this morning I spoke with Andrea Yates' attorney, George Parnham. He's been in touch with Deanna Laney's attorney here in Tyler, Texas. His advice was to go back and look at the history -- the medical history of her pregnancies to see if there was any suggestion of change in behavior that would suggest post-partum depression.
That would fly in the face of her friends and neighbors who say they saw a normal, loving mother. And in Texas, that would make an insanity defense very difficult -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Art, I can't help but ask about the 14-month-old Aaron. Who will take care of this little boy?
HARRIS: That is so up in the air, Kyra. Right now, we understand the father is standing very close by at that Dallas hospital, and the friends and family and church have offered all their support and prayers, and there is not going to be any dearth of support for this family among their close friends -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Art Harris, live from Tyler, Texas.
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 May 13, 2003 - 15:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: An attorney representing a Texas mother charged with murdering two of her sons says there are obvious comparisons to the Andrea Yates case. Deanna LaJune Laney is accused of bludgeoning her three sons with rocks over the weekend, killing her two older boys and critically injuring her 14-month-old son, Aaron.
Art Harris is covering the case. He joins me now from Tyler, Texas -- Art.
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Friends and neighbors I talked with had only empathy for Deanna Laney, as a mother and a friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN MAYNE, LANEY'S NEIGHBOR: She was a wonderful, normal mother. She was always there, and took care of them, and it's hard to say. I mean, she was just a normal, wonderful, caring mother. Not only for her kids, but for my kids, when they were over visiting and the other neighborhood kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But when we talked with women who did not know her personally, we found no sympathy for the Texas mother accused of beating two young sons to death with rocks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: If you were on a jury, could you vote for a death penalty?
JESSICA COOPER, RESTAURANT HOSTESS: Yes, I would.
HARRIS: Why?
COOPER: For those kids. They didn't have a chance at life. She did. She was their guidance. She did them wrong. That's innocent lives taken. That's something that you can never bring back. She had her chance. She messed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The defense has said it will raise the issue of mental competence. Texas law and Texas juries have been unsympathetic to that line of defense.
Last year, a Houston jury convicted Andrea Yates of murder in the drowning deaths of her five sons, and she had a documented history of mental illness.
Kyra, this morning I spoke with Andrea Yates' attorney, George Parnham. He's been in touch with Deanna Laney's attorney here in Tyler, Texas. His advice was to go back and look at the history -- the medical history of her pregnancies to see if there was any suggestion of change in behavior that would suggest post-partum depression.
That would fly in the face of her friends and neighbors who say they saw a normal, loving mother. And in Texas, that would make an insanity defense very difficult -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Art, I can't help but ask about the 14-month-old Aaron. Who will take care of this little boy?
HARRIS: That is so up in the air, Kyra. Right now, we understand the father is standing very close by at that Dallas hospital, and the friends and family and church have offered all their support and prayers, and there is not going to be any dearth of support for this family among their close friends -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Art Harris, live from Tyler, Texas.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
