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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview with Andrew Sheldon
Aired February 17, 2002 - 11:15 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A high profile murder case begins tomorrow in Houston. Andrea Yates' trial is being held in Houston, Texas and she's accused of drowning her five children in a bathtub last summer. She's charged in three of those deaths.
Yates faces the death penalty if convicted of Capital Murder. Her attorneys say she's innocent by reason of insanity. A jury of eight women and four men will hear the arguments on the Yates case. How likely is it that everyone on the jury is truly impartial? And what is the precedent for cases where the defendant has pleaded mental illness?
Joining us this morning to take on those questions is trial consultant, Andrew Sheldon. Thanks for joining us this morning.
ANDREW SHELDON, TRIAL CONSULTANT: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, it's the effort by both the prosecution and defense to try to seat an impartial, unbiased jury. But in this case, it's such a highly-publicized case, how might the advantage to do that, I mean is it believable that given the publicity, given the location, that no one has an opinion already set in stone among the jurors?
SHELDON: They certainly have done more than many trials to get to that point, Fredricka. They have given the jurors all questionnaires. They've sworn them in at least several times, and if people's oaths to do the right thing have any effect, I think they can expect to have a largely unbiased jury.
WHITFIELD: How much of an impact do you think it might have, given the fact of the eight women and the four men? Several of the jurors have psychology degrees, and several even admitted to having seen a psychologist.
SHELDON: Well, I think to the extent that this case, and whether they'll find her guilty or not revolves around the issue of whether you, in fact, believe that psychology is real, that human mental illness is a problem, and a real problem. The fact that these folks have studied psychology indicate that they may be more inclined to accept that belief.
WHITFIELD: And that really is the root of this argument. Andrea Yates admitted to the police when they came to her home that she drowned, that she killed her children. Yet at the same time, her defense is saying that she certainly had a history of mental illness.
All of these things are going to be so closely examined. She was charged with the murders of three out of the five children. Why not all five?
SHELDON: Well, I think the prosecutor really wanted to save something, in case she was found not guilty by reason of insanity, he could come back at some later time. Because as you're aware, there is not statute of limitations on Murder, and prosecute the next two. The fact that he chose the older children, the older two boys, and the youngest child indicate that he is picking the ones that he thinks will be most egregious to jurors.
WHITFIELD: In this case, the reason of insanity, that is the plea, what is the ratio of success when using this as a defense?
SHELDON: Very small. Very small. It's not often used, and when it is used, the numbers are very small, so they can not anticipate success, just statistically speaking.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well opening statements begin tomorrow. It took them quite a while to seat a jury that both sides could finally agree on, eight women, four men. Tomorrow opening statements begin. What are you hoping to hear from both sides tomorrow, in order to get the jurors off on the right foot?
SHELDON: I think that the opening statement from the prosecution would be that this may be a very, very difficult case for the jurors, maybe excruciating at times, but they need to listen carefully to the facts. They need to be able to distinguish true mental illness from some sort of potential religious belief, for example. I think the defense would be clearly presenting as much mental illness, mental health evidence as they can, in asking the jurors to keep an open mind and to listen carefully.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, Andrew Sheldon, for helping us understand what is likely to be a very closely watched trial about to go underway in Houston, beginning tomorrow with opening statements. Thanks very much.
SHELDON: Thank you, Fredricka.
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