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As a psychiatrist and as a European, I feel deeply shocked and disappointed with the guilty verdict in the case of Andrea Yates. This (potentially) great country once again has shown that it reserves the “pursuit of happiness” only for the strong and healthy. There is no room for the weak and sick; they have to be locked away or hanged on the next tree instead of receiving the appropriate care and treatment, which in the case of Yates would most likely have prevented the tragic death of the five children.
The fact that the jurors deliberated for only a few hours shows the fear of our society toward the mentally ill patient. They just wanted to get rid of the “devil; the killer mom.”
It was a sad day for humanity.
