Paper Topic:
Opinion about Andrea Yates
June 20 , 2001 Andrea Yates shocked a nation as news stations aired stories proclaiming that she had taken the lives of her five children As details unfolded over the next few months and stories would surface that revealed Mrs . Yates had a long history of mental illness . Numerous people have admitted guilt , expressing their shame and apologies for assuming the children were safe Opinions of many believe that Russell Yates simply looked the other way , allowing his wife to have control and ultimately end the lives of his children . His character was
consistently scrutinized over the course of the trial , only to be defended by family members . Members of his family and those close to the family held fast to Mr . Yates following the instructions of the medical professionals involved with Andrea 's medical care . As most individuals rely on the medical professionals to provided health care instructions , Russell Yates did the same . His only fault was to trust the wrong doctor - psychiatrist Dr . Mohammad Saeed
Perhaps the most disastrous decision of Dr . Saeed took place on June 18 , 2001 . Two days prior to drowning her children Andrea Yates had visited Saeed and the doctor described her condition as increasingly declining ' then sent her home . Russell Yates had no choice but to trust the doctor 's wisdom , after all Saeed was the professional trained to understand mental health (Cohen ) It might be said that this was just a slight mistake in judgment or that the doctor may have assumed that the situation at hand wasn 't that serious but as history revealed itself the world would find out that Dr . Saeed made a number of bad decisions in Yates ' case
In May , Yates was admitted to the Devereux Treatment Network in League City , Texas where she was under the treatment of Dr . Saeed . The charts dated specifically on the day of her release , May 14 , give details of her state of mind . The medical charts reveal that on the very day of release she was placed on suicide watch and refused food and didn 't speak . The pages went on to divulge that she was described as somber ' and flat . Only a few days prior , May 11 Yates was described as preoccupied ' and unkempt (Cohen
During Saeed 's testimony at Andrea Yates ' trial Saeed revealed to the jury that the patient was also sent to group therapy for drug and alcohol abusers . While attending the group sessions Yates was described as participating by listening (Cohen ) Even prosecutors questioned the good doctor - why would someone with a mental illness be treated for drug and alcohol abuse when there was no history ? Unfortunately , there was no answer (Cohen
When questioning Yates ' release from the psychiatric institution Dr . Saeed admitted he based his decision upon what the patient had told him . Again the doctor 's actions question the quality of care Mrs . Yates was receiving from Saeed , why would a professionally trained psychiatrist make a decision based upon the words of his patient...
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