Jury Showed Excerpts That May Contradict Psychiatrist’s Opinion
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This jury was asked to decide if Yates is a criminal or insane.

The prosecutors’ case was based for the most part on testimony from a psychiatrist who interviewed Yates for 15 hours. Dr. Michael Welner testified that Yates was able to tell right from wrong, and that she gave contradictory statements when asked if Satan forced her to kill her children.

Asked by ABC News if Yates was tormented and compelled by Satan, Welner said, “The evidence doesn’t support it.” But excerpts from the interview seen by the jury and obtained exclusively by ABC News seem to support the defense’s argument that Yates believed she was compelled by Satan to kill her children — and that under Texas law, was legally insane.

From the transcript obtained by ABC News:

Welner: “Were you being driven by Satan to drown your own children?”

Yates: “I guess in a way I was, in that their destiny was not good. They were not heaven-bound.”

The jury considered excerpts like that in making the decision to acquit Yates.

“She needs help. I think she’ll need treatment for the rest of her life,” the jury foreman said.
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