Schizophrenia and Society - Research Paper Example

An overturned conviction, of course, led to a new trial and a new outcome based on the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which is productively examined through case studies like that of Andrea Yates, who successfully overturned and overcame her murder conviction by appealing to the insanity plea. The extent to which this insanity plea is justified and rightly applied in the Yates case is the subject of some debate. Andrea Yates, in fact, had a long history of mental illness prior to the murder of her children.

She attempted suicide in 1999, was prescribed Zoloft (an antidepressant), but did not take the prescription medicine. She reportedly developed delusions and hallucinations in a manner that is consistent with postpartum disorders as described in the DSM (Denno, 2003, p. 29). Her family demonstrated a history of mental illness, including a brother with bipolar disorder and a father who suffered with depression. In 2000, Andrea became pregnant with her fifth child during a period when her mental problems seemed to lessen.

However, four months after the birth of that child Mary, Rusty tried to hospitalize Andrea because of her catatonia, refusal to eat, and her hair plucking. These hallucinations and delusions continued to grow stronger and more severe until June, when the murders actually occurred. Her abnormal behavior was variable, however, and unpredictable even to her husband (Denno, 2003, p. 43). Psychiatric disorders can affect anyone, given that they are the result of an interaction between one’s genetic makeup and one’s environment.

With a family history of mental illness, Andrea Yates most likely was predisposed to a psychiatric disorder by her biology. However, her behavior and her environment served to reinforce that behavior over time. Her behaviors are suggestive of schizophrenia, which refers to the delusions and hallucinations she suffered. She repeatedly reported by possessed by the devil, hearing voices, being a bad mother, and seeing people being stabbed (Denno, 2003, pp. 30-34). Delusional and hallucinatory states were often accompanied by periods of catatonia and unresponsiveness, which often led her husband to hospitalize her for treatment.

If Andrea Yates did indeed suffer from schizophrenia, her case is unique insofar as her symptoms developed very late in life and in response to the birth of her children, which is also unusual in schizophrenic cases. The treatments that Andrea Yates received in the time leading up to the drowning of her children were a mix of pharmacological and counseling solutions, depending on Yates’ symptoms at the time. On June 18, for instance, two days before she would kill her children, Yates was off Haldol (a treatment for schizophrenia) and was receiving medication from her psychiatrist Dr.

Mohammed Saeed. In the month prior to that, Andrea Yates was catatonic and unresponsive to counseling treatment. Many of the treatments that Saeed offered Yates were based on Rusty Yates’ responses to his questions while Andrea Yates remained uncooperative. Saeed, during the trial of Andrea Yates, responded to criticisms of his judgment by adding that Andrea herself never showed psychotic symptoms, never described her torment, and she ultimately denied even having hallucinations and delusions.

These unproductive sessions were punctuated by seemingly positive and negative turns in Yates’