April 2002
Did She or Didn't She_
The Pivotal Question in the Andrea Yates Trial
By Mark I. Levy, M.D.
Andrea Pia Yates is currently on trial for the drowning murder of her young children. No one familiar with this case questions whether or not Yates committed the murders. The central legal question that will seal Yates' fate is: Did she know the wrongfulness of her actions at the time she systematically drowned each of her five children_ The jury's decision regarding her guilt in this case will pivot on the psychiatric testimony presented by both sides. Both the prosecution and the defense have retained renowned forensic psychiatrists to address this question and delineate for the jury the definition of "not guilty by reason of insanity" (NGRI). The prosecution has hired Dr. Park Dietz. Dr. Philip Resnick will consult for the defense. Dietz's testimony was successful in Jeffrey Dahmer's serial killing trial, while Resnick has studied mothers who kill their children, including Susan Smith in South Carolina. In the state of Texas, a jury can award the defendant an NGRI verdict only if the jury determines she did not comprehend the wrongfulness of the act at the time she committed it. How can anyone believe that murdering her children is NOT wrong, you ask. First, it is important to note that these murders did not come out of the blue. A review of Yatesą psychiatric history offers a picture of a woman who had suffered at times from severe depression since her early 20s. After the birth of her fourth child in 1999, Yates suffered post-partum depression, accompanied by psychosis and suicidal behavior. Her psychiatrist at the time warned that any additional babies would result in more depression and more psychosis. In fact, before she drowned her children, Yates had twice attempted suicide, only to be rescued each time by her husband. I believe that Dr. Resnick will draw a connection between Yates' previous suicide attempts and the murders of her children. It is probable that he will describe how her psychotic episodes gradually led Yates to experience what psychiatrists call "a loss of ego boundaries" (that is, Yates was unable to distinguish between where she ended and her children began) as she slid down the slope into delusional psychosis. Thus, by murdering her children, Yates may have believed that she was actually committing suicide. On the other hand, Dr. Dietz will argue that when Yates called 9-1-1 and asked repeatedly for a police officer to be sent to her home, she did indeed comprehend her wrongdoing. Dietz may suggest that if Yates was suicidal at the time of the murders, she was in fact attempting to commit "suicide by state" knowing that if she killed her children, the justice system would then send her to death row and the punishment she believed she deserved. While no one can predict the decision of a jury in such an emotionally charged capital criminal trial, I do believe that the testimonies of two eminent forensic psychiatrists will equip the jury with the information they will require in order to deliberate the case. Thus, they will be able to fulfill their arduous responsibility of determining Andrea Yates' guilt or her innocence by reason of insanity.
Mark I. Levy, M.D., is a forensic psychiatrist, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a private practice psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Tressel,
Great News for Good Old Lovers this Valentine's Day
San Francisco, CA February 7, 2002
Ever get the feeling that Valentine's Day is only for those young couples who are falling in love_ Not true, says Fari Amini, M.D., the author of A General Theory of Love. Valentine's Day is every day for couples who have maintained and nurtured long-term relationships. "As you get to know your partner more and more, the initial faith in the relationship gives way to confidence in each other," says Dr. Amini, a member of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and Society. "Closeness and intimacy comes from how well we know each other's psyche and replaces the falling in love euphoria with the realistic affirmation of a good relationship." While American society places great emphasis on independence, Dr. Amini attests that a more interdependent relationship is healthier and more functional. "People are more satisfied with their lives when they feel supported and can rely on other people," he says. "The more we get to know each other, the better we get at loving each other. The process is to be repeated and rediscovered over and over again. We never finish loving each other more."
To arrange an interview with Dr. Amini, please contact Mary E. Tressel at .
Psychoanalysts are experienced mental health professionals, already possessing advanced degrees (MD's, PhD's or MSW's) who have undergone at least eight years of psychoanalytic training.
The San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and Society was founded over 50 years ago. A nonprofit organization, it has a membership of over 200 practicing analysts and more than 80 candidates (psychoanalysts in training).
A General Theory of Love, authored by Thomas Lewis, M.D., Fari Amini, M.D., and Richard Lannon, M.D., is available at a bookstore near you.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Tressel,
Suicide Terrorists Consider Themselves an Extension of Society, Not As Individuals
San Francisco, CA April 22, 2002
Americans struggle to understand the motivations of suicide terrorists in the Middle East. One local psychoanalyst with first-hand experience offers a window into their world. Nathan M. Szajnberg, M.D., has visited Israel seven times since November 2000 to volunteer, teach and study the lives of Israeli youth. He offers the following views on the psychology of a suicide terrorist. "An individual's psyche in the Arab Middle East or elsewhere is crafted by his society," says Dr. Szajnberg. "A suicide terrorist experiences a loss of ego boundaries and views himself as an extension of his immediate family and his community, rather than as an individual. The cultural view in the Middle East is to see one's community as pure and threatened by the impurities of other cultures. "When properly trained, a suicide terrorist losses a sense of individuality and accepts and acts upon his community's need to remove the impurities that threaten it," continues Dr. Szajnberg. "Carrying out the act of suicide terrorism is culturally acceptable in this part of the world. We misconstrue those who threaten us if we judge other societies by American cultural standards, which places value on the individual and one's life."
To arrange an interview with Dr. Szajnberg, please contact Mary E. Tressel at .
Psychoanalysts are experienced mental health professionals, already possessing advanced degrees (MD's, PhD's or MSW's) who have undergone at least eight years of psychoanalytic training.
The San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and Society was founded over 50 years ago. A nonprofit organization, it has a membership of over 200 practicing analysts and more than 80 candidates (psychoanalysts in training).
