Andrea Yates Story on Biography

[greek_chorus]

Good god there better be a special place in hell for Rusty Yates. I'm watching the Andrea Yates Story on Biography right now and every other word out of that man's mouth is revolting. It's a shame that this is a special from 2003. I can feel my blood boiling! It's really unfortunate that the writers and producers don't know anything about the Quiverfull movement. They spent about two minutes talking about religion and only her friend seems to be concerned about Andrea's submission. Hindsight being what it is, the outcome really isn't surprising. What is surprising is that it hasn't happened in other Quiverfull households.

[rezski44]

Rusty has at least 1 child with his new wife.

[greek_chorus]

I remember reading about that awhile ago and thinking it reminded me of the end of a horror film when the demon gets away and starts over with a new host. It's interesting to see how my perception of this case has changed over time. At the time I thought it was an awful tragedy due to PPP and I gave Rusty a pass. My mother was smarter she blamed Rusty, religion and patriarchy from the get go.

[Antigone]

Oh yes. I saw this on today too, would have watched it but had to follow through on a promise to take Sevy to the library. I wish they would have taken a closer look at the family situation but it seems too "normal" though- mom staying at home with the kids while father goes to work, etc....

bleh. :(

[Jana814]

Does anyone if it would on again. I also blam Rusty yet people felt bad for him.

[NoneandDoneinCali]

This story both fascinates and repels me. It was such a preventable tragedy - all the warning signs were there. People really don't just "snap" most of the time. Thinking of those little children screaming "Mommy! Mommy! No!" (I read that she stated the older son heard a younger one being drowned, though he didn't realize what was happening) is unthinkable. That poor woman, living with what she's done. And her asshole husband, receiving martyr status while blithely starting a new family. Disgusting.

Ya'll are right ... it DOES sound like the post-credit scene in a horror movie that sets up the sequel.

I'm going to go barf now (well ... not LITERALLY). This case always makes me feel sick.

[laura oz]

I never understood why he got such an outpouring of sympathy. When this story broke I knew nothing about the Quiverfull movement, but I do remember reading a story at the time that said she quit taking her meds after leaving the hospital so she could either get pregnant or breastfeed and her husband was fine with it. I was just a teenager at the time, but that didn't sound like a very loving or concerned husband to me. It was about that time I started figuring out that he was full of bullshit and was not just equally, but in my opinion, more responsible than his wife for the terrible outcome of his family. He isn't a victim. His self -centerdness and ego was directly responsible for the death of those children because he knew she was in no fit mental state to make any kind of medical decisions about medication or about birthing another arrow for his fucking quiver.

[Burris]

I read a psychiatric analysis of Andrea Yates as prepared by Dr. Park Deitz for the area District Attorney’s office. I honestly don’t believe, on the basis of that report, that Yates was of sound mind when she drowned her children. Judging by what Dr. Deitz has to say, it seems Yates was suffering from severe post-partum psychosis – a condition brought about, for the second time, by the birth of her fifth child. She had been advised after a previous birth that the creation of more children could endanger both her and those around her. She and her husband, Rusty Yates, disregarded that medical advice.

Deitz’s biographical sketch of Andrea Yates’ marriage to Rusty makes it pretty clear that Mr. Yates actually bears a significant portion of responsibility for the crimes of his wife. Rather than landing in prison for his own gross negligence, however, Rusty lives on as a free man – and he has since remarried and produced another child. I know whereof I speak, and Rusty Yates has no shame.

To me, Laura Yates is no different in kind than those women who seek out imprisoned murderers for the sake of romantic companionship.

[already hungover]

I recommended it in another thread, but I recently read Are You There Alone? The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates by Suzanne O'Malley. It was an excellent and engaging read, and despite the rather inflammatory subtitle, was fairly evenhanded in its approach. I feel fucking terrible for Andrea. So many times someone could have stepped in and nobody did. The poor woman picked bald spots on her head because she thought the devil had marked her with "666" under her hair, and still Rusty did nothing but get her pregnant again and again.

The part that I find most horrifying about the whole situation is that now, when Andrea is medicated properly and not actively psychotic, she understands what she did, knows that it wasn't something that God wanted her to do, and has to live with that. I have a lot of difficulty wrapping my head around that particular point.

Oh and also Rusty's a huge douche who seems to have gotten over his role in the tragedy and moved on with his shiny happy Jesusy life pretty quickly.

[Burris]

The part that I find most horrifying about the whole situation is that now, when Andrea is medicated properly and not actively psychotic, she understands what she did, knows that it wasn't something that God wanted her to do, and has to live with that.

I’m not sure Andrea Yates had the wherewithal at the time of her crimes to understand right from wrong – and now, as you say, she has to live with the clear knowledge that she committed a crime so terrible that even the slightest glimmer of self-worth and dignity is almost irretrievable.

The only thing I can say is I hope she keeps herself busy and finds some positive purpose in her continued existence. A crime of that nature can never be undone – but the criminal can still be rehabilitated and brought back into the fold of humanity.

As to Rusty, however – well, I don’t hold out any hope at all for his redemption.

[already hungover]

I’m not sure Andrea Yates had the wherewithal at the time of her crimes to understand right from wrong – and now, as you say, she has to live with the clear knowledge that she committed a crime so terrible that even the slightest glimmer of self-worth and dignity is almost irretrievable.

The only thing I can say is I hope she keeps herself busy and finds some positive purpose in her continued existence. A crime of that nature can never be undone – but the criminal can still be rehabilitated and brought back into the fold of humanity.

As to Rusty, however – well, I don’t hold out any hope at all for his redemption.

I agree with you about her mindset at the time of the crime. I don't think that she was mens sana when she killed her children, as indicated by a lot of the psychological interviews from afterward, and that's why it's so incomprehensible to me that she has to live with it now. I just don't understand how a person can come to terms with that.

Rusty is irredeemable, but fortunately for him, I don't think he believes that he's done anything wrong. I don't know how he sleeps at night.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Good god there better be a special place in hell for Rusty Yates. I'm watching the Andrea Yates Story on Biography right now and every other word out of that man's mouth is revolting. It's a shame that this is a special from 2003. I can feel my blood boiling! It's really unfortunate that the writers and producers don't know anything about the Quiverfull movement. They spent about two minutes talking about religion and only her friend seems to be concerned about Andrea's submission. Hindsight being what it is, the outcome really isn't surprising. What is surprising is that it hasn't happened in other Quiverfull households.

I don't live far from Clear Lake. One of my neighbors attends the church that paid for and hosted the funeral services for the 5 Yates children. After the service, Rusty Yates officially joined the church.

He swore up and down to the press that he would always defend and support Andrea, and that he would never divorce her. Within a couple of weeks after the funeral, my neighbor says that Rusty started showing up to services with his new girlfriend. She and the rest of the congregation were disgusted by his behavior, but didn't ask him and his lady friend to leave the church.

I don't know if this girlfriend was the woman he is currently married to, but I can say from the get-go that Rusty Yates has always repulsed me. Nothing was *ever* his fault, and as soon as it became convenient (about 5 minutes after the tragedy), he dumped her.

[Burris]

I just don't understand how a person can come to terms with that.

Alcohol - at least for the first while. After that, especially in Yates' case, where she lacks access to mind-numbing drugs, then through attempts to make the world at least a little bit better a place through positive social actions.

What I don't get is how Rusty can live with the massive part he played in the murders of his children. I guess it's super easy for a guy who thinks he can do no wrong:

'Oh, I'll always stand beside my wife - until someone dumb enough to sleep with me comes along so I can have a new thrall on whom to sire the children that are my right as a man.’

Laura Yates, you stupid bimbo...

[E Street Fan]

I never understood why he got such an outpouring of sympathy. When this story broke I knew nothing about the Quiverfull movement, but I do remember reading a story at the time that said she quit taking her meds after leaving the hospital so she could either get pregnant or breastfeed and her husband was fine with it. I was just a teenager at the time, but that didn't sound like a very loving or concerned husband to me. It was about that time I started figuring out that he was full of bullshit and was not just equally, but in my opinion, more responsible than his wife for the terrible outcome of his family. He isn't a victim. His self -centerdness and ego was directly responsible for the death of those children because he knew she was in no fit mental state to make any kind of medical decisions about medication or about birthing another arrow for his fucking quiver.

QFT... and not only did Rusty Yates continue to impregnate a woman he KNEW was a threat to herself and others, he left Andrea alone for an hour that morning after he left for work, and before his mother came to watch her! Rusty is as guilty as if he drowned those children himself.

I feel sorry for Andrea. I've always wondered if her POS husband "persuaded" her to stop taking her medication in order to get pregnant again. She had a history of major depression and suicidal ideation before she even met him. He had to know she was vulnerable.

[hoipolloi]

What I don't get is how Rusty can live with the massive part he played in the murders of his children.

It's probably easier to do when you attend fundie fuckwad churches that preach the patriarchy + quiverfull bullshit & push it on their members.

Hope there's a special place in hell just for Rusty Yates. He deserves eternal torment.

[Burris]

It's probably easier to do when you attend fundie fuckwad churches that preach the patriarchy + quiverfull bullshit & push it on their members.

Hope there's a special place in hell just for Rusty Yates. He deserves eternal torment.

Hmmm. Well, I don't hope anyone suffers forever, but I do hope that man gets a 360-degree eyeful of his part in that crime when the Judgment comes. I hope he realizes one day not only that he's guilty, but just how guilty he actually is.

[punkiepie]

Rusty has at least 1 child with his new wife.

Why in the world would anyone marry this asshat? And what kind of person, knowing now what we all know, has children with a despicable asshat like Rusty Yates? Actually, asshat is way too kind.

[ADoyle90815]

Why in the world would anyone marry this asshat? And what kind of person, knowing now what we all know, has children with a despicable asshat like Randy Yates? Actually, asshat is way too kind.

I also think that the person who married this asshat is one of those women who have relationships with convicted murderers, only in this case, he never spent a day in prison.

[Shasta ODonegal]

When The Tennessean covered this Rusty Yates, who was from Hermitage, TN was evidently a BMOC at his church. Former classmates and female members of his church cooed to a reporter about how handsome he was, that Andrea didn't deserve him, and they wouldn't mind hooking up once he was free of the whole situation. It should be noted that this was well into the trial that this story ran.

[CelticGoddess]

Does anyone if it would on again. I also blam Rusty yet people felt bad for him.

I also blame Rusty. When Andrea was on trial, I was the only person at work who had any sympathy at all for Andrea. Everyone else was like "she deserves the death penalty" or "let her burn". Shit like that like. No one was willing to accept that she was mentally ill, really had NO clue what she was doing (beyond "saving" her children from the fires of hell) and that Rusty was culpable. It was "Poor Rusty" this and "Poor Rusty" that.

I am not saying that Andrea should get off scott free. She needed treatment and the psych facility is where she needs to be. But Rusty sure as hell should have been held responsible for his part.

[lizziesmom]

If there is a hell, there is a special spot there for Rusty Yates.

[Lillybee]

Didn't he have Andrea live in a converter bus with 4 children at one point? That makes me worry about Esther.

I remember the smile of one of the boys. It seemed so forced. I hope that he didn't follow Michael Pearl's beleifs on displiine.

[idonthaveajname]

I'm repulsed he found someone else to marry him and have kids with him. WTF is wrong with people?

[Jana814]

If there is a hell, there is a special spot there for Rusty Yates.

Agree!

[Jana814]

I'm repulsed he found someone else to marry him and have kids with him. WTF is wrong with people?

Same here!