knew it was wrong. so dr. dietz testified that mrs. yates knew it was wrong, not just against the law but against society and against god. that is pretty powerful testimony. dietz took it a step further and also presented a likely inspiration for andrea yates actions. he testified that she had watched a law and order episode that week in which a woman, to be free of her responsibilities drowned her children and got away with murder. the show where you almost always watched it was law and order. and the ones she watched, i watched with her. and so i heard about that testimony. and i m like, i don t think that happened. you know? but there was nothing solid to refute dietz testimony, and after three weeks of trial the jury deliberated for just under
verdict. among the many points of argument was the questionable testimony given by the lead psychiatrist for the prosecution. there has never been an episode that is law and order, the part he testified about. we confronted him about it. he said he was mistaken. the appeals process would take months of meticulous preparation for multiple arguments. but in the end, everything hinged on the dietz testimony. we had 19 points and only one point was ever addressed. and that was point number one. and that was his testimony. and the case got reversed. so we started back to trial. i thought it was great that mrs. yates would have another opportunity to have her case heard, dr. dietz, in my view, made an honest mistake. the reversal, although a
you will be fine. patted her on the knee and then came back and heard the rumbles in the courtroom about the testimony. the law & order testimony. the sentencing phase was barely over before questions arose about the dietz testimony. spread was spreading the episode did not exist. the defense had new hope. we were at the office looking through the scripts on the internet trying to come up with titles of shows that could have reflected that a law & order show existed about a woman that drowned the kids and couldn t find any. never did find the script. suzanne o malley, one of the reporters covering the case had written episodes for law & order. she put parnham in touch with the show s creator, dick wolf. he said, i can guarantee you
gunning for a reversal of the verdict. among the many points of argument was the questionable testimony given by park dietz, lead psychiatrist for the prosecution. there s never been an episode that is aired on law & order involving the park zitz testified about. we confronted him about that he said he was mistaken. he must have been in vera. the appeals process would take months of meticulous preparation for multiple arguments but in the end everything hinged on the dietz testimony. we had 19 points of error and only one point was ever addressed and that was point number one and that was his testimony. and the case got reversed. so we started back to trial. i thought it was great that mrs. yates would have another opportunity to have her case heard. dr. dietz in my view made an
by the time we had the second trial, i think that if there was a measurable opinion, i think it had swung to, like, maybe neutral. and neutral in the sense that she should be convicted. she should go to jail but the tire behind the car and drag her through the streets crowd had gone away. after a month of testimony, the jury deliberated for 13 hours over three days. the jury after three days of deliberation wanted to see the pictures of the children. and about 30 minutes later, we had two buzzers. and they had reached a verdict. and some of the jurors were crying and the reason they asked for the pictures, they took two minutes in silence. of each child in memory of that