With the Andrea Yates decision interrupting our scheduled discussion, me, {idiot}, and my friend from the Religious Right, {RR}, had to jump right into this one.

idiot: You've heard the verdict: Not guilty by reason of insanity. What's your reaction?

RR: Let me try to keep this a PG interview. It was the single worst, most deplorable, unspeakably wrong decision I have ever seen.

idiot: Based on the evidence, if you were a juror, you would have found her guilty?

RR: They DID find her guilty, at the first trial! Then they somehow managed to get that thrown out and re-try her.

idiot: As a matter of law, when a witness lies, it is grounds for a mistrial.

RR: As a matter of law, she CONFESSED! Doesn't that mean anything?

idiot: The court ruled she was mentally unfit to make that confession.

RR: Yeah, she was insane. Insane enough to wait till her husband left for work. Insane enough to fill a bathtub full of water, take each one of her own children, and drown them by her own hand. Yeah, I'd say she was insane.

idiot: The jury believed she was insane when she did all that.

RR: Any lawyer can pay some quack Dr. to say whatever they want. What'd she have post-pardum depression? My wife was gloomy for a few days after giving birth, she didn't go around killing anybody.

idiot: Records showed, 1} A family history of mental illness. 2} Medical reports that she was treated for depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and schizophrenia. 3} She had several instances of hallucinations, and two suicide attempts. 4} She was taking, at different times, zoloft, zyprexa, haldol, ativan and risperdol.

RR: SO WHAT? The point is, SHE KILLED HER OWN KIDS! If the law says that's okay, there's something wrong with the law.

idiot: What about Dr. Saeed, Michael Woroniecki, and her husband?

RR: That's your answer? Blame everybody else? What exactly did they do that was worse than DROWNING YOUR OWN CHILDREN?

idiot: Dr. Saeed claimed Yates' files were all messed up, and that's why he didn't have her committed. Woroniecki was their Pastor-

RR: Wait a minute... Your saying she went to church?

idiot: She was very religious. She grew up a Catholic, then, when she got married, went to Woroniecki's church.

RR: So now you're gonna blame the church for what she did?

idiot: This pastor told her Catholics were going to hell. As a woman, she was a Daughter of Eve, who he called a witch. And, he told her that if she was going to hell, she would be responsible for her kids going to hell too.

RR: What? Where is this guy?

idiot: He fled to avoid prosecution.

RR: hhh...okay, what about her husband, what did he do?

idiot: It's what he DIDN'T do: He was instructed not to leave her alone, for any reason, just two days before it happened.

RR: So...well, maybe other people didn't help the situation, but still, those were her hands holding those kids under water. That doesn't get her off the hook. She should fry.

Commercial break.