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HARRIS COUNTY GREEN PARTY
creating a just and sustainable future |
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folks, I am sure that most of you have heard about the Andrea Pia Yates case. Andrea is a seriously mentally ill woman who drowned her five children in 2001. The prosecutor in Harris County (Houston) tried to give her the death penalty, but she received a life sentence instead. Later, her conviction was overturned because the chief witness for the prosecution (Dr. Park Dietz) lied on the witness stand. Andrea is now being retried and the prosecutor is trying to convince the jury that Andrea is "guilty" and should be imprisoned for life (the death penalty is not allowed as a punishment in the retrial). The alternative verdict is "not guilty by reason of insanity". If she receives this sentence, she would be sent to a secure hospital for the mentally ill under the supervision of the court. She would probably be there for a very long time. Although the death penalty is no longer an option, the Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition (APYSC) which was formed in 2001 has come together again to support Andrea. We believe that the appropriate sentence for a seriously mentally ill person like Andrea is treatment in a secure hospital for the mentally ill. If she is sent to prison again, the treatment she gets there will be minimal at best and she will be incarcerated for life. Our motto is "Treatment, Not Punishment". The larger issue is that Texas and some other states still imprison and execute people who are seriously mentally ill rather than providing them treatment in a secure hospital. This is an unenlightend and uncivilized attitude. In Texas, we have thousands of mentally ill people in prison and have executed a number of people who were paranoid schizophrenic. The "bottom line" is that people who are seriously mentally ill should receive TREATMENT in a secure hospital for the mentally ill rather than being sent to prison where treatment is poor or nonexistent. And the death penalty should be TOTALLY EXCLUDED for people who are seriously mentally ill. On this coming Sunday, July 23, at 8:15 pm Central Time, the Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition will hold a candlelight vigil in Houston (exact location to be announced soon). We invite people from around the USA and the World to join us in solidarity against imprisonment for Andrea and, more generally, against incarcerating and executing people who are seriously mentally ill. You can join us in two ways: one is to come to the vigil on Sunday evening if you are in the Houston area. The second way is by "lighting a candle for Andrea" wherever you live. If you would like to send a message of solidarity to be read on Sunday evening, you can send the message to me at dpatwood@igc.org . Please feel free to forward this message to your lists. Best wishes - together we will overcome. Dave Atwood Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty |
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