St. Louis Post-Dispatch

January 11, 2002

ANDREA YATES IS GUILTY: SHE'S ALSO INSANE.

 By Molly Ivins

Andrea Yates -- the Houston mother who drowned her five children in the bathtub -- is the poster woman for a long-needed change in the law. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is now indicating that he may not seek the death penalty after all, but will go for a life sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.

This woman needs to be put in a mental hospital, not put to death or in prison for life. She's clearly insane -- almost as insane as the Texas criminal justice system. Yates has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Well, she's guilty. She killed her five kids and then called the police to report that she'd done it. Nothing can make her not guilty of that hideous act, but she is not a responsible person. The system needs a plea of "guilty but insane." Insanity is not cured by putting people in a Texas prison. It's not good for those with mental health problems. What are we saying by prosecuting this woman? That we don't think there is such a thing as mental illness? Exactly how benighted do we want to prove we are in the year 2002? Yates had a history of post-partum psychotic depression and had tried to kill herself twice. In 1999, when she had four children, doctors told her and her husband she should not have another because of the psychosis.

Two weeks before the murders, she was taken off anti-psychotic medication and put on anti-depressants. She went downhill, and her husband begged her doctors to put her back on the stronger meds. She was described as being in a "zombie-like state" at the beginning of her incarceration and has since been put back on Haldol, the anti-psychotic often prescribed for those who hear voices or are thinking delusionally.

Do people think she would be "getting away" with murder?" Do they think she's faking her illness? What possible solution to this tragedy can be offered by the criminal "justice" system?

While the Yates trial plays itself out, a new film about mental illness, "A Beautiful Mind" starring Russell Crowe, is having an extraordinary impact on those who see it. It is a biography of John Forbes Nash Jr., who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1994 for work he had done as young man before paranoid schizophrenia cost him about 30 years of his life.

For a long period, Nash was the "town nut" in Princeton, N.J., a demented character familiar to everyone. Nash, extraordinarily enough, recovered from schizophrenia, which is quite rare.

I have no idea whether Yates will ever recover -- certainly not from having murdered her own children. But Yates is not the one facing a test, this society is. Can we do no better than the superstitious medieval tradition of burning the witch at the stake?

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The midterm paper is a 4-5 page typed double-spaced paper (over 1,000 words). It is due during class on March 16th.

The purpose of the midterm paper is to demonstrate familiarity with and the ability to apply at least two of the theories covered in two different chapters of the Lanier and Henry book, and two of the models of justice. You will be graded on the basis of grammar, structuring of the paper, accuracy of your description of the theories and models of justice, and how well you compare and contrast both the theories and the models of justice that correspond with them.

You should select a recent crime event that has been covered in one or more newspaper or magazine articles. Please include a copy of any articles you use. Usually crime events that are at the trial stage prove to have more details and will make it easier to identify two different theories and models to apply. You should then choose 2 crime theories from 2 different chapters of the Lanier and Henry book that will each provide a deeper understanding of the causes of the crime your investigating and the model of justice that should result. Be sure to review the "basic assumptions" section of each chapter to get ideas about which theories to use. The best papers usually have a strong sense of conflict in terms of both theoretical explanations of the crime and appropriate models of justice. One possible way to proceed is to compare the approach taken by the prosecution and that taken by the defense. What theories are they utilizing and what models of justice are they attempting to apply? You might also consider the use of macro level theories and the Social Model if they seem appropriate to the case you’re interested in.

Your paper should have an introduction in which you briefly describe the crime event and the two theories and two models you’re going to use in general terms, and why they’re significant. This is where you can lay out your central conflict and make some kind of thesis statement. Next, you should describe the two theories and apply them to the specifics of your crime event, and then compare and contrast the theories. Next, you should compare and contrast the models of justice that are relevant. Finally, you should have a conclusion that restates the central points of your comparisons, and the implications of your analysis.

Papers that are turned in on time and receive a grade below an A- can be revised and resubmitted on March 30th. This paper is worth 25% of your grade.

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Soc 51.4 Criminology

Midterm Assignment Guidelines

The goal of the paper is to demonstrate your knowledge of the theories and models and to apply them to a concrete situation. You should treat this as something of a midterm take home exam. Therefore, be sure to adequately define the theories and models you use as part of the paper. Do not assume that the reader knows anything about them.  

You do not need a bibliography. However, if you use quotes from either the textbook or newspaper/magazine articles, you must use quotation marks. In addition, quotes from the text, should be followed by the page number in parenthesis. Be sure to attach any articles you rely on for the content of your paper.

Generally the best papers follow the outline provided below. This is not a requirement, but merely helpful advice.

        I.      Introduction – introduce the case and the models and theories you will be using to analyze it.

     II.      Background details about the case

   III.      Define the first theory

  IV.      Apply the first theory to your case

     V.      Define the first model

  VI.      Apply the first model

VII.      Define the second theory

VIII.      Apply the second theory

  IX.      Define the second model

     X.      Apply the second model

  XI.      Compare and contrast the two different approaches (models and theories)

XII.      Conclusion

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Final Paper

Your final paper will be a research project of 8 -10 double spaced pages with 1 inch margins and 12 point type (approximately 2,500-3,000 words). You may write about any topic in the area of criminal justice: criminology, policing, or corrections, subject to the approval of the professor. You are expected to use at least four academic sources, one of which must be one of the books assigned for class. Academic sources are “peer-reviewed” books or journal articles. Newspaper and magazine articles and web sites are not acceptable as academic sources, but may be used in addition. Academic journal articles obtained on the web are acceptable. The best sources of books and articles are CUNY + (books) and EBSCO (articles).

Your paper must have a criminological research question, which should be clearly stated in the introduction of the paper. It should also contain both empirical and theoretical elements. This means that there must be facts about events in the real world (empirical) and general principles/theories about how the world works (theories). As with the midterm paper, you want to show how the subject you are interested in can be thought about in a general way. The best papers tend to have a conflict in them, such as describing two competing theories relating to a specific issue.

Accurate grammar: punctuation and sentence structure are important. If necessary have someone read your paper for clarity and grammar before submitting it. You should have a complete bibliography and note references throughout the paper. You should use the citation style used in the Lanier and Henry book.

You will be graded based on clarity of writing, accurate use of theoretical and empirical sources, and how well you ask and answer your research question.

A paper topic of a setence or two must be submitted on November 8th. It will be reviewed and returned on April 1st with comments

A research question is due on April 22nd and will be returned with comments and suggestions of sources on April 27th. We will continue to discuss the papers in class.

An annotated bibliography is due on May 4th. This bibliography should include at least 3 of your academic sources with a paragraph or two detailing how you will utilize the material in each source for your paper.

Final papers will only be returned with comments if you submit two copies and either arrange to pick it up over the break or provide a self addressed stamped envelope. If you would like to know your grade, please attach your email address to the paper. Folders, bindings, and cover sheets are not necessary, and will be discarded. Just staple the paper and type your full name across the top of the first page, along with a title.

The final paper is due by 5 PM on May 21st. Papers should be left in the Department office. If it is closed, you may slide it under my office door (3101 James).

Citations

When citing a book or article, source references are to be identified at the appropriate point in the text by the last name of the author, year of publication and the page number where needed. Identify subsequent citations of the same source in the same way as in the first case. Do not use "ibid", "op,cit" or "loc.cit." The following examples may help clarify this:

a. If the author's name is in the text, follow it with the year in parentheses as in.... Domhoff (1979)...

b. If the author's name is not in the text, insert it in parentheses with the last name and year separated by a coma as in ...(Domhoff, 1979)

c. Page numbers follow the year of publication after a colon as in: (Domhoff, 1979: 83). This is useful after a direct quotation or citing a specific idea from the text.

d. Separate a series of references with semicolons and enclose them within a single pair of parentheses as in ...(Domhoff, 1979; Webber, 1992; Turpin, 1990; Edwards, 1989)...This is useful when citing a number of sources where an idea has been used before.

Footnotes are for additional thoughts on a subject, not citation information

Bibliography
All entries should be in alphabetical order. Do not list them with numbers. Here's how to do it, with some examples.

1) Books, Articles, and Newspapers

For a book: author's name/year published/book title/publisher, e.g.:

Padilla, Felix M. 1992. The Gang as an American Enterprise. New Brunswick,NJ:Rutgers University Press.

For an article: author's name/year published/article title/journal/volume number/edition number/pages, e.g.:

Bulhe, Mary Jo. 1980. "Politics and Culture in Women's History", Feminist Studies, 6(1):37-42.

For an article in an edited book: author's name/year published/article title/editor's name/book title/publisher, e.g.

Klatch, Rebecca. 1991. "Complexities of Conservatism: How Conservatives Understand the World". In Alan Wolfe (ed) America at Century's End. Berkeley:University of California Press.

For an article in a newspaper or news-magazine - author's name/year published/article title/newspaper/date the article appeared, e.g.:

Stark, Steven. 1987. "Housekeeping Today: Just a Lick and a Promise." New York Times, August 20.

2) Web Sources

Be cautious about using Internet sources - not everything on the net has intellectual credibility.

For individual works: author/editor. Year. Title of page, Title of overall site. Web address/URL.

Radelet, Michael L. 2002. “Post-Furman Botched Executions,” Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/botched.html.

If there is no specific author, use the title of the web site:

Death Penalty Information Center. 2002. “Innocence and the Death Penalty,” Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innoc.html.

Extra Credit

You may watch one of the movies listed below and write a 2 page typed essay about how the film is related to something we have discussed/read about in class. Be as specific as possible about how it is related to the class. The extra credit will be applied to your class participation grade. This assignment is due with the final paper. No exceptions!

The films are listed in no particular order. I recommend going to a large video store or video library and reading the descriptions on the boxes to help guide your choice. If you watch something you have trouble writing about, watch another one.

Giuliani Time

Fun with Dick and Jane

Tsotsi

Dark Blue

Clockwork Orange

Wall Street

City of God

China Syndrome

Training Day

New Jersey Drive

Shawshank Redemption

The Glass Shield

Serpico

Fort Apache the Bronx

Capturing the Friedmans

KIDS

Amores Perros

Rebel Without a Cause

Raising Victor Vargas

Badlands

Pixote

The Constant Gardener