Andrea Yates Case Study Criminal Psychology

The case of Andrea Yates demonstrates just how important it is for the sentencing of a criminal to be accordingly to their psychological situation. Andrea suffered even when in prison for she was not receiving the appropriate help, as seen before, she went without eating. “The public remains mystified by psychiatry, and no amount of empirical evidence can dissuade many from believing that psychiatrists have some insight as to why people do crazy things. The essence of this view is to believe that, if people act in a manner which deifies conventional actions, especially if conventional criminal actions is flouted, there must be an outside cause, perhaps an illness which forces them to do what they did” (Vatz, 2006). Andrea Yates was suffering