(no subject)

Andrea Yates was acquitted by reason of insanity today. She will spend a great chunk of the rest of her life in a mental institution.

My hunch as to why she was acquitted? Part was increased knowledge about postpartum psychosis. But an equally big part was that the prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty. (They could not seek the death penalty, since a jury had refused to give her a death sentence in the first trial.) Why should that matter?

Because "death-qualified" juries tend to vote guilty, that's why.

Just one more reason the capital punishment system in this country is immoral.