dictionary

Husband, mother plead for Andrea Yates' life

Yates, with attorneys in court Tuesday, as she listens to the verdict being read.

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Andrea Yates' husband and mother both pleaded for her life Thursday in the penalty phase of her trial for drowning her five children in a bathtub, calling her "a wonderful mother."

Testimony ended Thursday after the defense called 11 witnesses to testify in an effort to spare the 37-year-old woman from execution by lethal injection. The other possible verdict is life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 40 years. (What the jury could decide)

The penalty phase of the trial will resume Friday.

Yates was convicted Tuesday on two capital murder charges in the deaths of 7-year-old Noah, 5-year-old John and 6-month-old Mary. Charges have not been filed in the deaths of Paul, 3, and Luke, 2.

MORE STORIES • Andrea Yates verdict reaction  • Life or death decision next for Yates jury    EXTRA INFORMATION In-depth: The Case of Andrea Yates      LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

If Yates receives life, she would have to serve at least 40 years before becoming eligible for parole. If sentenced to die, she would become the eighth woman on Texas' death row.

The prosecution presented no opening statement or witnesses in the penalty phase and may also defer on closing arguments.

The defendant's husband, Russell Yates, who has steadfastly supported his wife, testified as the seventh defense witness and spent only three minutes on the stand.

"She was a wonderful mother," he said, and then offered up an anecdote to illustrate his point.

"I remember little Paul," Yates said in a reference to the couple's 3-year-old son. "He had a boo-boo. Andrea put a band-aid on it. It wasn't even a cut, but she was very loving."

Karin Kennedy, Andrea's mother, said of her daughter: "She was the best mother ... I am here pleading for her life. I've just lost seven people in a year" -- a reference to her five grandchildren, late husband and Andrea.

The defense called an expert on post-partum depression in an effort to show that Yates poses no danger to society.

"Her symptoms were triggered by the birth of her children," said Dr. Lucy Puryea, a forensic psychiatrist. "If she has no more children and stays on her medication, her symptoms will remain under control."

Yates' sentence will be decided by the same jury -- eight women and four men -- that rejected a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, though the defense and prosecution have agreed that she is mentally ill. The key issue was whether she knew that what she was doing was wrong. The jury decided she did.

The prosecution has asked for the death penalty, but prosecutors said Thursday they did not plan to call any witnesses in the penalty phase of the trial.

Under Texas law, the jury must decide two questions before it can sentence Yates to death. The first is whether she will be a danger to society in the future. If the jury cannot come to a unanimous decision, Yates will be given an automatic life prison term.

If the jurors agree unanimously that she would be a future danger, then they must consider any mitigating circumstances for why her life should be spared.