How much more insane would Yates have to be?

How much more insane would Yates have to be?
EDITOR:
While thinking about the outcome of the trial of Andrea Yates, I have not been as disappointed in the failure of the legal system since prejudiced jurors in California found O.J. Simpson "not guilty" of two murders which he obviously and clearly did commit.
Now in the Yates case, we see a Texas jury which remains unconvinced that a mother who drowns not one, but five, of her children in a bathtub is undoubtedly insane. One wonders what kind of act Yates would have had to do in order to persuade the jury that she was insane? If she would have sliced up her five dead children with a butcher knife after drowning them, would that have been sufficient evidence to prove her insanity?
In my way of thinking, drowning five children in a bathtub and leaving one child floating in the water is so clearly proof of insanity that no reasonable person should debate the matter. The murderous act was itself proof of insanity.
One also wonders what possible benefit could come to the state from Yates' conviction? Do the jurors think their verdict will deter other insane parents from drowning their five children in the future?
Andrea Yates was clearly and unquestionably insane at the time of the murders, and her hideous act is proof of the fact. A serious miscarriage of justice has been done by Texas jurors, who brought their astonishing verdict after deliberating only three and a half hours. Our laws need to be changed so that clearly insane actions can be surely recognized as such.
STEVEN K. BROWN
Columbiana
Sentences motivated only be wickedness of crime
EDITOR:
This is in response to the article about Judge Krichbaum sentencing two young males to 85 years in prison for the brutal beating of William Sovak, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Luchisan.
How dare the criminals' families claim the sentence was unfair and racially motivated "because the defendants are black and the victims are white"? Doesn't that then imply that the crime must have been racially motivated because the victims were white and the criminals were black? Is James Goins' uncle inadvertently admitting that the victims were attacked because they were white? Would these two young black males have so brutally attacked a handicapped, elderly black gentleman?
Judging by their attitude toward their fellow human beings, it seems reasonable to assume that had James Goins and Chad Barnette not been put in prison, in the not-too-distant future their families would have been "visiting" them at the cemetery instead of behind bars. At least this way they'll still get to see them.
NORA O'CONNOR
Youngstown
Trustees did exactly what they said they would do
EDITOR:
For once, we had candidates uphold their promise after they became elected officials. The three Austintown trustees, all just elected this past November, all promised to enact Home Rule during their campaigns. I watched them on local cable 19 specifically to see if they would do the right thing for Austintown and let the residents control their own community. Thank you Ditzler, Pritchard and Edwards for being men of your word.
CLARICE BATES
Austintown