Andrea Yates verdict - huh?

[gekko]

Did she do it? Absolutely, there's no doubt about this whatsoever, ergo she is guilty. The question of guilt (imho) begins and ends with "did they do it?" Mental, emotional, financial, etc... state at the time of the crime are extraneous and irrelevant factors in detirmining "guilt"

That's an oversimplification to the point of absurdity.

If Chuck Norris attacks me bare handed, and I shoot him to defend myself, that would be legitimate self defence. If I attack Chuck with a baseball bat and he snaps my neck, that would not be allowable self defence because Chuck Norris could easily have disarmed me without killing me.

Of course, there is also the question of what exaclty someone is guilty of. The law accounts for different degrees of murder, as well as degrees of manslaughter, because "did X kill Y" does not tell the story.

gekko