George Parnham Quotations

We want to save ourselves as much of his future as we can.

Whenever this case goes to trial, be it March the 20th or some time this summer, we'll be prepared and ready to go. I think neither side will kick and scream if there is some additional time made available to prepare. It is going to be a lengthy trial. It is going to be complex.

She would gladly forgo this process, ... but, you know, the right thing needs to be done here, and we're going to do it.

She's doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances, which I know you understand are extreme.

She is in the very best possible place, all things considered, at this time and in this place under these circumstances.

She needs to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Neither side, and I have said this all along, wants to go through the horror of revisiting this issue. We believe that she needs security. We believe that she needs mental health care and she needs to be in a location that addresses both.

Obviously a plea bargain isnt an option, as long as there's nothing on the table to address the mental health issues that are so apparent with Andrea, ... Given that, the only other option is to go to trial. I dont believe there will be any meaningful negotiations in this matter short of going before a jury.

Only one mental health expert testified that Andrea knew that what she was doing was wrong, and that was the celebrated Park Dietz. Every other mental health expert ... testified that she was either incapable of knowing what she was doing was wrong or did not know what she was doing was wrong.

I have grave, grave concerns about Andrea's safety.

I have bittersweet feelings about (the remarriage). I told Rusty a number of years ago that, obviously, there has to come a point in where he gets on with his life. Andrea has to get on with hers.

If this woman doesn't meet the test of insanity in this state, then nobody does. We might as well wipe it from the books.

If the Supreme Court acknowledges that mental illness is real and literally affects the cognition of the (defendant) ... I think that will have far-reaching impact across the country.

We may as well wipe it off the books.

It appears that this case is going to be headed for a jury trial, but my offer will always remain open.

I think both sides can use extra time. This case is extremely important, obviously to Andrea Yates. There are also issues of mental health and the criminal justice system that take center stage and we want, certainly, to be as well-prepared and as effective as possible in presenting these issues to the jury in defense of our client.

I think that speaks volumes to what this jury should do.

I think that we will achieve our goal and we will have the necessary funds to post the bond in this case. It's not going to be done today. But the signs are looking very, very positive in that regard.

I think mental illness is still obviously not understood, not appreciated and I hope that we will be able to save her life.

We are disappointed because we believe that we did have credible grounds.

the penitentiary system, to be in a place where she is cared for mentally and physically ... .

We will examine all possibilities and hopefully arrive at a resolution that could prevent Andrea from going through the torment of being subjected to the evidence of this case. We all know how horrendous it was to hear this evidence.

There has been an offer for a term of years served in the general population of the penitentiary system, which does not address her physical safety as well as her continued mental care.

We all have to get on with our lives. This doesn't discount the things that happened on June 20th, but it saddens me that Andrea might be in any way negatively or emotionally affected by this.

Continued hospitalization for Andrea will help her withstand the pressures and rigors of one more time of going back to this situation in front of a jury and in front of the public.

Could you imagine sitting in a courtroom reliving the tragedy that happened to your kids and knowing that you are on trial for causing that tragedy?

Things that we take for granted, she doesn't and did not having been locked away for five years.

These are trying times for Andrea - literally and figuratively. She's tense. She's terrified.

A woman with this notoriety, with this type of offense charged, would be at risk ... I have grave, grave concerns.

that she regrets that this illness brought her to a place where she was capable of killing her own children.

All parties agree that she was and is mentally ill, and she needs the expert assistance.

It's a good day. The whole issue of mental health, specifically women's mental health, has been championed in this decision.

It speaks volumes that the court has decided to hear the (Arizona) case. It's obviously an indicator that our judicial system is beginning to recognize the inadequacy of our laws. The reality of mental illness, particularly involving a person who is operating in a world of psychotic delusion, is beginning to be appreciated by our judges, and eventually will be by our prosecutors.

I'm not up here to vilify the memory of David Harris ... but there were some bad choices, folks. There were some bad decisions made here.

He thought that the court had done the right thing, and he wants only mental health care for Andrea,

I don't take these things lightly. I don't make allegations of this nature unless there is something to suggest that something smells.