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Woman Ordered By God To Kill Her Children!

Psychiatrist: Mother Had No Choice
By LISA FALKENBERG
Associated Press Writer

TYLER, Texas - A homemaker who said she was ordered by God to kill her children felt compelled to obey because she believed God would never direct her to do wrong, mental health experts said.
"I don't think she had any choice," psychiatrist William Reid testified.

Attorneys for the defense and the state rested their cases Friday in the trial Deanna Laney. The 39-year-old has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a charge of capital murder in the deaths of 8-year-old Joshua and 6-year-old Luke, and serious injury to a child for the beating of Aaron, now 2.

Laney said she smashed her sons' skulls with rocks after getting a sign from God that he wanted her to kill them.

Closing arguments were scheduled for Saturday morning, and the eight men and four women on the jury were expected to begin deliberating after noon.

All five mental health experts consulted in the case concluded that a severe mental illness caused psychotic delusions and made Laney incapable of knowing right from wrong during the May killings - the standard in Texas for insanity.

Reid testified Friday, the fifth day of the trial, that there is more agreement among mental health experts in this case than he's seen in similar trials. Reid said he could use Laney's case as a textbook example to teach students about Texas' definition of insanity.

Prosecutors have struggled to discredit even their own psychiatric witnesses, trying to convince jurors that Laney knew killing her children was wrong under state law. Her first call, prosecutors pointed out, was to 911 to summon authorities.

They also portrayed the attacks as selfish acts in which Laney sacrificed her children to save her own soul from eternal damnation.

If Laney is found innocent by reason of insanity, she would be committed to a hospital for treatment. Medical evaluations would dictate when she would be released.

If she is convicted of capital murder, she would be sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 40 years. If convicted of serious injury to a child, a first-degree felony, the sentence could range from five years to life.

Laney, who home-schooled her children in the tiny town of New Chapel Hill, 100 miles southeast of Dallas, was convinced she was divinely chosen by God to kill her children last Mother's Day weekend, psychiatrists testified.


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Children Kill God Ordered Woman

I understand the way the US law works, but in my opinion such people do not need to live on the earth anymore, they have 'used' up the limit of their agency... it is time to go.

Woman Ordered By God To Kill Her Children! History & Civil Business Politics

I actually feel bad for the woman. Although yes she did commit murder, she obviously did not know better. Her mental disorder blurred her sense of reality, and unfornately the blurr killed her children.

Children Kill God Ordered Woman

Well I do not know if I can feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for the children, besides what is a woman with a severe mental illness doing taking care of children? Yes, they are hers, but look where they ended up - dead.

Children Kill God Ordered Woman

As JB pointed out, I don't feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for the innocent children she killed in the most brutal way. I am sure they have suffered great pain before dying. When the sentence was given, she showed no remorse whatsoever for what she did.

Woman Ordered By God To Kill Her Children!

This woman was actually found not-guilty by reason of insanity.


Updated April 5, 2004, 11:49 a.m. ET


Jury accepts insanity defense for mother who stoned sons

By John Springer
Court TV
TYLER, Texas - Deanna Laney, who stoned her two young sons to death last year because she believed God commanded it, was legally insane and could not distinguish from right or wrong, a jury concluded Saturday.

Laney, a 39-year-old East Texas housewife, burst into tears and was visibly shaking for more than 30 minutes after Judge Cynthia Kent announced that the jury found her not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity. Keith Laney, who testified that he still loves his wife of 19 years, remained composed throughout the reading.

https://www.courttv.com/trials/laney/040304...v.html#continue

The article also says she is in a very bad state emotionally because she knows what she did while she was delusional. It also said the prosecutor had no "quarrel" with the verdict. That is very unusual. Usual if the jury doesn't convict, the prosecution has issues with the decision. I can only conclude from what I have read, that this woman really and truly was insane at the time she killed her kids and didn't realize what she was doing was wrong at the time. This is very sad for everyone, in my opinion.

Edited: tenaheff on 14th Apr, 2004 - 1:55pm

Woman Ordered God Kill Children!

Oh My God that is not nice, but what was the sign that she got from god ? and i heard in manchester,england some one got a messege from the matrix to kill his freind and so he did!i did try to find out more but i couldnt find any articles about it! does this mean its not true? who knows!!

Woman Ordered God Kill Children! Politics Business Civil & History

With regards to insanity being a reason to excuse one from the 'normal' prison life or even death I want to find out if there is a cure for such a degree of insanity, and if there is, will such a person be able to re-enter society quickly?

I can promise you that this message was not sent from Persephone, MrSmith or Myself.