Synopses & Reviews
On a June morning in a Houston suburb, a 911 dispatcher questioned the caller on the other end of the line:"ARE YOU HAVING A DISTURBANCE?""ARE YOU ILL?"
"ARE YOU AT 942 BEACHCOMBER?"
"ARE YOU THERE ALONE?"
It took a jury less than four hours to find Houston housewife Andrea Yates guilty of the drowning deaths of three of her five children -- and a mere half hour to sentence the troubled woman with a stunning history of severe mental problems to life in prison. But beyond the media coverage of her heinous crimes, there is a story that only investigative reporter Suzanne O'Malley has fully illuminated.
THIS IS THE BOOK THAT INCLUDES THE REVELATION THAT LED TO THE OVERTURNING OF ANDREA YATES'S CONVICTION.The updated edition of "Are You There Alone?" features a new chapter on the appeal of the Yates case, as well as personal updates on both Andrea and Rusty Yates. Having drawn upon hundreds of interviews -- with expert witnesses, close friends, family advisers, and Andrea and Rusty themselves -- O'Malley has produced a riveting true-crime account that shatters our notions about criminal law, mental illness, death-penalty politics, and religious fanaticism in America today.
Review
"O'Malley's reportage is stunning for its depth, its persistence, and its compassion."
-- John Berendt, #1 bestselling author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Review
"This riveting book puts a human face on a larger social issue. What happens when the violent actions of an improperly medicated mentally ill person intersect with the legal system? Who bears the responsibility?"
-- USA Today
Review
"Her dogged research may have saved Andrea Yates's life. That is reason enough to value this book."
-- Washington Post Book World
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword
Timeline
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Prophecy
Chapter 2: Rocket Fuel
Chapter 3: The Apocalypse
Chapter 4: Thursday
Chapter 5: The Catchers and the Keepers
Chapter 6: Five Small Coffins
Chapter 7: Jailed
Chapter 8: The Death of a Butterfly
Chapter 9: The Full Extent
Chapter 10: Four Days to Sanity
Chapter 11: Other Voices
Chapter 12: The Killer Rooms
Chapter 13: Trial by Error
Chapter 14: Slow Guilty
Chapter 15: Heartbreakers
Chapter 16: A Sinister Stew
Chapter 17: Eternity
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Interview List
Testimony List
Organizations That Can Provide More Information
Index