Mother goes on trial for stoning sons

Mother goes on trial for stoning sons
By John SpringerCourt TV
Tuesday, November 1, 2005;
Posted: 1:30 p.m. EST (18:30 GMT)

Deanna Laney, left, is accused of stoning two of her
sons to death. A third son was left nearly blind.
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TYLER, Texas -- Deanna Laney could not stop crying.
The 39-year-old East Texas woman sobbed Monday
each time a prosecutor, police officer or her own lawyer
described the brutal stoning death of two of her sons
and an assault that left a third son nearly blind.

The prosecution and defense agreed on a major point
as Laney's murder trial opened in this small town
between Dallas and the Louisiana state line:
Laney, who told police that God instructed her to
kill her children, was insane when she stoned her
sons to death on May 11, 2003.
Although four forensic psychiatrists hired by the
prosecution, defense and the presiding judge at the
trial concluded that Laney was insane, only a jury
can find her not guilty by reason of insanity,
Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham said
during a 12-minute opening statement.
'I just killed my boys'
Laney's crying in court Monday was in stark
contrast to her demeanor when she used her cell
phone to call 911. Wearing her pajamas, Laney
sounded composed as she stated, "I just killed my boys."
"Ma'am, you did what?" the male deputy inquired.
"I just killed my boys."
For 38 minutes Laney calmly answered the
deputy's questions. At the same time, she spoke
to officers sent to investigate.
"Are the boys breathing now?" the operator
asked, according to a recording of the call played
for the jury.
"No," Laney said.
"You said you killed your two boys?" the officer
asked. "Why did you do that, ma'am?"
Laney replied matter of factly, "I had to."
According to prosecutors, Laney put her sons,
Joshua, 8, Luke, 6, and Aaron, 14 months, to bed
and then went to her own room. Her husband,
Keith Laney, followed. Laney awoke later that night,
tried to lock her sleeping husband in their bedroom
and then went to Joshua and Luke's room.
She escorted Luke to a rock garden in the front yard
of their home, which is encircled by a white split-rail
fence. Laney told her son to lie down with his head
on a rock and she took another large rock, raised it
over her head and brought it down onto his skull.
She then killed Joshua in the same manner.
Both children were found with large stones lying
on their chests.
Baby attacked in crib
Aaron was attacked with a rock in his crib but did
not die.
Deanna Laney was taken into custody after calling
police and telling them what she had done.
As the deputy and Keith Laney attended to Aaron's
injuries, Deanna Laney remained on the phone
outside with the 911 dispatcher. "What's going on?
Are you upset about anything?" the operator asked.
"I just did what I had to do," Laney said.
"You did what you had to do? Why do you say that
ma'am?"
"That's just what I was told to do," she said.
"Who told you to do that?" the dispatcher continued.
"God," Laney said.
Laney wore a brown jacket and orange turtleneck to
court Monday. Seated in the second row of the
courtroom, Keith Laney bowed his head and rubbed
tears from his eyes. He remains supportive and still
wears his wedding ring. Other relatives also are
standing by the devoutly religious woman.
In many ways, prosecutors are going through the
motions. They have ample evidence that Laney
killed her children, including stipulations with
the defense to that effect.
The issue for this jury, which is sequestered, will
be whether the defense can meet its legal burden
of proving that Laney could not distinguish
between right and wrong at the time of the killing.
Believes God ordered her to kill
Defense attorney F. R. "Buck" Files told jurors
that Laney loves her husband and children and
was devoted to God, church and family. She is a
deeply spiritual and private person, who never
told anyone about several psychotic episodes
that preceded the killings, he said.
According to Files, Laney told psychiatrists while
she was in custody that she believed God was
speaking to her in different ways. On the day of
the killings, for example, she believed she received
a message from God that he wanted her children
with him.
Laney told psychiatrists that she rejected a spear
or strangulation and decided to use stones to kill
her children. Laney believed her son Joshua, the
first boy to die, would be resurrected on his
birthday that July.
Laney wasn't sure if she was supposed to kill
Aaron, the youngest, or not.
"Aaron is in his bed. The baby is in his bed.
I don't think I killed him," Laney told the 911
dispatcher. She told the operator later that she
thought she "did wrong by Aaron."
The 911 tape is particularly chilling because
Laney's voice was even, devoid of emotion,
almost childlike.
Although many in the courtroom cried as the
call was played and the story told by lawyers,
jurors remained composed and listened intently.
If they conclude Laney's mental condition did
not cloud her reasoning to the point that she
was legally insane, Laney could face life in prison.
If, however, jurors find Laney not guilty by
reason of insanity, she would likely be
committed to a mental-health facility.
The trial is expected to last less than 10 days.
Court TV is broadcasting the proceedings.

LINK:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/11/01/laney.trial/index.html