HOUSTON -- Andrea Yates' mother asked a Houston jury Thursday to spare her daughter from the death penalty. The same jury that determined Yates was sane when she drowned her children in a bathtub.

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"I've lost seven people in one year," Andrea Yates' mother, Jutta Karin Kennedy, told jurors, referring to the deaths of her husband and five grandchildren last year and the conviction of her daughter this week.

"I'm here pleading for her life," Kennedy said.

The sentencing phase got under way shortly after 10:30 a.m. Thursday and then wrapped up just before 2 p.m. at the Harris County Courthouse in downtown.

Eleven witnesses took the stand for the defense Thursday.

Testimony will resume tomorrow morning.

The jurors have two punishment options: life in prison or death by injection.

Yates' husband, Russell, also took the stand for the defense, hoping to save her life.

He broke down and cried as he pleaded with jurors for a life sentence.

He called her the kindest, most caring person he knew.

Russell Yates cried as he described how his wife would tenderly care for even the smallest scrape on the children.

Following Russell Yates' testimony was his aunt, the Rev. Fairy Caroland, and then his mother, Dora. In all, five family members took the stand.

Debbie Holmes was one of four friends to testify on Yates' behalf.

"I just talked about my beautiful friend, my sweet Andrea," Holmes said.

She told jurors that Yates was a beautiful mother who graduated valedictorian from her high school class and that she used to diet by purging and taking laxatives.

"We'll do everything we can to save her life," defense attorney George Parnham said.

Parnham told jurors he accepts their verdict but doesn't agree with it.

"In effect, her life is over one way or another," Parnham said. "Her children are gone and she sits here through her lawyers asking that she be spared."

As expected, prosecutors began the sentencing phase of the trial by saying they won't be presenting any more evidence to the jury. They said it was all presented during the case.

"All of the evidence was admitted during the case in chief," Prosecutor Joe Owmby told jurors and State District Judge Belinda Hill.

Citing the lack of additional prosecution evidence, defense attorneys asked that Hill immediately sentence Yates to life.

Hill denied the request, meaning that the decision on whether Yates should face the death penalty would be debated by jurors.

Yates, 37, was convicted Tuesday of two capital murder charges for the drowning deaths of three of her five children. Evidence surrounding the deaths of her other two children also figured into the case.

Legal Debate

Experts said the decision may come down to how jurors answer two questions: Does she pose a future danger to society? And are there mitigating circumstances to sentence her to life as opposed to death?

On the first question, the jury must unanimously say "yes" for the process to continue toward a possible death sentence. If 10 or more jurors say "no," she would receive life. Anything in between would result in a hung jury.

If the jurors unanimously decide Yates is a future danger, the process moves to the second question. If the jury then decides there are no mitigating circumstances, a death sentence would be recommended to the judge. If the jurors find mitigation, she would receive a life term.

James Cohen, a professor at Fordham University School of Law, said even though the jury of eight women and four men rejected Yates' insanity defense, it doesn't mean the panel won't consider her mental history during the trial's punishment phase.

"Their refusal to accept it the first time is not any indication they won't accept it in sparing her life," Cohen said.

Legal experts say prosecutors may face an uphill battle in trying to prove Yates is a continuing threat to society.

"Before it was a much tougher case for the defense," Southern Methodist University School of Law professor Dan Shuman said Wednesday. "I think now it is a much tougher case for the prosecution.

"The jurors now are operating under no illusions that she is going to be set free."

As for mitigation, South Texas College of Law professor Neil McCabe said the state already has acknowledged a major mitigating circumstance by saying Yates did suffer from a severe mental disease.

"It wasn't enough to carry their burden on the insanity defense, but since the government admits she is severely mentally ill they could run that around the courtroom some more," he said.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 31 people were sent to death row last year, down slightly from 34 in 2000. In 1999, 48 convicted killers were condemned.

Texas by far, with 262 executions since 1982, is the nation's most active death penalty state. During the past 20 years, two women have been put to death.

Yates was convicted on two capital murder charges in the deaths of 7-year-old Noah, 5-year-old John and 6-month-old Mary. Charges have not been filed in the deaths of Paul, 3, and Luke, 2.

If Yates receives life, she would have to serve at least 40 years before becoming eligible for parole. If sentenced to die, she would become the eighth woman on Texas' death row.

"I would be shocked if it came back capital punishment," Shuman said. "However reluctant jurors are to punish or to give absolution to people who commit heinous acts, they have heard all the information about how this woman struggled with mental health problems."