On July 27, 2006, the New York Times published an article about the results of Andrea Yates' retrial and her not guilty by reason of insanity for the deaths for the drowning of her five children. (Not Guilty Woman, 2006). The court decided to commit her to a state mental hospital until medical experts decide she poses no threat to herself or anyone else. In 2002, a previous jury rejected her claims that she was psychotic and found her guilty. Yates claims that by killing his children he actually saved them. (Not Guilty Woman, 2006). The appeals court overturned the decision due to “incorrect testimony of a prosecution witness.” (Not Guilty Woman, 2006). Yate's lead attorney, George Parnham, noted that the verdict was a "watershed moment for mental illness and the criminal justice system" (Woman Not Guilty, 2006). Yate's first conviction furthered debate over whether Texas' legal standard for mental illness was overly harsh and whether courts viewed postpartum depression with a serious lens. Yate's lawyer said she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and a delusional mindset when she committed the murders. Yates drowned her children believing that Satan lived inside her and believed that killing the children saved them from hell. (Woman Not Guilty, 2006). Link between postpartum depression and crime An extensive search of current literature shows that experts are unable to find conclusive evidence that there is a connection between postpartum psychosis and crime. Susan Hatters Friedman and Renee Sorrentino found that 41% of mothers of children under the age of three were depressed with thoughts of harming their children. However, as the pair noted, a general population study of mothers with colicky babies found that 70% had aggressive thoughts at... middle of paper... Andrea Yates. (2006). Annals of the American Psychotherapy Assn, 9(3), 33-34.Friedman, S. & Sorrentino, Renee. (2012) Commentary: Postpartum psychosis, infanticide and insanity: implications for forensic psychiatry. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law: 40: 326-32. Goldstein RL: Postpartum depression and the "appreciation" of illegitimacy. Bull Am Academy Psychiatry Law 17:121–8, 1989March, C. (2005). The conflictual treatment of postpartum psychosis in criminal law. Legal review by William Mitchell. Retrieved from: http://www.wmitchell.edu/lawreview/Volume32/Issue1/7March.pdfMcGrath L., Peters, S., Wieck, A., & Wittkowski, A. (2013). The recovery process in women who have experienced psychosis after giving birth. BMC Psychiatry, 13 doi: 10. 1186/1471-244x-13-341.Nau ML, McNeil DE, Binder RL: Postpartum psychosis and the courts. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 40:318 –25, 2012