Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday in her second murder trial for the bathtub drownings of her young children.

Yates, 42, will now be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. An earlier jury had found her guilty of murder, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.

The defense never disputed that Yates drowned her five children one by one in the bathtub of their Houston-area home. But they said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell.

1. I hate it that they call this not guilty by reason of insanity. Clearly, this woman is guilty, she's just out of her gourd crazy to boot. The fact that she's off her rocker doesn't change the fact that she is responsible for systematically drowning all five of her children in a bath tub. They should call it "guilty but in need of specialized mental health treatment" instead. Because I don't see why mental disease should deflect culpability for a crime.



2. I also hate that because this woman believed she was possessed by Satan while she drowned her kids she's going to be put in a situation that makes it easier for her to be released back into the public. As the article indicates, Yates now gets the benefit of routine hearings on her mental health. If she's deemed to be mentally healthy, she gets released. She'll still have murdered her kids, of course, but at least she won't walk around thinking she needs an exorcism any more.