Andrea Yates Enters 'Not Guilty' Plea Again

The Houston woman who admitted drowning her five children in 2001, has once again entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and is scheduled to stand trial again March 20. Andrea Yates first conviction was overturned on appeal.

State District Judge Belinda Hill accepted Yates' plea, but ordered her held by the Harris County Sheriff's Department until her new trial. Her attorney had requested that Yates be held at a mental hospital until her trial is scheduled.

At her first trial, Yates was found guilty of drowning three of her children Noah, seven; John, five; and Mary, six months old. She was not tried for the deaths of her other two children, Paul, 3, and Luke, 2.

Yates was sentenced to life in prison, but an appeals court overturned her conviction because one of the expert witnesses called by the state referred to an episode of the television show "Law & Order" in which a mother claimed insanity after killing her children.

The jury might have concluded that Yates got the idea to kill her children and claim insanity from the television show. The problem was no such episode of "Law & Order."

See Also:
Andrea Yates Again Pleads Not Guilty

Background:
Profile of Andrea Yates

Earlier Articles:
Andrea Yates to Leave Prison for Hospital
Court Tosses Andrea Yates' Conviction