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DARYN CARP: Nearly 21
years ago, Andrea Yates

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horrified the nation
when she confessed

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to drowning her five young
children in the bathtub

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of their Houston home.

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Yates, who was
37-years-old at the time,

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suffered from severe postpartum
depression, postpartum

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psychosis, and schizophrenia.

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And now "People"
confirmed she declines

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annually to be reviewed for
release from a mental facility.

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According to court
testimony on June 20, 2001,

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Yates waited for
her husband Rusty

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to go to work before
she began drowning

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the children one-by-one.

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She was charged with five
counts of capital murder

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for the deaths of seven-year-old
Noah, five-year-old

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John, three-year-old
Paul, two-year-old Luke,

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and 6-month-old Mary.

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In the high profile
case, the prosecution

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pushed for the death
penalty, but the defense

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contended that her depression
and psychosis caused

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her to kill the children.

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They argued that she needed
intensive mental health

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treatment rather
than incarceration.

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A jury convicted Yates in
2003 of capital murder,

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and she was sentenced
to life in prison

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with the possibility of
parole after 40 years.

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Her attorneys successfully
appealed the case,

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and the verdict was overturned.

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After a 2006 retrial,
she was found not

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guilty by reason of insanity.

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Since January 2007, Yates has
been at Carval State Hospital,

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a mental facility
in Texas, where

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she can undergo
annual reviews to see

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if she is competent to leave.

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However, "People" confirms that
she has never undergone review,

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instead waiving her right
to be reviewed each year

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and choosing to
continue treatment.

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Her defense attorney keeps
in contact with Yates

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and says that she is
happy in the facility.

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He told "ABC News"
last year that she's

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where she wants to be and
where she needs to be.

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He had previously told
"People" that Yates

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grieves for her
children every day

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and has spent her time making
aprons, cards, and gifts

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in order to
anonymously sell them

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in an effort to raise
money for the Yates

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Children Memorial Fund.

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The fund was founded by her
defense attorney and his wife

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and is dedicated to women's
mental health, particularly

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postpartum mental health.