DARYN CARP: Nearly 21 years ago, Andrea Yates
horrified the nation when she confessed
to drowning her five young children in the bathtub
of their Houston home.
Yates, who was 37-years-old at the time,
suffered from severe postpartum depression, postpartum
psychosis, and schizophrenia.
And now "People" confirmed she declines
annually to be reviewed for release from a mental facility.
According to court testimony on June 20, 2001,
Yates waited for her husband Rusty
to go to work before she began drowning
the children one-by-one.
She was charged with five counts of capital murder
for the deaths of seven-year-old Noah, five-year-old
John, three-year-old Paul, two-year-old Luke,
and 6-month-old Mary.
In the high profile case, the prosecution
pushed for the death penalty, but the defense
contended that her depression and psychosis caused
her to kill the children.
They argued that she needed intensive mental health
treatment rather than incarceration.
A jury convicted Yates in 2003 of capital murder,
and she was sentenced to life in prison
with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
Her attorneys successfully appealed the case,
and the verdict was overturned.
After a 2006 retrial, she was found not
guilty by reason of insanity.
Since January 2007, Yates has been at Carval State Hospital,
a mental facility in Texas, where
she can undergo annual reviews to see
if she is competent to leave.
However, "People" confirms that she has never undergone review,
instead waiving her right to be reviewed each year
and choosing to continue treatment.
Her defense attorney keeps in contact with Yates
and says that she is happy in the facility.
He told "ABC News" last year that she's
where she wants to be and where she needs to be.
He had previously told "People" that Yates
grieves for her children every day
and has spent her time making aprons, cards, and gifts
in order to anonymously sell them
in an effort to raise money for the Yates
Children Memorial Fund.
The fund was founded by her defense attorney and his wife
and is dedicated to women's mental health, particularly
postpartum mental health.