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Because their mental illness is so severe it causes them either not to know what they're doing or not to know the wrongfulness of what they're doing. >> people often ask me, well, listen. why didn't she kill herself instead of drown her children? the kids would still be alive. the problem is, she becomes more and more ill with each pregnancy. the sicker you become, the less alternatives are available to you. >> while awaiting trial, andrea yates was placed in the jail's medical facility and treated for psychosis. >> from the time of the tragedy to the time of the trial, she improved. i mean, t...

Knew when i saw that jury what that verdict was going to be. >> we, the jury, find the defendant andrea p. yates guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment. >> i was devastated. >> knowing how much andrea loved our children and how much they loved her and knowing that she would never have harmed them had she not been mentally ill, all right, i -- i view her, and i know it's hard for people to see this, but i view her as a victim. i don't view her as a criminal. >> in the punishment phase of the trial, the jury sided with the defense and rejected the death penalty. andrea yates was s...

Water, what was your intent? what were you about to do? >> drown my children. >> andrea yates never denied that she killed her children, but was she cold-blooded or desperately ill? by all accounts, she was a devoted mother, but her defense doctors say she became more desperate and secretive with each pregnancy. the crisis point came in 1999 after the birth of her fourth child. >> there were two suicide attempts in these pregnancies, and what she said to me was she didn't want to hurt her children. she wanted to hurt yourself. >> andrea yates was hospitalized after both attempts. the second ti...

And certainly doesn't do anything for that woman, so i didn't do that. i wish they had a third trial. >> i find her quite sympathetic and not only do i think that she's not criminally responsible, but the fact that she has to live with what she's done and live childless and so forth and that's the tragedy and it's not right. >> in the eyes of the state, andrea yates is now simply a patient. she is no longer considered a criminal. only andrea knows if she can ever forgive herself for her actions.

Argument was the questionable testimony given by park dietz, lead psychiatrist for the prosecution. >> there's never been an episode that has aired on "law & order" involving the park dietz testified about. we confronted park dietz about that, and he said he was mistaken. he must have been in vera. >> the appeals process would take months of meticulous preparation for multiple arguments, but in the end everything hinged on the dietz testimony. >> we had 19 points of error, and only one point was ever addressed, and that was point number one, and that was his testimony, and the case got reverse...