I will actually stop posting on Yates because I am a broken record here on an unpleasant topic, but one more e-mail for now, recommending as much:

Dear Kathryn: First of all, I’m a long time Corner reader, and agree with your sentiments on the vast majority of your postings. As for Andrea Yates however, you’ve got to move on, because you can’t seem to grasp that what she did to her kids, while a horrible tragedy, lacked treachery altogether. She didn’t know what she was doing. I believe the proper medical term for Ms. Yates’ affliction is something like postpartum psychosis, not postpartum depression and I personally know two gentle people who’ve suffered from the horrible effects caused by the massive chemical imbalances brought on by this crippling affliction. The point is that this is a medical problem first, and one that manifests itself in psychological demons that a person suffering its effects is most likely ill-equipped to deal with. Since you’ll probably want to ask this question, yes . . . one of them was caught while beginning to fill up her bathtub with water (with the baby in the tub) so she could drown the child. She received five years probation, by the way, after spending months in a hospital where they recognized her illness for what it was and were equipped to treat her and help her recover. The key point I wish to make is that Ms. Yates suffered (and may still suffer) from a crippling medical affliction that’s different, separate and distinct from the postpartum depression that hits many women after they give birth. The verdict was a just one. You don’t really need to be sympathetic to Ms. Yates I guess, but you should move on…