In 2002, Yates was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison after she drowned her five children in a bathtub while her husband was at work in June 2001. Her children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years old. She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity during a retrial, and committed to a state psychiatric hospital.

A CNN headline from March 2002 read, “Psychiatrist: Yates could have made herself better.” In a college student opinion column from February 2002, The State Press columnist Rob Jones wrote, “If it were up to many people, there would be no trial, only an execution.” Some columns from that time showed more nuance or even compassion, including an opinion piece published by The Washington Post in February 2002. In that piece, political columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “Why not treat this tragedy for what it is – the act of a sick woman?”

Now, the world is awaiting Clancy’s fate − but with “definitely more empathy this time, and looking at a broken system,” Vaeth said. The mother from Massachusetts faces three murder charges for strangling 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan in January 2023. While prosecutors say Clancy planned the killings − and Clancy does not dispute that she killed her children − Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington says she is not guilty because she, like Yates, was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

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“This is not the first, this will not be the last, unfortunately, parent who is experiencing psychosis,” Hanna said. “These people who are stepping up and speaking up are saying, ‘Hello? I’m over here. Yep, I’ve actually had that, but not that. I had something, and I didn’t know what it was, and no one heard me or listened.’”