text: Andrea Yates' ex-husband has condemned the criminal process the killer was put through 14 years after she drowned their five children in the bathtub of their suburban Texas home. Russell 'Rusty' Yates, who has since remarried and has a son, slammed his ex-wife's murder trial, claiming it was the 'cruelest thing he had ever witnessed'. He insisted her actions were 'completely a result of her illness' and maintains she was a good mother who loved her children. The mother from Clear Lake, Texas, systematically drowned Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke 2; and Mary, 6 months, in their home in June 2001. Andrea Yates' ex-husband Rusty (left), who has since remarried and has a five-year-old son, slammed her murder trial (pictured right in 2002) as the 'cruelest thing I have ever witnessed' The Yates' boys, from left: Paul, three, John, five, Noah, seven, and Luke, two, dressed up for Halloween the year before they were drowned in the bathtub by their mother . Six-months-old Mary Yates, killed by her mother along with her four older brothers. Andrea Yates was said to be suffering from postpartum depression when she drowned her children in 2001 . She then called 911 and told the first officer to arrive at the scene that she had just killed her children. Earlier that day she fed the children breakfast and said goodbye to her husband as he left for work. She was convicted of capital murder in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison, after prosecutors tried and failed to get the death penalty. But an appeals court granted her a retrial and in 2006 she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and moved to a mental health facility. Yates had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis - the most severe and rarest form of postpartum depression. Little was known about it at the time and most afflicted mothers were left to suffer in silence. Her condition was a cause of huge pain for Mr Lake, who has revealed he still cares for his wife and visits her - even though they divorced in 2005. Speaking on Oprah's Where Are They Now, Mr Yates said: 'This [was a] mentally ill woman -- who otherwise loves her children, was a great mother, was a great person -- and they're going to sit her in trial? Try to kill her? The first trial, where prosecutors sought the death penalty, was hard on Mr Yates. The Yates family portrait (before baby Mary was born), left, and husband Russell 'Rusty' Yates outside his home the day after his children were murdered. Almost 14 years after the deaths, he maintains his ex-wife was a good mother who loved her children . Mr Yates married Laura Arnold, a woman he met at a church in Clear Lake, during a private ceremony in 2006, two days before his ex-wife's murder re-trial . He added: ''They spent a week showing pictures of our children's dead bodies in front of a jury, in front of her. 'I mean, from my perspective, that's the cruelest thing... She's somebody that needs love, compassion, support. 'They just take her and put her on public display, with the bodies of my children. It's so wrong.' The former nurse and stay-at-home mom had a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide attempts before the horrific incident, when she drowned her children, one by one, in the family bathtub. According to investigators, Yates had to chase the last child, her eldest, Noah, seven, through the family home and drag him into the bathroom. The former high school valedictorian's devastated husband, Rusty, remained married to his wife for four years after their children's deaths and he continues to visit her although they divorced in 2005. He has now remarried and has a five-year-old son. Of his former wife, he said in 2012: 'She is doing well, all things considered. She's been medically stable for five years.' Andrea Yates was first convicted of murder but this was overturned on appeal in 2006. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and has since been in a psychiatric hospital . During her first trial in 2002, Yates lawyers claimed she believed that the devil was inside her and that by killing her children she would save them from hell. Her attorney George Parnham and his wife, Mary, have campaigned for more awareness of women's mental health issues. Nine years ago, he helped setup the Yates Children Memorial Fund to educate families about postpartum psychosis and similar conditions. One out of 1,000 women are said to experience postpartum psychosis and may hear voices, see things and have thoughts of harming themselves or their baby. Last year, doctors recommended that she be granted permission to attend group outings from the psychiatric hospital where she has been institutionalized since 2006. She is the only patient at Kerrville State Hospital who has never received a group-outing pass, said Parnham. A decision is set to be made on it this year. Mr Yates married Laura Arnold, a woman he met at a church in Clear Lake, during a private ceremony in 2006, two days before his ex-wife's murder re-trial. The pair began dating shortly after his divorce was final. In 2008 his new wife gave birth to a son . Police crime scene tape surrounds the southeast Houston home where five children were killed by their mother on June 20, 2001, while her husband was at work . (From left) Luke, Paul, John and Noah in a family photo taken on November 2000 right before their mom gave birth to her baby sister .
target: Russell 'Rusty' Yates said his ex-wife's actions were 'a result of her illness'
  She systematically killed her children in their Texas home in 2001 .
  Was convicted of capital murder in 2002, but in 2006 was found not guilty by reason of insanity - after being diagnosed with postpartum psychosis .
  Mr Yates maintains she is a good mother who loved her children .
  Slammed prosecutors for seeking the death penalty during the first trial .
  He has since remarried and has a son .