House of Cards (aired November 9, 2005)
New mother Chelsea Haggerty is found dead and her baby is missing. Arlene Tarrington is charged with the murder and initially claims post-partum depression as was suggested in the Andrea Yates case, but then implicates the baby's actual father, Frank Stoll, as the actual killer.
- Andrea Yates. The reference to Andrea Yates is notable not just because of the discussion about postpartum depression that the case sparked, but also because of the role "Law & Order" itself played in Yates' now overturned conviction.
Yates was charged for causing her children's deaths by drowning them in a bathtub in June 2001. Yates, who pled not guilty by reason of insanity, previously had attempted to commit suicide, had been admitted to psychiatric units, and had reported seeing visions, and she had been under suicide watch less than two months before the drowning incident. Four psychiatrists and one psychologist testified that Yates did not know right from wrong. The prosecution's psychiatrist, who had consulted for "Law & Order," testified that Yates did know that her actions were wrong and that she may have gotten the idea to kill her children from watching a recent episode that showed a woman with postpartum depression drowning her children. There was, in fact, no such "Law & Order" episode at the time. Yates was convicted and given a life sentence.
That conviction was overturned by a Texas appellate court in January 2005 due to the psychologist's false testimony (opinion on-line here). The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest court for criminal cases, declined on November 9 to hear prosecutors' appeal of the case.
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West Wing: Santos discusses a lawsuit about intelligent design
West Wing: Electoral map as of the 10/9 episode; Santos needs to catch up big-time
SNL: The Miers nomination
South Park: Inspired by Katrina
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Daily Show: A 2004 study found that 21 percent of young people regularly get their campaign news from comedy shows like the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live. So, some footnotes.
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By Stephen Lee
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