Andrea Yates again pleaded "not guilty" by reason of insanity Monday in the drowning deaths of her children.

The plea came in the one-time Houston homemaker's first court appearance since her 2002 capital murder convictions were overturned.

State District Judge Belinda Hill and set the Yates case for a March 20 trial in Houston.

The 41-year-old Yates will remain in the custody until then.

During her original trial, jurors rejected Yates' insanity defense during her original trial and found her guilty in the 2001 deaths of three of the five children drowned in the family bathtub.

She was sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of 7-year-old Noah, 5-year-old John and 6-month-old Mary.

Evidence was presented about the drowning of the other two children, 3-year-old Paul and 2-year-old Luke, but Yates was not charged in their deaths.

A state appeals court in Houston overturned Yates convictions last January over false testimony from a prosecution expert.

Prosecutor Joe Owmby said the Harris County district attorney's open to a plea bargain that would allow Yates to avoid another trial, but "until they plead guilty there can be no bargain."