A California mother accused of drowning her 3-year-old daughter walked away a free woman this past week after she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and a judge deemed her fit to reenter society.

So after three years of treatment and incarceration, Jennifer Lynn Bigham will begin the process of reintegrating herself back into everyday life.

Judging from past cases, however, the general public might have trouble accepting her, according to experts.

"I don't think attitudes have shifted much," said Dr. Phil Resnick, director of forensic psychiatry at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland. "The public is still extremely skeptical of mental illness. Even when people are recognized to be severely mentally ill, many public attitudes are, 'I don't care what they did, they should be punished.