RT Article
T1 Postpartum psychosis, infanticide and the law
JF Crime, law and social change
VO 15
IS 2
SP 109
OP 123
A1 Maier-Katkin, Daniel 1945-
LA English
YR 1991
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1884555004
AB In the past few years postpartum phychosis has been offered as a legal defense in a small number of deeply disturbing infanticide cases in several American jurisdictions. These cases have attracted a great deal of media attention, and fueled public discussion about the mental health of mothers who kill their own babies. From the perspective of the criminologist these cases present an extraordinary pattern of criminal behavior. Not merely a few isolated incidents, but a recurring pattern of the destruction of planned-for, wanted children by their own mothers with no apparent motive and under circumstances that suggest transitory postpartum phychoses. This article presents a detailed examination of specific cases aimed at exploration of the following issues: Are these women insane at the time of the act? Is their behavior the product of a diseased state of mind, or is it premeditated and willful? These issues lie at the core of the concept of criminal responsibility.
K1 Detailed Examination
K1 Diseased State
K1 International Relation
K1 Media Attention
K1 Mental Health
DO 10.1007/BF00172378