Mothers who murder their children

[Lethalfind]

Mothers who murder their children

 

http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=10548

 

 

Los Angeles, CA 90076 October 21 2005.

More than 600 mothers kill their children each year, which gives rise to a psychological condition described as "maternal filicide," according to a child psychologist who has reviewed the worldwide research on this topic.

"There are six major personality profiles of mothers who kill their children," said Los Angeles psychologist Robert R. Butterworth, Ph.D. He describes what the psychological research tells us about the different types of mothers who murder their children and their possible motivations:

 

-- The Mentally Ill Mother: A woman who may be acutely psychotic, having serious psychological disturbances starting from her own childhood or her parents, which may be instrumental in causing her own psychological problem to surface. An inadequacy in handling aggression, probably originating from a disturbed relationship with the murderer's own parents, which could include hereditary influences.

-- The Retaliating Mother: A woman who is jealous of her husband and envious of the child because of the attention that it receives from others, whereas the mother may have had little or no attention in her own childhood, which leads to a disturbed, immature, nongiving relationship with the child. The filicide could be motivated by revenge, especially with male children; the mother's anger toward the child's father may be displaced onto the male child, who reminds the mother of the child's father.

-- The Depressed Mother: Research shows that more than a third of the mothers killed their children under the influence of depression or what could be an extended form of suicide: "I kill the one I most love -- my child." Thus a child is particularly vulnerable when a depressive illness is present. The risk becomes high when depressive illness is combined with certain types of personality structures.

-- The Unwanted or Unexpected Mother: Unwanted or unplanned children, especially in countries where birth control and abortion are difficult to obtain, are more likely to suffer from maternal filicide.

-- The Merciful Mother: A sick or diseased child is killed by the loving mother to protect the child from pain and suffering.

-- The Battering Mother: In a fit of rage, they accidentally batter the child to death.

Other findings:

-- The high frequency of altruistic motives distinguish filicide from other homicides.

-- Crime statistics show that mothers are more rarely or more mildly punished for filicide than fathers.

-- Mothers kill children only, but men who kill their children are more likely to kill their wives.

-- Suicide or attempted suicide following the crime was also more likely with fathers.

 

Robert Butterworth (robert@drbutterworth.net)

Director

Robert R. Butterworth, Ph.D.

P.O. Drawer 76477

Los Angeles, CA 90076

Phone : (213) 487-7339

Fax : 213-477-2340

[ToriAllen]

-- Crime statistics show that mothers are more rarely or more mildly punished for filicide than fathers.

This is the one that always gets me.That is rediculous.

Statistics also show that the punishments, even for men, are mild compared to adult homocide punishments. I think the punishment should be harsher for harming children. At least an adult can fight back. Those poor innocent babies should be protected under the law. That is one way our judicial system has failed.

[Komrade Vostok Hazard]

Who knows their children better then the mother?

Some kids are just born bad and should be put down; I know a few running around that would have been better off if someone had just put a pillow over their head when they were young

 

.....can't argue with that.

[RoyalOrleans]

Richard Hatch, of Survivor fame, can get up to thirteen years for not reporting his earnings to the Neo-McCarthyism tactics of the IRS regime. However, I child molester might serve a year or two?

 

Just goes to show you where this nation's priorities are.

[Lethalfind]

This is the one that always gets me.That is rediculous.

Statistics also show that the punishments, even for men, are mild compared to adult homocide punishments. I think the punishment should be harsher for harming children. At least an adult can fight back. Those poor innocent babies should be protected under the law. That is one way our judicial system has failed.

 

Thats what I have always said, I can understand for instance wanting to kill an adult who has wronged you of course we're not supposed to act on that but what has a child done to deserve this kind of treatment?

 

I think the law treats the Mothers that way because they think they can't help it, because they are somehow less responsible then the men. Well, the child is just as dead whether its a Mom or Dad doing the killing. As for a Mother being less responsible...how is that equality? If women want equality, they have to take the higher wages along with the right be punished just as harshly.

[ToriAllen]

I think the law treats the Mothers that way because they think they can't help it, because they are somehow less responsible then the men. Well, the child is just as dead whether its a Mom or Dad doing the killing. As for a Mother being less responsible...how is that equality? If women want equality, they have to take the higher wages along with the right be punished just as harshly.

If anything the mother should be treated more harshly. There is a bond between mother and child, and I do not understand women who claim not to have it. I feel awful when I hurt my children

[Lethalfind]

If anything the mother should be treated more harshly. There is a bond between mother and child, and I do not understand women who claim not to have it. I feel awful when I hurt my children

[TheJenn88]

I don't know about the American criminal code, but for Canada:

 

Homicide

 

Homicide

 

222. (1) A person commits homicide when, directly or indirectly, by any means, he causes the death of a human being.

Kinds of homicide

 

(2) Homicide is culpable or not culpable.

Non culpable homicide

 

(3) Homicide that is not culpable is not an offence.

Culpable homicide

 

(4) Culpable homicide is murder or manslaughter or infanticide.

..

 

In canada, infanticide is punished quite unseverly. It's seen as a mother killing her child out of extreme depression/whacked horomones, etc. Some people get off scott free, some people do a little bit of time in jail.

Culpable homocide being when you kill someone, and a person has a valid reason for it, like self-defense, or mental instability, or what have you.

 

I'm not taking a stand on this issue, obviously because I'm not a mother, but from the way it was explained to me in law class, and the video we saw on it, infanticide is a real, and sometimes, uncontrollable thing.

[ToriAllen]

Their not tough enough because the laws show this country doesn't value our children enough.

This country doesn't value anything anymore, and it is getting worse every year. Laws are becoming more and more relaxed, as lawyers find more criminal 'rights' to protect. The laws against child molesters is just one area where the system is failing.

[TheJenn88]

Also, on a follow up to the quote from the criminal code in my previous post....

 

 

elsewhere in the code it says:

 

"

 

No acquittal unless act or omission not wilful

 

663. Where a female person is charged with infanticide and the evidence establishes that she caused the death of her child but does not establish that, at the time of the act or omission by which she caused the death of the child,

(a) she was not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child or from the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child, and

(b) the balance of her mind was, at that time, disturbed by reason of the effect of giving birth to the child or of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child,

she may be convicted unless the evidence establishes that the act or omission was not wilful.

"