Infanticide (From Different Crimes Different Criminals: Understanding, Treating and Preventing Criminal Behavior, P 11-34, 2006, Doris Layton MacKenzie, Lauren O’Neill, et al. eds. -- See NCJ-217024)

• NCJ Number: 217025
• Author(s): Jaclyn Smith
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Curriculum
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter presents an overview of the prevalence, characteristics, and treatment of infanticide.

Abstract

Infanticide is defined as the killing of infants up to 1 year old by a parent. It is distinguished from neonaticide, which is the killing of a newborn within 24 hours of birth. Infanticide is neither a new nor rare phenomenon and it occurs across all cultures and economic classes. Following the introduction, the author turns to an analysis of offender characteristics, beginning with the prevalence of infanticide in the United States which reached almost 500 incidents in 1999. While the prevalence of infanticide is high, there is evidence that it is decreasing across the United States due to a combination of factors, including the legality of abortion and better social conditions. The effects of infanticide on the offender and offender’s family are considered followed by an analysis of the demographic characteristics of infanticide offenders. Infanticide offenders have been divided into six main categories: (1) neonaticide: (2) battering mothers, characterized by a sudden impulsive act triggered by the victims’ behavior; (3) retaliating women who kill their children due to anger at their spouse; (4) unwanted children whose mothers are typically younger, single, and/or economically disadvantaged; (5) mercy killings, which reflect the mothers beliefs and tend to involve disabled victims; and (6) mentally ill offenders. The forensic characteristics of infanticide are discussed, which include the most typical methods mothers use to kill their children. Next, the author considers the theoretical perspectives that are commonly used to explain infanticide: biological explanations that focus on the role of neurotransmitters and mental illness and strain theories that highlight the impact of social and economic conditions. Treatment programs for mothers who kill their children tend to rely on either biologically-based prevention techniques, which have a contentious history involving selective sterilization, or sociologically-based techniques, such as parental support and training. Notes, references