Why do we allow revenge and neglect to play such major roles in our justice systems?
There can be no more emotive a crime than the murder of a child by its mother. Such a notion must strike at the very foundations of society.
The essence of society’s condemnation of murder, and the strict approach taken by the law to its commission is that it is the murderer’s explicit intention that the victim should die, or at least suffer really serious harm. The consequent sentence of mandatory life imprisonment follows on from this basic principle; it is driven, not so much by legal logic, but by the public demand for retribution.
A different kind of murder?
All this is well and good when one is dealing with the heinous actions of cold-blooded murder, born of anger, revenge or pure evil. But in almost all the cases of mothers killing their children, none of these reprehensible criteria exists. It is time to recognise that these mothers are probably not murderers and should not face the mandatory
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