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Journal of Law and Policy

Abstract

Every year, thousands of children are killed by their parents. Some of these killings are committed by mentally ill mothers who believe that death is in their children's best interest. This category of killings is called maternal altruistic filicide. Numerous studies have found that mothers who commit altruistic filicide are severely mentally ill and have histories of psychiatric illness, trauma, and suicidality. Despite this, mothers who commit altruistic filicide are often railroaded through the criminal legal system without access to adequate mental health care. Traditional legal procedures designed to assist the mentally ill, such as the insanity defense or the “guilty but mentally ill” verdict, are unworkable and insufficient remedies for these mothers. As a result, most mothers who commit altruistic filicide are incarcerated with very long sentences. This has created a system of injustice whereby mothers who commit altruistic filicide are forced to live in prison environments without access to adequate psychiatric care. This typically results in an exacerbation of preexisting mental health problems, and it prevents the mothers from attaining a meaningful recovery. This Note examines the current criminal legal approach to mothers who commit altruistic filicide and discusses its inadequacies. After outlining the problematic nature of the current legal approach towards mothers who commit altruistic filicide, this Note argues for the implementation of a system where, instead of incarceration, these mothers are automatically transferred to mental health courts to undergo mental health treatment and receive community-based support. This approach will allow mothers who commit altruistic filicide to receive quality treatment for their mental illness while also getting the opportunity to transition back into the community.

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