Criminal justice responses to maternal filicide : judging the failed mother / Emma Milne (Durham University, UK).

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Milne, Emma, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mothers--Legal status, laws, etc--England.

Mothers--Legal status, laws, etc--Wales.

Women murderers--Legal status, laws, etc--England.

Women murderers--Legal status, laws, etc--Wales.

Filicide--Law and legislation--England.

Filicide--Law and legislation--Wales.

Infanticide--Law and legislation--England.

Infanticide--Law and legislation--Wales.

Mothers--England--Psychology.

Mothers--Wales--Psychology.

Mothers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (200 pages)

Place of Publication:

London, England : Emerald Publishing, [2021]

Summary:

Analysis of criminal cases reveals that women suspected of killing their newborn children are some of the most vulnerable in our society and that infanticide is not just a historical issue but one that has modern implications. While women are less likely to commit violent crime, maternal infant homicide is an enduring form of offending that needs to be understood in a wider social context. In Criminal Justice Responses to Maternal Filicide, Milne provides a comprehensive analysis of conviction outcomes through court transcripts of 15 criminal cases in England and Wales during 2010 to 2019. Drawing on feminist theories of responsibilisation and 'gendered harm', she critically reflects on the gendered nature of criminal justice's responses to suspected infanticide. This contemporary study makes a novel contribution to the fields of law, criminology and gender studies, arguing that through its inability to recognise the vulnerable position of accused women, and respond accordingly, the application of law reflects wider social judgments of pregnant women and mothers who challenge or fail to fulfil ideals of motherhood.

Contents:

Chapter 1. The 'problem' of maternal filicide of newborn children

Chapter 2. Mothers in the courtroom I: suspicious perinatal deaths in context

Chapter 3. Mothers in the courtroom II: the failure of the 'mother'

Chapter 4. Mothers in the courtroom III: criminalising the irresponsible mother

Chapter 5. Mothers in law I: criminalising the 'illegitimate' mother

Chapter 6. Mothers in law II: foetus first

Chapter 7. Redressing gendered harm: the role of criminal law and criminal justice.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

Print version record.

ISBN:

9781839096204

1839096209

9781839096228

1839096225

OCLC:

1262371729