Child Murder Research Articles

Child killings in the Western Cape

In the light of requests from certain civil organisations in the Western Cape (WC) (South Africa) to the provincial government to establish a judicial commission of inquiry into child killings in this province because of the high incidence of killings, a research committee from three WC universities was put together to review existing research into this matter to determine a way forward. This committee looked at primary drivers of child murders in the WC, gaps in existing government services, the potential value of instigating a commission of inquiry or some other mechanism, and recommending a way forward. A summary of its findings was presented to, among others, the provincial cabinet that adopted all its recommendations. Reflection on these final findings and recommendations forms the first part of the article. The second part focuses in more detail on the research data presented (and provided) by experts and practitioners who informed the research committee. Important aspects discussed here are child death reviews, age- and sex-specific rates of child homicides, sexual killings of children, the possible influence of unfortunate, traumatic childhood experiences in becoming a violent adult, physical violence against children (and women), children’s perception of their safety and risk factors for children specifically in the WC. The purpose of this article is to provide well-researched information to role-players and decision-makers regarding the lives of children to address the violence and its causes that so many children (and women) are exposed to. Although the focus is on the dire situation in the WC, the broader South African and international contexts will also be brought into play in the second part of the article in a way that will (hopefully) be helpful with regard to the crises and challenges the WC is struggling with in this respect.

The Pixelated Prisoner: Prison Video Links, Court ‘Appearance’ and the Justice Matrix; The Murder of Childhood: Inside the Mind of One of Britain’s Most Notorious Child Murderers (Special 25th Anniversary Edition)

The Pixelated Prisoner: Prison Video Links, Court ‘Appearance’ and the Justice Matrix; The Murder of Childhood: Inside the Mind of One of Britain’s Most Notorious Child Murderers (Special 25th Anniversary Edition)

QUALIFICATION PROBLEMS OF A NEWBORN CHILD MURDER BY MOTHER

QUALIFICATION PROBLEMS OF A NEWBORN CHILD MURDER BY MOTHER

함경도 무속서사시에 나타나는 자식살해모티프의 의미 -<안택굿-앉인굿>, <살풀이>, <셍굿-원맥이>를 대상으로-

함경도 무속서사시에 나타나는 자식살해모티프의 의미 -<안택굿-앉인굿>, <살풀이>, <셍굿-원맥이>를 대상으로-

स्त्रीवाद आणि समाज परिवर्तन (Feminism and the Transformation of Society)

Marathi Abstract: सतरीवाद ही आधनिक काळात उदयास आलली पाशचाततय सकलपना आह. बरिटिश राजवटीत परष समाजसधारकानी सतरियाचया गलामगिरीविरदध चळवळ सर कली. बालहतया, बालविवाह, सतीपरथा, कशवपन, बहपतनीतव व जरठ बालविवाह इतयादी परथावर कडाडन हलला कला. सतरीला एक वयकती महणन सनमान मिळावा, तयाचपरमाण पितयाचया व पतीचया सपततीत वाटा, समान हकक, समान दरजा आणि सवाततरय हा सतरीवादाचा गाभा आह. सतरी वादान सतरी-परष भद नाकारला. राजकीय कषतरात एक वयकती एक मत ह तततव लाग झाल; पण सामाजिक कषतरातील विपननावसथा तशीच टिकन राहिली. सतरीला एक उपभोगय वसत एवढच महततव दिल गल. तिच वयकतिमततव, आशा-आकाकषा, छद, मत याकड जाणीवपरवक दरलकष कल गल. ही उणीव भरन काढणयासाठी तिचया नयायय हककाला, वयथा-वदनाना साकार करणयासाठी सतरीवादाच हककाच विचारपीठ तिला मिळाल. पारपरिक गतारथ विचाराना तिलाजली दणयाचया परकरियतनच उदयाची नवविचाराची सतरी उभी राहील, हा विशवास सतरीवादान सतरियामधय जागविला. यामळ समाज परिवरतनात मोलाची भर पडली आह. English Abstract: Feminism is a western concept that has emerged in modern times. During the British rule, male social reformers started a movement against the enslavement of women. They attacked the concept of Child murder, Child marriage, Sati Pratha, Keshvapan, Polygamy, Jaratha Bal Vivah. As women, she should be respected as a person, her share of the father and her husband’s Property, equal rights, equal status and liberty is the key to feminism. The feminine argument rejected the male-female distinction. In the political sphere the principle of one person one vote was applied. But the social sector continued to suffer. The woman was given as much importance as a consumable item. She deliberately ignored her personality, aspirations, hobbies and opinions. She got her equality rights, the pains, feminism’s right to realize this deficiency. The new thinking women will emerge from the process of transforming, traditional, transcendental thinking. This belief was aroused in women by feminism. This was contributed to the transformation of society.

Witchcraft‐related Abuse and Murder of Children with Albinism in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Conceptual Review

Babies born with the inherited condition albinism, resulting in reduced melanin pigment in their hair, skin and eyes, are vulnerable in multiple ways in Africa: as children, as visually impaired, as socially ostracised, isolated and excluded, and as potential victims of witchcraft‐related violence targeted for their body parts for use in ‘lucky’ charms thought to bring good fortune. This conceptual review summarises the scarce research on this topic within an integrated framework of otherness (highlighting the ways in which these children differ from others in their group and how this is perceived by themselves and others), watchfulness (the consequences and impact of this very visible difference on families and communities) and agency (what such children themselves and other people can do to respond to these abuses of human rights). The paucity of information on the lives of children with albinism in Africa limits the development of appropriate interventions to support, empower and, most importantly, protect them at this time of danger in the region. This review proposes a conceptual model to act as a platform for research on which to build and enhance our understanding of the lives of children with albinism in sub‐Saharan Africa.‘This conceptual review summarises the scarce research on this topic within an integrated framework of otherness…, watchfulness… and agency’Key Practitioner Messages Mutilation and killing of people with albinism, particularly children, have increased over recent years. Very little is known about the physical and psychosocial issues facing children with albinism in the context of threats of assault and attack. Children with albinism are seen as ‘other’, with the violent context making them and their families watchful and vigilant. This threatens their agency and safety.

Evolution of the Russian Criminal Legislation on Responsibility for Murder by Mother of her Newborn Child

Without knowledge of history, without a deep retrospective analysis of any legal institution it is impossible to imagine the ways for its further improvement. This is quite true of the institute of murder by mother of her newborn child. This paper attempts to investigate the evolution of criminal responsibility for the murder of a newborn child by the mother, to establish the attitude of the legislator to this type of crime at different stages of development of the Russian criminal legislation — from the time of Ancient Russia to the present. To this end, the main historical legislative acts on the regulation of criminal law against this act are analyzed.The problem of the considered type of murder is extremely relevant. In the Russian doctrine of criminal law there are two positions concerning Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation providing the softened criminal responsibility for this crime. According to one of them, the article is relevant but it needs to be improved; according to the second point of view, it is subject to exclusion and the guilt of such a murder should be criminalized on general grounds for a classified murder. The author of the article speaks in favor of the latter point of view.

EXPERTISE IN GERECHTSDOSSIERS

EXPERTISE IN CASE FILES The practice of forensic psychiatry in the Netherlands, 1811-1930 Research on the history of Dutch forensic psychiatry has hardly taken into account how psychiatrists functioned in practice. This article, based on 485 court cases of (child)murder, rape and arson, provides an inventory of the role of psychiatrists in the courtroom. It distinguishes between three regimes of knowledge: a first regime in the first half of the nineteenth century, when there is much overlap between lay and expert knowledge on the mind; the second from ca. 1880, when increasingly reference is made to scientific concepts and reports became standardized; and a third regime around 1920, when an emphasis on scientific methods found its way into the reports. An analysis of verdicts shows that the judges often agreed with the expert reports. The relationship between the judges and psychiatrists can be qualified as one in which judges accorded room for experts, who, however, remained subservient to the judiciary.

El arte de la subversión en la España inquisitorial: Fernando de Rojas y Francisco Delicado (con dos notas de Cervantes) by Manuel da Costa Fontes

Reviewed by: El arte de la subversión en la España inquisitorial: Fernando de Rojas y Francisco Delicado (con dos notas de Cervantes) by Manuel da Costa Fontes Patricia W. Manning Manuel da Costa Fontes. El arte de la subversión en la España inquisitorial: Fernando de Rojas y Francisco Delicado (con dos notas de Cervantes). iberoamericana / vervuert, 2018. 470 pp. in the preface to this translation and update of his study of literary modes of subversion (originally published in 2005 as The Art of Subversion in Inquisitorial Spain: Rojas and Delicado [Purdue UP]), Manuel da Costa Fontes affirms: "traté de poner el libro al día, incorporando la crítica pertinente que ha aparecido durante los últimos años" (15). While the Spanish-language version represents a solid contribution to the field, it would have benefited from deeper engagement with scholarship published since 2005. This is not to suggest that no changes have been made. In this new edition, Costa Fontes cites from the Spanish translation of Henry Kamen's now classic book on the Spanish Inquisition (La Inquisición española: mito e historia, translated by Juan Rabasseda and Teófilo de Lozoya, Crítica, 2013). And the bibliography relating to the literary works that Costa Fontes analyzes generally has been updated; however, gaps become more apparent in the volume's underpinning arguments. For example, chapter 1 ("El problema converso") characterizes the first centuries after the Muslim conquest of 711 as a "período de tolerancia en el que cristianos, musulmanes y judíos vivían juntos, en coexistencia pacífica" and "convivencia" that came to an end as Christians came to control more territory (17–18). This notion of medieval convivencia overlooks recent work that offers a more complex picture of coexistence among the three religious communities in Iberia. To mention only one example, David Nirenberg's assertion "that violence was a central and systemic aspect of the coexistence of majority and minorities in medieval Spain" (Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages, Princeton UP, 1996, p. 9) offers an important counterpoint to the picture of amicable cohabitation that should have been taken into consideration. Moreover, this and Nirenberg's other books, along with Patricia E. Grieve's monograph (The Eve of Spain: Myths of Origins in the History of Christian, Muslim and Jewish Conflict, Johns Hopkins UP, 2009), could have enriched [End Page 251] an argument that at times seems overly focused on Christian-Jewish (or -converso) relations. Another shortcoming is that Costa Fontes includes relatively few references to Muslims (or Moriscos) in Iberia and only considers the Mediterranean settings of the Retrato de la Lozana andaluza (hereafter La Lozana) in appendix 2, which discusses Moriscos in Don Quijote. Also in chapter 1, Costa Fontes alludes to rumors about Jewish residents' purported murders of children in Spain without referencing Grieve's analysis of devotion to El Niño de la Guardia, a folk saint whose popular devotion fanned the flames of anti-Semitism (Grieve 98–104). Another issue emerges when Costa Fontes draws attention to the tendency to encode erotic language in the guise of less sexualized content (195n158, 255); on such occasions, his arguments would have been enhanced by reference to Adrienne Laskier Martin's study (An Erotic Philology of Golden Age Spain, Vanderbilt UP, 2008). An important addition Costa Fontes makes to his study of subversion with this Spanish translation relates to the two appendices concerning works by Miguel de Cervantes. Appendix 1 ("El poder nivelador del amor en La española inglesa") examines the role love plays in the exemplary novel. Beyond the redeeming value of love, the analysis of this novella also concerns the converso community. Isabela's status as a Catholic Spanish woman in England not only analogously references the status of the converso community in Spain, but also the case of María Nunes, a Portuguese Jewish resident of Amsterdam kidnapped by English forces, "la cual, sin duda, sirvió de inspiración a Cervantes" (375). While it is certainly possible that a reader interested in converso culture would make these connections, it also seems equally likely that readers, especially those residing in Spanish communities that...

The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta by Maurice J. Hobson

Reviewed by: The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta by Maurice J. Hobson Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta. By Maurice J. Hobson. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. Pp. xiv, 321. $29.95, ISBN 978-1-4696-3535-4.) Much has been said about Atlanta, Georgia, and its complicated history of race, class, and power. Historian Maurice J. Hobson, in The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta, makes interventions in Atlanta studies by providing perspective on the city's "black masses," an amorphous group encompassing the city's black poor and working classes (p. xi). Hobson's fundamental thrust is that the narrative of Atlanta as a "Black Mecca" of exceptional African American success and opportunity is more myth than reality. While a visible black political class secured control over the municipal government in the early 1970s and helped establish greater black [End Page 505] wealth, the black masses have been locked out of power and access to the economic boom sweeping the Sun Belt city. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the city's history up through the assassination of Atlanta native Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Hobson also uses the first chapter to foreshadow the class chasms that ground the book's focus. The turning point in black political power in Atlanta was the election of Maynard H. Jackson Jr. in 1973 as the South's first black mayor of a major city. In his first term, Jackson forged aggressive affirmative action programs that opened access to the city's coffers that had theretofore been exclusively reserved for white firms. He also opened the city's municipal power to black managers, and many black Atlantans anticipated greater achievements. The firing of mostly black striking sanitation workers in 1977, however, sets the author's tone that frames Jackson as a racial champion and symbol who was simultaneously more interested in black middle-class and elite interests. Unlike the broad sweeps of the first two chapters, Hobson gives deft attention to the traumatic ordeal of the Atlanta Child Murders in chapter 3. Over a span of two years, thirty black people, mostly children, were found murdered in and around Atlanta, crimes attributed to a serial killer. The slow response to the killings was, to some, indicative of a lack of empathy for the victims, "whose parents were at the bottom of the economic ladder" (p. 100). (Hobson's appendix, which profiles each victim, is a nod at humanization of them all.) The focus on Mayor Andrew Young's assiduous efforts to attract business investment and the "Olympification" of the city in the 1990s extends the discussion on class rifts in the city, where poor residents were often an afterthought to the big picture of capitalist enterprise (p. 10). The truly novel intervention here is the exploration of the significance of the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, established by Jackson in his first term. Hobson focuses on how the bureau helped cultivate the local music scene, which had important national implications. Giving considerable attention to hip-hop groups OutKast and Goodie Mob, Hobson argues that these rappers gave voice to the concerns and frustrations of the black masses, who remained deeply distrustful of the black and white political elites. Throughout, Hobson insists that the black masses viewed the governing black elite with contempt, often regarding them "as puppets or . . . white men in blackface" (p. 25). While there are some compelling logics to the thesis, the argument would be much stronger with better utilization of data. Did conditions for the black masses (such as poverty, home ownership, employment rates, education rates, and so on) improve or worsen under black municipal control? The claim that "the majority of black Atlantans remained in abject poverty" at the end of Jackson's term is not supported by data (p. 95). Any additional evidence to substantiate charges that the black masses resented the black political class—such as polls and voting patterns—should have been used. In the end, Hobson does what...

Syrian «Chemical War»

This article shows that the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) was doomed for destruction by the «collective West» at least since 2002 within the framework of the process of fragmentation of the states of the Greater Middle East and bringing the Muslim Brotherhood to power in these countries. Later this process was called the Arab Spring. The analysis of the alleged «facts» of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Armed Forces made it possible to establish that they were nothing more than primitive artificial performances. No «chemical attack» in Syria, attributed to the Syrian army, pursued military objectives. The basic principles of the use of chemical weapons in combat were ignored. Not a single case of the use of factory-loaded chemical munitions has been recorded. Information attacks of the Western media and non-governmental organizations, as well as their claims about the «Asad's regime»'s «chemical war against its own people» were carried out to support the Syrian anti-governmental forces at the time of their offensive on the government-controlled territory, or when they were defeated by the Syrian army. Since 2013 the opposition has been practicing mass abductions and murders of children in order to obtain more convincing «pictures». But these crimes did not attract any attention of the Western governments or human rights organizations. The article also presents the evidence of systemic failures and shortcomings in the work of the OPCW - UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) and the OPCW Fact Finding Mission (FFM), formed to establish the facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals for hostile purposes in Syria. Considering staged fake chemical attack in Syria within the context of modern geopolitics, we can assume that it is possible to talk about the new «crusade» on Russia and its allies, but with the use of weapons of mass destruction. After the retrospective analysis of the mechanisms of information warfare, we may also note the deep intellectual degradation of its organizers in comparison with the similar information operations of the 1990s. This circumstance poses a serious threat not only to Syria and Russia, but to other countries as well, because the organizers of these operations are unable to assess even the immediate impacts of their actions

Common Sense, No Magic: A Case Study of Female Child Murderers in the Eighteenth Century

This article presents the results of a psychiatric and church-historical analysis of the substantial court records from 21 cases of female child murderers in eighteenth-century Denmark-Norway. We investigated, first, the appearance of mental aspects in the cases and if they allowed for a retrospective clinical hypothesis regarding the mental state of the offender. Second, traces of theological or religious elements and third, trends or developments in the cases from 1697–1758 were considered. After an introduction to the legal framework, we present six cases with mental aspects, comprising existential death wish, depression, acute stress disorder, polymorphic psychosis, psychotic state and personality disorder to illustrate findings regarding the murderers’ mental states. Religious elements and developments proved hard to find. The results of the analysis point to social and mental rather than religious causative factors for the murders. To some degree they resemble present-day “suicide by cop” or homicides committed by mentally ill persons. This calls for a modification of the theory of so-called suicide murders and a religious or particularly Lutheran component in this regard. The in-depth analysis indicates that court procedures were perfectly commonsense and included mental aspects but seldom religion – and no magic.

Exploring adverse parent-child relationships from the perspective of convicted child murderers: A South African qualitative study.

Child homicide is the most extreme form of violence against children. Within South Africa, children face the highest risk of homicide by parents/caregivers. It is suggested that prolonged exposure to adverse relationships with one’s own parents may be linked to committing child homicide as it may lead to psychological damage and disturb neurological functioning. This paper explores the adverse parent-child relationships of 22 men and women incarcerated for the murder of either a biological child, a stepchild or a child in their care and draws on 49 in-depth interviews with these participants. We illustrate that traumatic parent-child experiences in the form of absent parents, neglect and abuse have a profound impact on establishing unhealthy attachment styles and emphasize the importance of early adverse parent-child bonds in setting the tone for future bonds as adults. The pathway to adopting an adverse attachment with one’s own child is argued to be influenced by these early traumatic emotional experiences within the home. This study highlights the need to acknowledge the impact that adverse parent-child experiences have on the formation of violent forms of parental behavior. It is imperative to reduce children’s emotional vulnerabilities by implementing strategies to strengthen current parenting practices, to promote the development of less violent parent-child relationships and to work towards resolving parents’ experiences of trauma in reducing child homicide.

The Forsaken Son: Child Murder And Atonement In Modern American Fiction, by Pederson, Joshua

The Forsaken Son: Child Murder And Atonement In Modern American Fiction, by Pederson, Joshua

Focus on children murdered by parents in Italy: A sad reality

With a documented history of over a cen-tury, it is noted that child murders, perpe-trated by their own parents, are an inter-esting and dramatic phenomenon in the Italian territory. There are three forms of child homicides: neonaticide, infanticide and filicide.Thanks to several legal reports and studies, it is possible to draw the profile of the typi-cal murderer: usually a young, Northern Italian woman, unemployed, in a conflict-ing relationship and suffering from psy-chiatric disorders. In most cases, the crime takes place at home. No particular method for committing the murder is preferred, but the death of the child can be due to dif-ferent causes.Precautionary measures should be taken: parents should never be left alone facing health or psychiat-ric problems, families should be helped and supported during difficult times, women should be well-in-formed and aware of their rights.

The Forsaken Son: Child Murder and Atonement in Modern American Fiction by Joshua Pederson

The Forsaken Son: Child Murder and Atonement in Modern American Fiction by Joshua Pederson

The Specter of Infanticide in Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor

This essay argues that in Billy Budd, Sailor: An Inside Narrative, Herman Melville draws on the 19th-century reading public’s repugnance towards infanticide to both construct his narrative and inspire readers’ emotions to critique capital punishment. The connections between child murder and the execution of Billy in Billy Budd emerge out of the transatlantic literature and culture of capital punishment reform, which includes, significantly, George Eliot’s novel Adam Bede. A reading informed by the literary and cultural history of child murder reveals that Melville’s critique of sovereign power draws on the emotional dynamics of the infanticide narrative. Billy embodies elements of both the infanticidal mother and the murdered child, while Captain Vere exhibits a parental sympathy that might be associated with 19th-century sentimental reformers. Dramatizing how Vere’s personal connection with Billy ultimately supports the aims of sovereign power, Melville provides a compelling enactment of the corrosive effects of biopolitics on human relationships. Beyond that, Melville’s use of the infanticide topos ultimately likens Billy’s execution to a coolly rational infanticide by the state.

Newborn Child Murder Committed by his Mother: Criminal Legal and Criminological Problems

The authors research criminal law issues, special attention is given to the reasons for the newborn child murder by the mother with the assumption that the cause of this crime is the mother lacking maternal instinct which is biological in nature and is a necessary condition for the continuation of the human race. The data characterizing the identity of the perpetrators and circumstances of the perpetrated crimes are provided. External circumstances, which act as conditions inducing women to commit such an act are outlined. Among these circumstances are: the condemnation by relatives and friends, lack of housing and income, and other circumstances allegedly impeding the implementation of maternal functions. All these circumstances are appreciated in the criminological value as conditions. The authors select socio-demographic data on the identity of women who killed newborns, some of these data are presented in dynamics. Also the state of the mentioned murders is provided in dynamics.

Men as victims of intimate partner violence - a case report

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important worldwide problem. Several studies on IPV found equivalent rates of assault perpetrated by men and women. The victim was a 30 years old three wheel driver, married with two children. He was assaulted by his wife with a club over the head and was admitted to the Teaching Hospital Karapitiya. A CT scan of the brain revealed a left parieto-occipital large extra dural haemorrhage (EDH), left parietal skull fracture with midline shift of 2cm and cerebral oedema. Left tempero-parietal craniotomy and evacuation of EDH was done. On examination, apart from the surgical incision, he had a sutured laceration 8cm in length over the left side of the head. Left sided 3rd cranial nerve palsy was also present. The idea of women being violent is a hard thing for many people to believe as it goes against the stereotype of the passive and helpless female. This, in spite of the fact that women are known to be more likely than men to commit child abuse and child murder. Findings of this case suggest that women use IPV against their male partners. Given the potentially serious physical and mental health consequences this can have, particularly for victims, research in this area needs to move beyond the argument over who perpetrates more IPV and who suffers more as a consequence of IPV.

The Vetting Epidemic in England and Wales

This article charts the rise of criminal vetting by employers and voluntary organisations in England and Wales. It examines the historical roots of vetting and its progress from being initially a marginal concern for specialised groups to its position as an integral part of the recruitment process for over 3,000,000 people per annum by 2007. Critical exploration of this shift is provided—key events such as the conservative government consultation of the early 1990s and the incremental implementation of its recommendations are re-evaluated. This article identifies and examines the correlation between the media reporting of, and subsequent public reaction to, a series of high-profile child murders and the response of the legislature and the judiciary to these which lead ultimately to the development of a vetting epidemic in England and Wales by 2007. The role played in this development by vested interests, such as voluntary groups and employers, will be traced and critiqued, along with the missed opportunities for reform which might have prevented the epidemic’s spread.