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NEW BOOK IS FIRST ONE-STOP GUIDE TO LATEST SCHOLARSHIP IN INFANTICIDE
New York, NY (October 16, 2002) – Infanticide is not an easy subject to
tackle, but noted expert and researcher, Dr. Margaret Spinelli has edited
a recent book and has managed to gather a wide range of scholars who offer
their informed perspectives on this most difficult of subjects.
Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill is an
educational tool for professionals working in the legal, social service,
mental health or medical fields.
“Unlike other causes of murder, infanticide has known and identifiable
precipitants, namely pregnancy and childbirth. As a society we can do a
much better job of prevention through education,” said Dr Spinelli, who
directs the Maternal Mental Health Program at the New York State
Psychiatric Institute and is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Prior to Infanticide, there has been no existing literature on this topic
for people who consult on court cases. Dr. Spinelli, who herself has
consulted on numerous cases involving mothers who kill their children,
believes that an “expert” testifying in a case needs to know the
subtleties of pregnancy and childbirth. Furthermore, she believes that
without an already established framework on which the psychiatric
community can agree, scientific evidence presented in court has little
credibility.
How, for example, is insanity defined differently in the legal vs. medical
sense?
The average person who wants to educate him/herself will also find the
book a helpful tool in that regard. While scientific progress has brought
a new understanding of how changes in the body—with or without
environmental influences—precipitate certain events, archaic laws have yet
to catch up to the research. Therefore, rather than provide treatment, we
prosecute mothers to a higher degree than do other industrialized
countries.
“From what we’ve seen elsewhere, there is no evidence of an increased rate
of infanticide when women are offered treatment and rehabilitation,” said
Dr. Spinelli. “Likewise, there is no evidence showing a decline in
infanticide after a mother accused of infanticide is convicted.”
It is hoped that this new text will lead to new inquiry in prevention and
offer a look into the minds of mothers who kill.
Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill is
published by the American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Visit them on the
web at www.appi.org.
Contact: Dacia Morris
(212) 543-5421
morrisd@pi.cpmc.columbia.edu
Visit NYSPI on the web:
www.nyspi.org
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