Basic moments
Maternal infanticide is a crime in which a woman takes the life of her newborn child. The act is classified as a special type and is punished less severely than other murders. This approach is explained as follows: during pregnancy, a woman’s hormonal background changes so much that it affects her behavior and emotional reactions. The process of childbirth itself is a difficult ordeal, accompanied by physical and psychological suffering that can cause mental disorders.
Article 106 for the murder of a newborn child applies if the crime was committed before the infant was one month old. The fact of murder is recognized on the basis of specific actions committed by the mother (suffocation, drowning, causing physical injury, etc.), but under Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation also covers other actions:
- leaving the child in places with low temperatures (in the attic, in the basement, outside in the cold, etc.), in places where it is difficult to find the baby and save him from death. If the child was found in a crowded place and was warmly dressed (the mother took care of his safety), this act is classified under another article;
- lack of feeding and care - the child could be alone for a long time, and the mother would not approach him.
In Russia, law enforcement agencies quite often encounter cases in which they do not have enough evidence to bring mothers to justice.
Objective side of the crime
The killing of a newborn child by a mother is a crime against life. In the modern domestic criminal legal framework, this type of crime is privileged, since when a crime of this nature is committed, in most cases there is a state of passion, as well as circumstances of psychophysical properties. Previously, such a crime was regulated under Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and was equated to ordinary murder. However, over time it came under the jurisdiction of Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and began to be considered as a special crime committed under the influence of certain factors and circumstances.
In accordance with the current norms of criminal law, the objective side of this crime will be the death of a newborn by his own mother. It is worth noting that this crime can be committed both through certain criminal actions (wounding, strangulation, etc.) and through inaction, for example, by consciously refusing to feed a newborn baby.
The elements of this crime include many factors, including both the psychological imbalance of the child’s mother and intent. The law provides for three types of this crime:
- Killing a child during or after childbirth. In this situation, the court takes into account the age of the child against whom the crime was committed. In this category, a short period of time is allowed, which is no more than 30 days from the date of birth;
- The murder of a newborn child by a mother in a situation characterized by a negative impact on the psyche of the mother in labor. As a rule, pregnancy causes some mental disorders in women, and if additional aspects appear that can negatively affect the expectant mother, then mental problems may very likely arise that will lead to a terrible tragedy. Anything can be attributed to such reasons, but most often in judicial practice there is a father’s abandonment of a child, his sudden death, bullying of the woman in labor by others, etc.;
- Murder committed in a state of psychological imbalance, or in the presence of mental problems. This type of crime is committed due to problems with the woman’s health, primarily psychological. Often, before and after childbirth, various depressions and psychoses may occur, which can push the new mother to commit a serious crime.
Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: corpus delicti
When considering a criminal case under Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the object of criminal activity is the life of a newborn who is unable to resist and defend himself. The child's mother is the perpetrator. She was supposed to take care of the baby, but instead she chose to get rid of responsibility, but did not entrust the child to special services, but took his life.
This crime is horrific, but the punishment for it is not too great. The woman is acquitted by mitigating circumstances. This is postpartum depression, a difficult situation in life, and so on.
If the circumstances of the murder do not correspond to Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then it is qualified under another article, and a term of 8 years of imprisonment is assigned.
Taking life during childbirth
In practice, the phrase “during childbirth” is rarely used. Proving the commission of such a crime is quite difficult. An unborn child is considered a fetus, and there is no criminal liability for the death of a fetus.
Note! The beginning of a child's life is considered to be the moment when he is born and begins to breathe on his own.
Other situations covered by this article
If the murder of a child does not have any mitigating circumstances, the mother will suffer severe punishment.
Immediately after birth
Doctors note that the period “immediately after birth” occurs in the first 2-4 hours, until the placenta is completely released from the woman’s body. If, after this period, no complications are detected in the woman, she can be considered completely healthy. In some cases, this period is considered as 24 hours.
If the crime occurred later than one day after the birth, then it is classified as the murder of a minor.
In conditions of psychotrauma
The murder of a child will be qualified under Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the event that it occurred:
- within one month from the date of birth;
- The woman in labor has a psychological trauma that arose due to her life situation (no money to support the baby, no housing, mother and child were kicked out of the house, the father refused to fulfill his parental obligations).
Psychological traumas that are not related to the condition and circumstances of the life of the woman in labor cannot be taken into account.
Mental disorder with preservation of sanity
The crime will be considered under Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation if:
- the child was no older than 1 month;
- The mother has been diagnosed with a mental disorder. It does not have to be associated with childbirth and postpartum psychosis. Perhaps the woman in labor had the disease before;
- the mother is in a sane state.
Note!
If the mental disorder has a scale where sanity is excluded (fever, delirium, hallucinations), criminal liability for the crime committed is not assigned.
A murder that occurred, for example, as a result of an exacerbation of postpartum depression, when the child was more than 1 month old, is classified as the murder of a minor. The punishment for this crime is 8 years in prison.
The murder of a newborn child is a serious crime, however, there are many mitigating circumstances. Each such case has its own characteristics, which only an experienced lawyer can understand. To get advice from our specialist, call the number provided or fill out the form on the website.
Murder of a newborn child by a mother: discourse
P. “c” part 2 art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a qualified corpus delicti of murder - the murder of a minor or another person, known to the perpetrator to be in a helpless state, as well as associated with the kidnapping of a person. Punishment for this crime is provided in the form of imprisonment for a term of eight to twenty years with restriction of freedom for a period of one to two years, or life imprisonment, or the death penalty. The murder of a newborn child by a mother could correspond to the offense provided for in paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, however, for such a crime there is Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It provides punishment for the murder by a mother of a newborn child during or immediately after childbirth, as well as the murder by a mother of a newborn child in a psychotraumatic situation or in a state of mental disorder that does not exclude sanity.
For this crime in Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment in the form of restriction of freedom for a term of two to four years, or forced labor for a term of up to five years, or imprisonment for the same term.
Unqualified murder (Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is punishable by imprisonment for a term of six to fifteen years, with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.
Thus, for the murder of a newborn child by a mother, a more lenient punishment is provided - as in relation to paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and in relation to Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a privileged offense of murder.
Thus, by the verdict of the Industrial District Court of Kursk dated July 7, 2011 No. 1-272-11g, a woman who gave birth to a child secretly and, due to her unwillingness to support him, killed him behind the garages, after which she left the newborn in the snow, was sentenced to three years in prison freedom. It was established that the plan to kill the child existed from the beginning, i.e. was formed before childbirth. Thus, there was a desire to commit murder, dictated by an extreme degree of cynicism. And, having given birth to a child, the condemned woman put her plan into action. This fact indicates a clearly high degree of social danger for a person capable of such cynical actions. Three years of imprisonment is a term two times less than the minimum term of imprisonment provided for in Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for murder.
The subjective side of the crime under Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, coincides with the subjective side of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and is characterized by guilt in the form of direct or indirect intent.
1) An important question is the motive of the legislator who adopted this norm and provided for a more lenient punishment for this crime than for ordinary murder. Apparently, we are talking about the manifestation of humanism towards a woman who is in a state of excitement caused by childbirth. One of the variants of the crime provided for in Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is the murder of a newborn child by a mother in a psychotraumatic situation or in a state of mental disorder that does not exclude sanity.
However, it should be understood that many murders are committed in a state of excitement, which is not a mitigating circumstance. It is also worth remembering that the privileged offense is committing murder in a state of passion, which is provided for in Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is affect, as an obligatory sign, that makes it possible to provide a more lenient punishment for a murder committed in a given state. However, Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a composition in which there is no passion. And if affect is indeed a mental state that allows one to mitigate punishment, then the mother’s excitement (which does not exclude sanity and does not imply the occurrence of a state of passion) does not really seem to be a sufficient basis for a more lenient punishment.
2) On the other hand, the establishment of a lenient punishment for this crime allows us to draw a conclusion about a lesser degree of protection of the rights of a newborn child - provided that for the murder of a minor or another person who is known to the perpetrator to be in a helpless state (provided for in paragraph “c” of Part 2 Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) provides for a more serious punishment than for unqualified murder (Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
It follows from this that there is a kind of “isolation” from the array of crimes classified under paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, murder by the mother of a newborn child.
3) It should also be noted that the murder by a mother of her own child is an extremely immoral act that is contrary to human essence and nature. It is difficult to come up with a justification that could evaluate this act as less dangerous, less immoral than the murder of a minor or helpless person (clause “c” of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and, even more so, than murder (Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The conclusion is that a mother killing her own newborn child is a particularly sophisticated and cruel form of murder. It should also be noted that the psychological state of the mother, which is positioned as a justification for a lenient punishment for this act, does not imply affect or insanity.
Qualifying the murder of a newborn child by a mother as a privileged element of murder clearly does not correspond to the principle of humanism that should be shown to victims of crime. The problem is that it is humanism that justifies a lenient punishment for a woman who committed such a cynical act.
It should be understood that the humanism of criminal law does not manifest itself at all in “pity” for criminals, but in concern for public order. The essence of criminal punishment is not “revenge” on the criminal for violating the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but for the purposes provided for in Part 2 of Art. 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: restoration of social justice, correction of the criminal and prevention of the commission of new crimes.
Therefore, more serious punishments should be provided for more serious crimes. The amount of punishment must correspond to the degree of social danger of the crime, which also characterizes the person who committed it. The more serious the crime committed, the more serious the punishment required to correct such a criminal, as well as restore justice and prevent the commission of new crimes.
Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the lenient punishment provided for in it for such a cruel, cynical, immoral and unnatural act for a person clearly does not correspond to its social danger and clearly does not allow such a lenient punishment to achieve its goals.
Therefore, the question of recognition of Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, no longer in force. If such a change is made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such crimes will be qualified under paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and for them a corresponding more severe punishment will be provided, which is much more consistent with this act.
