Infanticide

Infanticide Occurs when a mother, only a mother, kills her newborn child Three circumstances must be met for the crimes to be infanticide: The accused has to be the natural mother of the victim The victim must be less than 12 months old; and At the time of the killing, the accused must have been suffering from a mental disturbance caused by not being able to recover from giving birth to the victim

Infanticide Max punishment is 5 years imprisonment Created in 1948 due to the reluctance of juries to sentence mothers for murder A mother can plead to the lesser charge of infanticide based on the defence that she was still suffering from an affliction such as post- partum depression