This article analyzes two recent trials of women accused of killing their infants. The legal strategies that employ gender of the defendant as a resource for constructing narratives of the offense are explored. This is achieved through analysis of discourses of the transcripts of the defendants' trials. Two salient discourses, patriarchal and paternalist, are identified in the article. Patriarchal discourses are characterized by the equation of womanhood and motherhood and by the overtness of the ranking of men over women. The paternalist gender management expresses itself in deference to the professional discourses that define motherhoodmedical, psychiatric, and administrative. The evidence presented suggests that maternal trials of crimes against children provide a conduit for discussion of the issues that matter-the place and importance of motherhood in contemporary society. What is taking place in these trials reflects cultural neurosis over the ambiguity with regard to the definitions of the foundational relationship of mother and child. The article suggests that the trials of mothers accused of harming their children are symbolic of the problems involved in the contemporary regulation of mothering.
In this article, the sociological and historical approaches and literatures are synthesized to present the historical background of the treatment that child-abusing and child-killing parents are receiving in the legal system today. The roots of the formation of contemporary institutional responses to severe child abuse and child homicide are traced and latest developments are examined critically. Durkheim's insights regarding the functions of law are highlighted by pointing out how, throughout history, crimes against children become stand-ins for larger societal problem. The latest innovations in the criminal branch of child protection consist of the specialized prosecution bureaus and court parts dealing with physical and sexual violence against children. Integral to the new developments in child protection are ''multidisciplinary,'' comprehensive approaches to the processing of criminal cases, involving teams consisting of representatives from the police, the prosecution, public and private social work and child protection agencies, and psychiatric, pediatric, and other medical practitioners and community partners. These developments exemplify heightened focus on criminal prosecution of parental crimes against children, inevitably leading to questions and policy concerns regarding resources geared toward punishment rather than prevention.
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