woman suffocated her new born baby walks free

[starshaker]

\link{http://scotlandtoday.scottishtv.co.uk/content/default.asp?page=s1_1_1&newsid=11184&newsType=\here} this is so sad

[julienetmum]

Don't judge unless you have been there. Something similar happened in my family years ago. Apparently the police were very good with the young girl and she wasn't even charged.

Obviously this was many years ago before there was such a witch hunt atmosphere and media frenzy with regards to events like this.

[SparklyGothKat]

She was 20 when she was charged with the baby's murder, a year ago, so she would have been 19 when she was pregnant, not 21.

[hellywobs]

In other countries there is no such thing as prosecuting women who commit infanticide - they are helped and given support, not treated as criminals and not sent to prison or vilified. I agree that there is a witch hunt atmosphere and would say "there but for the grace of God". If I had got pregnant in my teens not sure what I would have done either. My mother always told me not to bother coming home if I did and my father would have been even less supportive.

[CarolinaMooncup]

how .

How could her parents not have noticed she was pg though? My mum guessed I was pg when I was just past 3 months, never mind 9 months and we weren't even living in the same house.

Re the sentence, isn't this the sort of sentence people normally get for infanticide? (in England, don't know if "culpable homicide" is the same thing exactly). I'm not sure why people think this is lenient tbh.

It's clear she had mental health problems - I don't think you'd be able to smother your baby then live with its corpse in your wardrobe for a month otherwise .

[expatinscotland]

Culpable homicide is known as manslaughter under English law.

This woman is of diminished capacity due to ill mental health.

[HappyMumof2]

I think it's disgusting that she escaped jail. She was 19 - not 14. I was 19 when I had my first - I was nervous telling my parents but if they had made things difficult for me I would have left home. She had a boyfriend, and it seems a supportive family there. Age is not an excuse for this

and agree, her parents must have their heads up their arses not to have noticed she was pregnant.

[HappyMumof2]

yes thanks

[ruty]

shocking that she had no support and seemingly no medical care. 'any future pregnancies will be closely monitored by the authorities.' well, if her GP had done any kind of monitoring at all, knowing she had asked for a termination, then the baby may have lived. Desperately sad. But the baby was let down by the girl's parents and doctor as well as its mother.

[PinkTulips]

going to regret getting involved in this one again but have to add that i also thought it was crazy the mother didn't notice. was 20 when pregnant with dd and my mom noticed when i was 3 months too, and we didn't even live in the same county!

why did it take til after the babies birth for the health centre to come looking for her? she was a young patient, obviously having trouble dealing with the pregnancy, angry that she couldn't have an abortion, yet the midwives didn't think it odd that she didn't turn up for appointments?

i do feel that the fact that she was looking for an abortion, then concealed the pregnancy for 5 months and murdered her child makes this more pre-meditated in my eyes than many of you seem to see it as being. she wanted the baby dead form the moment she found out, and she got what she wanted.

[expatinscotland]

happymum
this gal was NOT playing with a full deck and hadn't been for a long time - if ever. she is disabled.

[HappyMumof2]

agree with PinkTulips - got exactly what she wanted and walked away scot free. Literally got away with murder.

What would have been wrong with giving the baby up for adoption and allowing him to live? Why take his life from him the minute it started.

She had 20 weeks to think this through

[HappyMumof2]

I don't understand how she can be classified as 'disabled'???

[HappyMumof2]

report states no pyschiatric disorders........

[harpsichordcarrier]

goodness me, so much for empathy or even humanity.
how could anyone think that this girl got what she wanted and walked away scot free?
if she was thinking straight of course it would have been better to have the baby adopted. how is this outcome better for her?
she is going to be alienated from her community for ever.
I would have thought it was absolutely clear that she hadn't thought anything through - I mean she didn;t even attempt to hide the baby. She is not a master criminal.

[HappyMumof2]

mental illness but they don't make you un reponsible for your own actions

[expatinscotland]

she has pyschological mental issues, not psychiatric and appears to be emotionally extremely immature.

sorry, but mental illness can and DOES compromise peoples' actions and decision-making ability.

i'm really glad you've never had to find that out the hard way. i've had severe PND and it definitely affected my personality.

[harpsichordcarrier]

no, of course she is responsible to some extent. That is why she pleaded guilty to Culpable homicide (manslaughter). she clearly couldn't cope

[bundle]

I find it offensive to say she "wanted" to kill her baby. As far as we know she hasn't walked up to people in supermarkets and tried to kill their babies: this young woman did something wrong at a very vulnerable point in her life and no one would benefit by her being locked up. I'm pleased that her parents have found it possible to support her in spite of what has happened.