The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of criminal justice. Specifically it will identify how mothers who kill their children cases are handled, prevented, and prosecuted. Why do mothers kill their own children? This is one of the most difficult criminal justice questions to investigate and answer. A mother killing her children seems to go against all natural and maternal laws, and yet, many mothers do kill their children in America each year. Some of the most sensational trials in American history have revolved around mothers who have killed their children. These cases are handled and prosecuted like just about any other murder case, and yet, they are different, too, because they often involve intense media scrutiny, along with highly emotional feelings on all sides of the prosecution. Mothers who kill their children often use the defense of depression or insanity, but are all mothers who kill their children insane? No, and courts are beginning to recognize that fact.

             Mothers who murder their own children seem to be some of the most unnatural and cold-blooded killers ever brought to justice. What makes women kill their own children? How does the criminal justice system view these killers? What price do they pay for killing their children? All of these questions are important aspects of the many murder cases in this area. Mothers who kill their children do so for a variety of reasons, and they are usually treated harshly in the media and in the minds of most Americans. Many criminal justice advocates believe the laws regarding women who murder their children need to be changed to recognize postpartum depression as a legitimate illness that can affect women and cause them to do things they might not normally even consider.

             Experts agree there are five distinct types of women who murder their children. The actual terms for child murder include neonatcide, when the child is within 24 hours of being born, infanticide, when the child is under one year old, and filicide, when the child is over one year old.