So discovered an American mother, who breast fed her baby after taking a large quantity of methamphetamine. She has been charged with various crimes, including murder, manslaughter and child abuse, after her son, aged 6 weeks died, and was found to have methamphetamine in his system.
The mother’s lawyer rejected the murder accusation, saying she was an addict, not a killer, and the murder charge ”makes her out to be a terrible, horrible person who needs to be locked away for the rest of her life”.
The prosecutor believes the murder charge is justified. He said:
”I think that her conduct is, or was, so intentionally reckless that it rises to the level of implied malice. And I think that a mother who is breast-feeding using the quantity of methamphetamine she did, I think that rises to a second-degree murder charge.”
The mother faces up to 15 years jail.
It will be interesting to see how this case goes. I think murder is a stretch – her actions were certainly irresponsible and grossly negligent, and she deserves to pay some sort of price, but I doubt there was the intent or malice for murder.
