The Role of Medical Findings in Criminal Proceedings Initiated for Infanticide

Abstract

The study examines the role of medical records (visum repertum) in three criminal proceedings initiated for infanticides in Békés County. The expert opinions were written in accordance with the provisions of decrees and with the regulations of the medical profession. The prosecution and the defence based their arguments on the expert opinions, and the court accepted, in every instance, the forensic medical expert’s position. In one case, the body of the infant was not found, wherefore the woman was convicted for adultery, on the basis of the medical examination proving childbirth (1823). In the second case, a preterm birth occurred, so the widow was punished for concealing her pregnancy (1847). In the third case, only the infant’s fatal bleeding could be proven, but the intent to cause injury could not; consequently, the girl was found guilty in wrongful death caused by negligence (1834).