Multidisciplinary Teamwork and the Insanity Defence: A Case of Infanticide in Iraq

Abstract

Capital punishment still exists in many countries and mainly in the Middle East where Islam is the main formal religion for most states. Here, the author describes the case of a young woman from Iraq who was arrested by Police on suspicion of murdering her 1-year-old son. Due to concerns about her mental state, it was decided that she would appear before a specialist panel of experienced mental health professionals in the main psychiatric hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. This panel was comprised of consultant psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses whose specialism is in dealing with forensic psychiatric cases. The author has sought consent from the patient who was willing for her case to be discussed for clinical and academic purposes.