The mother who left the newborn on the stairs regrets: I did not want him to suffer, this is the biggest mistake of my life

After examining the criminal case in private court hearings, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal declared that the Panevėžys Regional Court had reasonably found Panevėžys as a citizen whose personal data was sensitive guilty of leaving a child and this health disorder and condemned him to 2 years in prison. In addition, the mother is obliged to participate in a behavior correction program for 6 months from the entry into force of the sentence, go to the consultation of a psychologist and work 150 hours a year for free in care organizations health, care and welfare or non-governmental organizations that care for the disabled, the elderly or other people in need.

The convicted person will also have to work during the entire period of deprivation of liberty, and if he loses his job, register with the Employment Service and pay his son 5,000. Eur to compensate moral damages.

“The sentence imposed on the convicted woman is fair and commensurate with the seriousness of the act committed by her,” the appeals court pointed out that there were no reasons to increase the sentence and isolate the mother who had endangered her life from society. the minor.

According to the case data, it was established that the woman gave birth to her first baby on the night of June 15 last year and left her on the second floor staircase of an apartment building on Panevėžio Vilties street. The baby was found by a resident of the house, who immediately asked for help; The baby was found to have a general body chill, leading to a life-threatening condition.

According to prosecutors, the mother of the newborn left her unable to care for the newborn without the necessary care to dispose of it and deliberately seriously altered the health of the young and defenseless member of the family: the son of her newborn.

The boy’s mother was identified by police officers the day after he was found. The baby is currently being placed in a foster home, but the mother, having understood what she has done, is trying to visit her and possibly raise her own in the future.

However, this is questioned by the minor’s guardians, who did not accept that the mother be given a lesser sentence than that provided for in criminal law – they appealed to the court of appeal against the mother’s sentence. It would be clearly contrary to the principle of justice. for committing a crime.

“A mother should be sentenced to prison, the victim’s state of health is only deteriorating, her development is lagged in some categories by 2-3 months and documents are currently being collected to determine the child’s disability,” he said in the appeal that even now the mother does not take sufficient care of her child, does not understand his state of health and cannot take proper care of him.

According to caregivers, after visits from the mother and meetings with the child, this condition worsens, it is recommended to protect the child from strong physical and emotional stimuli.

“We believe that the court of first instance has unreasonably stated that the convicted person sincerely regrets having committed criminal offenses,” says the complaint that the convicted mother speaks of her crimes without emotions, does not see their danger, has lasting consequences for the minor, and does not forgive him.

“A formal declaration of repentance cannot be considered an extenuating circumstance,” stated the guardians’ complaint before the Lithuanian Court of Appeal. Although he did not appeal the sentence, the child’s guardians also received the support of the prosecutor Dainora Miliūtė, who supported the state prosecution.

But such a position did not agree with the convicted mother, who pointed out that she could in no way agree with the position of the child’s guardians that he did not regret committing the crime because he did not show emotion when speaking of the fact.

“I grew up without my parents, I was socially neglected, so I used not to show emotions and hide them from others since I was a child, but that does not mean that I do not regret the crime,” said the convict in response to the guardians’ complaint . – Without a suitable family example and inexperienced parental love, I thought I would never be a good mother. So while she was still pregnant, she was afraid to give birth, she had no one to consult. Yes, I admit that I acted recklessly, leaving my son on the second floor of an apartment building, but I could not have foreseen such serious consequences for his health. At the time, he was sure that the child would be safe, not frozen, as he was bolted to a warm rug, left on the second floor away from the stairwell door, where the floor was lined with linoleum. I was afraid to go to the hospital, I think I need the help of a psychologist. “

The woman also stated that she has a steady job and, therefore, will not only be able to compensate the son for the damages awarded, but also continue to provide support. It is true, according to her, only if I were not in prison: “Otherwise, I would not be able to work and I would not have an income to support myself or my son.”

She also emphasized that she was trying to start the station: she was already carrying out an aid plan, visiting her son, communicating with a psychologist, a social worker, a care center, as well as being a volunteer in an institution.

“I believe that I am already severely punished for my reckless actions; after all, I am guilty that my son has serious health problems,” said the convict.

Taking into account the mother’s arguments, the appellate court judges emphasized that the punishment imposed on the offender must be fair, but the essence of punitive justice as one of the basic principles of criminal law is that the punishment must comply with two requirements: danger. of the crime and the personality of the offender. In addition, the court noted that crimes, including very serious crimes, are committed by different people with different levels of danger, so that justice is inextricably linked to another principle of criminal law: the individualization of the penalty, which is also a fundamental principle of penalty. Law. For the purpose of punishment.

“The purpose of punishment as a component of criminal responsibility is not limited to the purposes of punishment and prevention, the objectives of social rehabilitation and re-socialization of the convicted are no less important,” said the panel chaired by Judge Vitalija Norkūnaitė .

According to the judges, both during the investigation and at the judicial hearing, the convicted person admitted his guilt in a complete, consistent and substantially uniform manner throughout the process, exposed the essential circumstances of the event, and confirmed his testimony during the on-site inspection. .

Explaining the incentives for her actions, the convict said that from the beginning, realizing that she was pregnant, she did not intend to raise the child herself, she planned to leave her because she did not want her family to be the same as her family, ” said the court. – She admitted that she was afraid of the reactions of others, gossip that there is a single mother. Thus, it can be appreciated that the negative personal experience of the inmate in relationships with his family (parents) and that he did not see the example of a harmonious family and did not have an environment that would allow him to develop an adequate understanding of loved ones, relatives, taking care of him did not choose the appropriate solution “.

The witnesses interviewed in the case claimed that the two convicted parents were drunk, in conflict, there were fights between them at home, she constantly saw her mother being beaten by her father and had also experienced parental violence. The colleague convicted in court said that the woman was closed, did not want to communicate with anyone, and suffered harassment and psychological violence by other collaborators due to poor personal hygiene. And the social worker explained that during the meetings with the child, the mother is busy, shy, not sure of herself.

“It was established in the case that at the time of the commission of the crimes the convict had no relatives who could help her in the situation (the relationship with mother and sister is not very close), the relationship with the father of the woman was terminated. less. family members, coworkers and state institutions were not asked, nor was there a timely and adequate response from a state institution that is authorized to provide social services and assistance to people ”, – the panel chaired by Judge V. Norkūnaitat emphasized that those convicted and their co-workers had reported an undercover pregnancy, but the public authorities did not provide any assistance.

Responding to the guardians’ appeal that the mother did not sincerely regret her actions when she left a helpless newborn on the stairs of an apartment building, the judges emphasized that sincere remorse is found when the aggressor criticizes his behavior, consequences.

At the court hearing, the convict stated that he regretted his actions, explained that he could have given the child to someone and understood the seriousness of his accusation, currently he communicates with the son, visits him in a care center, walks several times a month , her son now means “everything”, she dreams about it at night, she plans to raise him in the future herself, take care of her, teach him, she realizes that she has done bad things, now she is interested in living as a single mother, she communicates with a she is a social worker and accepts her help ”, the circumstances were also confirmed by the center’s staff, and the convict is officially recognized as the mother of her son by court decision.

In addition, according to the judges, the child left in the stairwell was wrapped in a soft cloth, which shows that the mother, although she left the newborn without the necessary care and to get rid of it, was not entirely indifferent to his fate: “As the convict wanted the baby to be found by better people, he did not want the dogs to find him, so he took him to the second floor, he hoped it would not freeze because the summer night was warm, and he was also wrapped in a blanket, he wanted to knock someone at the door, but he got confused and left the child. “

According to the judges, the convicted person, to the extent that her current life circumstances allow it (housing, work and salary) and the social skills that she has acquired herself, provides material assistance to her son and tries to establish contact with him.

In addition, the court pointed out that after committing the crime, the mother tried to solve problems: she visited a psychologist, a psychiatrist, was provided social services, had an individual care plan, and according to the specialists who worked with her, willingly communicates and cooperates with social workers, fulfills all obligations under the plan, constantly attends consultations with psychologists, positive parenting courses, as well as tries to establish a connection with the child – goes to meetings with him , is communicated through the child’s guardian Social workers.

“It can reasonably be said that the convicted person is really critical of his criminal actions, sincerely regrets his commission and promises to amend them,” the court ruled.