장애인 자녀 살해 사건에 대한 판례 연구

초록

This study conducts an in-depth examination of 26 court judgments from 2014 to 2024 involving cases where parents killed their children with disabilities. The research aims to uncover the legal and social dimensions of such filicide incidents. The analysis revealed that victims were predominantly adults with developmental disabilities, with mothers being the most common perpetrators. The findings suggest that inadequate social support systems created overwhelming caregiving burdens for families, resulting in significant psychological and emotional strain for the offenders. Courts frequently viewed these distress factors as grounds for mitigating sentences. In stark contrast, the victims' fundamental rights—particularly their right to life and pursuit of happiness—received minimal consideration. The judicial approach of treating prolonged caregiving responsibilities or disability severity as normalizing factors for the offender reflects a deeply problematic societal perspective that assigns conditional value to the lives of persons with disabilities. This study reframes parental filicide of children with disabilities, moving beyond interpretations of isolated tragedies or individual aberrations to understand them as symptoms of broader structural societal issues. It urgently calls for institutional reforms to strengthen support systems that promote autonomy and comprehensive care for individuals with disabilities, and advocates for a fundamental transformation in legal and social recognition of their inherent right to life.

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