Polly Prichard: Infanticide
I committed the crime because I was frightened. A young woman is shunned and shamed when she is Found to be with Child out of wedlock. My parents are of good reputation in the town. They would have me cast out in the streets to live as a waif if they knew. I conceal'd my pregnancy for as long as Nature would allow. I feigned ill health as a way to Explain my taking to bed so often.When the time came to deliver the Child, I went to the privacy of a field. I delivered the child and wrapped it in cloth, knowing that this would cut off the babe's breathing. I was distraught that it had come to that, but I fear'd more for my Reputation. I cursed the father of the babe as tears came forth. He is a married man. Upon his discovery that I was with child, he quickly dismissed me from his life. He gave his Cause for abandoning me: a bastard child would stain his family name and cause Unrest within his home.
I did not know what to do with the Child, so I placed him in the river. This decision was a poor one for the babe washed up on the riverbank nearby. Of course, I could not provide any evidence of baby clothes for my defence. And now you find me here, awaiting my punishment by death.
*This story is not based on one particular criminal, but on collected research on infanticide from Old Bailey and various secondary sources. Please see Works Cited post.
Sir John Fielding
As you well know, our society's general thought on concealing a pregnancy is that young, "single women who concealed their pregnancies represented a distinct ideological and practical threat to the community's welfare" (Jackson 50). This is Perhaps the reason why Polly felt so frightened for reputation, along with the Concern of being cast out of her family. When it comes to prosecuting this crime, society is concerned with the behavior and chastity of the woman in Question. In my Opinion as magistrate, murder is murder. Punishment is necessary to keep the peace.
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