Such are the facts of this case taken from the official report, and from an extract published by M. de Morsier in the Signal de Genève.
We are compelled to exclaim with M. de Morsier that a legislation which, in such a case, condemns to death one who can justly be called a victim, while leaving unpunished the real culprit, is calculated to destroy all belief in justice in a democracy which calls itself Christian. It is a justice of barbarians, a disgrace to the twentieth century. The tribunal and the juries have enforced to the letter an article in the Code, and this is called justice! We may well say: Fiat justitia, pereat mundus.
Frieda Keller was no doubt in an abnormal condition of mind; she probably suffered from the influence of auto-suggestion which became an obsession. Such cases are not uncommon. This is clearly shown by the absurdity of her manner of acting, which was both useless and pernicious, while she might easily have got out of her difficulty in other ways. If our judges and juries had a little more knowledge of human psychology and a little less of the Code in their heads, they would have had some doubts on the mental integrity of the accused, and would have ordered an expert examination by a mental specialist. But, apart from this point, I put the question—can we expect from a woman, maternal sentiments for a child resulting from sexual surprise bordering on rape?
In the preceding chapter I have demanded the right of artificial abortion to women rendered pregnant by rape or against their will, and I think the case of Frieda Keller supports my contention. I do not intend to justify the assassination of a child already five years of age; but I wish to point out that the absence of maternal love is quite natural in such a case. It is precisely the instinctive aversion of Frieda Keller for her child, otherwise inexplicable, which shows most clearly that it was a case of imposed maternity, or sexual satisfaction on the part of the father alone.
The tragic case of this unfortunate woman well illustrates the brutality and hypocrisy of our customs regarding the sexual question, and shows what terror, shame, torment and despair may be caused by the point of view of the so-called rules of morality. In the presence of these facts I do not think I can be accused of exaggeration: it is only parchment-hearted jurists and government officials who can remain indifferent in such cases.
Penal servitude for life for the poor victim of such cruelty is a kind of "mercy" which rather resembles bitter irony. The law of St. Gall can do only one thing to repair the evil; that is to change its laws and liberate the victim as soon as possible.
In ordinary infanticide the true assassin is not usually the mother who kills her child, but rather the father who abandons the woman he has made pregnant, and disowns the result of his temporary passion. In the case of Frieda Keller, maternal heredity, the results of meningitis, stupidity, irreflection, want, shame, fear, a pathological obsession, and finally the unworthy conduct of the father, all combined in making this unfortunate girl a victim rather than a criminal. Her child was not only a source of great anxiety but also an object of instinctive repulsion.
How is it that such a brave and industrious woman can feel repulsion toward her own child? If the judges had asked themselves this question and had replied to it without prejudice, forgetting for the moment their Code and prejudices, they would not have had the courage to condemn the woman to death, nor even to condemn her at all; for their conscience would have clearly shown them the true culprits—masculine brutality, our hypocritical sexual customs, and the unjust laws inspiring terror in a feeble brain.
When every pregnancy and every birth are looked upon by human society with honor and respect, when every mother is protected by law and assisted in the education of her children, then only will society have the right to judge severely of infanticide.