Mother Strangles Austistic Son

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -belt.html

Her mental stability is suspect. But letting her go free?

Exactly! There are lots of people who don't go to jail after comitting murder because they are mentally ill. However, I have never heard a case where such a person was "re-introduced into the community" (as the judge put it). In all of the other cases I've heard about, the person was committed to a mental hospital. It's that whole "danger to self and others" thing. She definately fits it.

I wish that poor boy could have been in the care of his father.

Hardly 'walking free'. I think this is a just outcome and that the risk she presents can be managed without a custodial sentence.

It's not unusual for parents who murder disabled children to get a slap on the wrist, comparatively speaking. This is a bit blatantly so, but not new. Frustratingly not new.

The article states that the boy's father was physically abusive towards his wife and had boasted to social services that he was "a wife beater and proud of it"...he hardly sounded like an ideal parent.

She's a murderer, this is ridiculous! D:< I'm f*****g disgusted! Have that woman locked up!

I have been following this story closely and this may be a first and last for me, but... I do feel for that woman, deeply. She raised 3 (or 4 can't quite remember) kids all with special needs, mostly autistic. That in and of itself makes me wonder if she herself wasn't on the spectrum. The father is a narcissistic prick who not only didn't help her at all, but regularly beat her, and demeaned her. The boy rarely slept for more than a few hours and no one helped her whatsoever. This was a woman who slept in another part of the house with her son so his waking wouldn't disturb anyone else for years. Think about that for a minute before passing passing judgment. She had not had one night of decent sleep in years. On top of that she left her husband only to be homeless, showing lack of ANY support or social connections at all. Her and the boy were staying in hotel rooms. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to be in a position like that with a severely autistic child? No help, no resources, no hope. When she called her husband from the hotel room he told her to kill herself. I think the whole situation is so sad and so unfortunate for everyone involved. Usually, I never identify with the pain of parents who kill or harm their kids, but as I said, this time I am making an exception. What this woman went through is a tragedy. The husband should have to be brought up on some charges, as he's created this situation, or at the least contributed greatly to it.

She's lost her child. You can't punish her any further. The only reason to lock her up would be if she presented a risk to other children which couldn't be managed any other way.

This is a tragedy for all involved, and if help had reached her sooner it might never have happened. The husband sounds like a bastard, but realistically all that could be achieved would be to get him out of her life.

Autism is enough to f*****g drive anyone crazy. I have mild AS and it drives me and my family crazy, let alone severe Autism!

There was no need for murder though. Murder is never an answer.

Last edited by Joe90 on 01 Jul 2011, 11:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

they should execute her IMO. the whole argument is BS. what next? we give ghetto thugs a free pass to killing because they grew up poor and were traumatized? she should be in the needle chair.

Seriously who murders a child.....she needs to be in a psych ward or something if its that there is somethign going on with her psychologically but if not then she should be in prison for murdering a freaking child. Though at the same time I personally in the past have thought that if a child or adult is in extreme suffering and there really is no hope maybe they should be put out of their misery in extreme cases.....but from what I have seen of just autism alone its not quite like that so yeah strangling the child with a belt is just not something you do.

Last edited by Sweetleaf on 01 Jul 2011, 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

She'd probably not argue with that, as her own suicide attempt failed. The example you gave is not one that is applicable in this scenario. She isn't a thug, and she did not do anything to anyone to gain anything except a reprieve from her pain that no one in life would allow her compassionately to have. Not a moment of peace. She'd have only killed herself if she thought that anyone might take care of her son, but life as such was exactly the opposite. Reality as it were for them was that no one would step up and care for him in anyway that would be positive. There was no one to leave her vulnerable son with. No one.

Without knowing the specific medical issues, it's difficult to be too judgmental on anyone. The judge heard all the evidence while we only got a 1 page internet article. It doesn't sound like the kid's disorder was much of an issue and that the case turned on the woman's mental state. Part of the issue with sentencing is whether the guilty person is likely to reoffend or commit other crimes without punishment. In this case, it seems unlikely this woman will commit another violent crime IF she receives proper mental health care, and I think the sentence reflects that. It costs a great deal of money to imprison someone and if that imprisonment serves no purpose other than some sense of moral retribution, there are probably better ways to spend the money. To me, a sound justice system should be based on reason and rationality, and not the base emotional urge for retribution.

People who have not been carers themselves are not in a position to judge.

Is murder wrong? Yes. However, this type of murder is far more understandable, though still not excusable.

Living homeless with a severly autistic child... where were the social services, where was the family, where was this prick of a husband who thinks it is such a 'tragedy'.

It's only a tragedy to these people after the fact when there is finger pointing and blame to place.