Not Giving Criminals with AS a Break

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You know it almost seems that when you have some kind of a highly publicized crime such as that astronaut or that recent case about the child porn on the computer and the person happens to have AS mainstream society is ready to give that person a break while we are ready to give him a kick in the behind. Just kind of an observation.

Yes, I agree, AS is NO excuse for collecting child porn, no condition or disability or anything is ever an excuse for this kind of DISGUSTING behavour, period.

Anyone using AS as an excuse should face a stimming jury of their peers.

It would end that defense.

The courts are NOT supposed to help criminals, etc.... Their job is to INCARCERATE AND PUNISH those that unjustly hurt people. ***********PERIOD************! If criminals are insane, crazy, etc... that makes them MORE of a danger, and they should be treated accordingly.

Where people get the idea that those that are mentally infirmed in such a manner should have MORE rights/freedom is BEYOND me. Frankly, if I were king, every person SUGGESTING that type of thought would be locked up as a traitor to society and humanity. I mean a sane person that kills a person raping his wife can be locked up forever while a crazy person killing all blonds is set free? RIDICULOUS! If a black kills a just white, it may be ok. If a white kills a criminal black, it may be looked at as a "hate" crime, and he may be up for life. If the victim happens to be a police officer, FORGET IT!

Yeah, anyone that claims to have AS should have their psychiatrist ready and that psychiatrist should be ready to meet the FULL FORCE of law! If s/he lies, s/he should be ready to be THROWN IN JAIL for contempt of court and perjury, and have his/her license pulled, and be fined, for malpractice!

If you ask me, the AS only means misunderstandings, and actions, can be magnified, and they may be more sensitive, and thus likely to act. Outside of those being mitigating factors, it shouldn't have any bearing on the case. That woman "astronaut" that drove all that way, for example, went TOO far.

I think what most people who post here don't realize, is that we're the autistic elite. The Very High Functioning Autistics - looking down from lofty heights on our more disabled brethren. Spend a little time researching autism and forensics and remember there are Aspies out there, that are as disabled as non-verbal LFA's. I'll be back in time for you GoogleHounds' responses.

For example try www.ihaveaspergers.co.uk , did this guy deserve to end up in prison?

Yeah, well, it's not like we deserve a break based solely on the fact that we're autistic. We know the difference between right and wrong, sometimes better than the masses.

And a lot of Aspies, especially when young, are so naive and socially inept, as to break the law without any idea that they are doing wrong. Look for info on the Hayes Hospital and Milton Park Hospital [Both in the UK]. Both have forensic units full of Aspies, so disabled as to have been sent to Hospital instead of prison.

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine that a teenage (I assume you're not referring to VERY young Aspies) Aspie would be unable to differentiate right and wrong, at least the sort of wrong that would get them sent to jail.

Absolutely wrong. The justice system is supposed to rehabilitate criminals so that they can return as productive members of society. The idea that people should be punished only for the sake of being punished is cruel and barbaric. The way the U.S. penal system is currently set up, people who enter for relatively minor crimes come out criminally "sophisticated" and initiated into a highly unsavory subculture that promotes further criminality.

If anyone can't imagine an Aspie not knowing the difference between right and wrong, then they've failed to understand just how broad the "Spectrum" is, and how profoundly disabling Aspergers can be. To say it again, we are the Elite, the VHFA's. Please follow the research suggestions above. It's importent to understand, and for us uberAspies to advocate for, those not so fortunate as us.

2ukenkerl and NeantHumain: The justice system both punishes and rehabilitates criminals- it all depends on the severity of the crime.

AS or NT...a criminal is a criminal. I'm not going to defend one, nor go against one.

That may be how the present system is set up, but what purpose does punishment serve? If the only purpose is to make the victim or relatives and friends of the victim feel that justice has been served, this is not justice; justice is not a system of revenge on a grand scale. Even if one replaces the victim with the more abstract society, revenge is still not justice. Some people postulate that punishment is an effective deterrent to crime, but I doubt its effectiveness. Think back to your childhood. What effects did punishment have? Punishment breeds resentment, hatred, and anger: all things that can lead to more problems. The proper approach is rehabilitation: teaching more effective strategies, teaching the harm crime causes the criminal and everyone else, and even nurturance (many criminals come from neglected backgrounds).

The common belief is, some criminals deserve to be punished.

Straying slightly from the topic, here in Britain, some really awful, unrepentant criminals are in the papers almost every week; "Ian Huntley makes more demands for curtains and doughnuts and gay lovers", etc. In the case of such people, mollycoddling and therapy isn't likely to get anywhere, and jail's nothing but a holiday camp. You can't TRULY rehabilitate such people, so they should be punished. Jail is both a rehabilitation centre and a deterrent.

Punishment adds a little justice, and helps to DETER OTHERS! Trying to appeal to my feelings about past punishment just gives me more resolve in this. Never mind that I was usually punished for someone ELSES misdeed!