the aspie defense

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These people make me mad, I hope they suffer hell in prison and let them kill themselves. I don't care. The suicide threat is pathetic.

Did anyone force them to do these things? I doubt it.

People using their AS as an excuse puts me in flames and I have no sympathy for them and I hope they suffer hell.

Last edited by Spokane_Girl on 25 Dec 2009, 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

People born with certain disorders or syndromes look as if they were born into the same family--they have similar features, statures, etc. Those of us on the spectrum don't have that advantage/disadvantage. Ours is a mostly invisible obstacle. In some ways, we are blessed as most people wouldn't stereotype us upon first site. That too, however, can be a burden as some consider us just lazy, antisocial, and/or just plain strange.

Just the other day, my new therapist said something I really had to thank him for: he said, "you know, as many people as I get to know with Asperger's and others who are on the spectrum, I'm always amazed how different you are." We ARE different people. We have different personalities, life experiences, and quirks. Sure, we have some similarities, but mostly we are individuals. Many people just don't understand that, nor the fact that autism spectrum disorders are neurological and not psychological. Therefore, the two are not mutually exclusive. One can have AS and be bipolar, depressed, and have OCD. It IS a fact that those on the spectrum have higher rates of psychological disorders--increasing with the amount of time the person has gone without diagnosis.

The hacker's story makes sense... He's not denying he's done wrong, but he doesn't want to be taken out of the environment he has acclimated to. I can identify with that, as I also don't like to be thrust from one environment to another--I say "like", but the truest word might be "abhor" or "unmanageable." Still, I can also identify with the anger some of you express over people misinterpreting Asperger's to suit their legal defense. One case comes to mind: the case of Robert Durst, the cross-dressing murderer who killed his wife, his neighbor, and his best friend. His lawyer claimed that that his client was an Aspie and that "people with this disorder don't feel guilt the way the rest of us do." Well, I am glad that his lawyer had such high esteem for himself that he dubbed himself a neuropsychologist, but he is actually describing a sociopath, not an Aspie. I repeat as many times as I meet people and tell them that I have AS, that we Aspies DO feel all the feelings that NTs do, we just may not understand or express them in the same way. Then again, we must remember that insanity is a legal word, not a medical one.

So far, the Asperger Defense is equaling the Twinki Defense, zero.

Killing your parents and then pleading that you are an orphan works better.

Neither of these was a case before facing charges, then they found Jesus.

Gary is unknown at MUFON, Wrong Planet, and seems to have learned of Asperger's from his lawyers.

For just about any crime, one could find a reason, this person should not be punished because...

The point of this is, they are defaming a group of which they are not members.

I would add this as another charge.

High Profile Trial says Aspies are unable to tell right from wrong!

Guilty, Not Guilty, the public will only remember the headline.

Gary has put himself equal to Autism Speaks in the Aspie Hall of Shame.

PS, We are not that bad, only in Texas does jaywalking carry the death penelty.

I find it disturbing that you (and others) consider a 70 year prison sentence to be a reasonable and fair punishment for anything, and that you hope someone dies for something as innocuous as credit card fraud or "looking for UFOs". Would you advocate the death sentence for other minor crimes as well? Do you really believe that a life sentence (Mckinnon will be near 120 years old after a 70 year sentence) in a foreign prison is a fair and just punishment REGARDLESS of his mental health? Is his crime SO HEINOUS that it should have a longer and more harsh punishment than sentences meted out for rape, manslaughter, murder, child abuse and even war crimes? Is credit card fraud equal to stabbing someone to death with a screwdriver for their wallet? What do you believe the punishment should be for using an unlicensed copy of windows? I really cant stress this enough.. RAPE and MURDER can carry lower punishments than this. People get 7-10 inside for CHILD ABUSE. 70 years for what Mckinnon has done would be comedy as hell if it werent for the fact its a death sentence....

I basically agree with the above assessment, and think that the UK should never have given him up for extradition here. This is yet another case of the US throwing it's weight around in the world. --It's going to really suck when China claims that position and uses their influence to extradite people from here when the 'Empire' falls, but that's karma.

It's the aspie defense that pisses me off so I don't care what they give him. If they left out his condition and didn't use it as a defense, I would have maybe thought different.

Yes, long jail time, for both of these harmed many people.

The mental health defense did not work in China, the British drug smuggler was killed.

Gary is not known in the UFO world. Or in the Autism world.

He is British, and he did spy on America.

Only a trial will tell what he did do, and for whom.

Can we all drop the autistics are special bull that some parts of the ND movement promote? Having an above average IQ does not make you special and most indivduals on the spectrum are not going to achieve anything special.

As for the individuals using the asperger defence-perfectly legitimate. Many individuals with autism break the law pursuing their special interests, Mckinnon is a prime example he was spending many hours searching for evidence of little green men and UFO technology.

This has to be taken into consideration, intent matters as does their mental state and the risk to the public. Mckinnon's crime does not merit a ten year sentence; his intention was not to cause damage, but to research his special interest and he is not a violent offender and poses no risk to the public; Still I would ban him from accessing a computer for a specific period of time.

I'm very sorry to burst your bubbles, actually I'm not, but Autism and Asperger Syndrome can be used as a defence because it may provide an explanation for their offending behaviour. It should be taken into consideration.

Okay, I'm going to go to Spokane and break into the Benny & Joon house to see the inside of it, draw the floor plans and take photos, and use my Asperger's as a defense so they can drop all the charges and tell the house owner "too bad." Not as bad as Gary but maybe I will get off easily since it was no big deal and nothing was taken no one was hurt, my parents pay the damage for the window I broke to get inside. Now everyone is happy.

I will do it this weekend and it will be exciting.

McKinnon is not using Asperger's as a defense, or to beg for a light sentence. Which is a shame, because his AS would make a good defense and a good argument for a light sentence.... but what he's doing is trying to get a "medical" exemption from extradition to even face the charges in court. That is ridiculous; it's not like "we can't move the patient" because he's got Aspergers. And his threat to kill himself if extradited is incredibly childish and stupid.


Gonzales, on the other hand, has already been convicted of a really serious crime that has a lot of victims, no innocent explanation, and nothing to do with AS. Now at sentencing he's saying he's got AS.... so what? Prison would be unpleasant for an Aspie, true... but it's unpleasant for everyone. That's the whole point!

Oh, I thought you were proposed to the AS as a defense. Now I see what you are saying.

Having been incarcerated at the pleasure of the police in the UK, and despite them KNOWING about the fact I am autistic, I was still subjected to what amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, from the time of arrest right through to release. At no point did I claim that my autism somehow automatically made me innocent (though I am disputing the arrest) but I can guarantee that a process which is unpleasant for an NT is a continuous hell for the autistic. Imagine being hypersensitive, and being locked in a small room with flourescent striplights and the continuous hum of an airconditioning system. Imagine being forced to engage in physical contact with any number of people... I could go on....Now imagine experiencing that for 60 to 80 years, several thousand miles from your home, family or friends. Aspergers may or may not be a reasonable excuse for some behaviour, but it is of paramount importance when considering what is acceptable as a form of justice. I think I can safely say that the American justice system will be about as un-autistic friendly as it gets. the British legal system and police are reasonably enlightened as far as mental health goes and they made a total hash of it. American Law clearly isnt, and the American view of what AS is is a distinctly different matter on either side of the Atlantic...

I agree McKinnon should be tried under British law. Gonzales should get the same sentence as everyone else but I believe he should be in a separate prison for people on the autism spectrum.