Anyone here about the teenager John Oldgren that stabbed his classmate to death in Massachusetts a few years ago? He was supposed to have Aspergers, but even the doctors that testified said that people with Aspergers are gentle and non-violent. He tried to use it as an excuse along with psychosis, and the jury didn't buy it and sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
More importantly, this is a local story for me, and it frustrates me that in passing, people hear about the story or read the story and just hear "Teen with Aspergers kills classmate" and they think Aspergers equals psychosis.
Then they read about Jenny McCarthy or see the movie Rain Man and think people with Aspergers are borderline ret*d or crazy.
Does this bother anyone else?
30 Apr 2010, 6:58 pm
