Autism Defense Again
27 Aug 2022, 9:01 pm
I think part of the problem is the lack of proper understanding of psychiatric conditions by judges. There have even been cases of individual forensic psychologists making up complete fictional disorders in cases absolving the perpetrator.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza
Judges can then hide behind the psychologists recommendations.
In the case of autism/Aspergers used in the past. I am fairly certain the judges have been caught trying to work out the level of culpability that is attributable to the condition and how much was controlled by voluntary conscious decision making.
Ultimately it doesn't matter. The crucial issue is the level of risk the person poses to the community if they were released back early based on their autism diagnosis.
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15 Oct 2022, 8:44 pm
Father of man accused of murdering UofA professor says son was ‘a ticking time bomb’
Now, Dervish’s father said this is the worst-case scenario for a pattern of concerning behavior he says they tried desperately to fix. Dolgun Dervish was in tears during his interview, trying to express his apologies and sorrow to Meixner’s family. He said his son suffered from Asperger’s syndrome and was in and out of prison because of his actions - trying to kill multiple family members.
Dolgun Dervish said his son was a ticking time bomb. “When I got the call, my first impression was it finally happened. He killed somebody,” he said. It was a startling thought for a father - anger and grief toward his son and unimaginable despair for the victim. “I’m so sorry. My heart goes for this young man. He’s 52 years old. We studied all about him. He was a wonderful man,” Dolgun Dervish said while crying.
On Oct. 5, police say former University of Arizona graduate student Murad Dervish went to the Harshbarger Building on campus and shot and killed Meixner. The professor was the head of the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, which was the program Murad Dervish was a part of until he was expelled. “My son has Asperger’s Syndrome,” Dolgun Dervish said.
He said his son’s mental disorder led to a pattern of violent behavior, which started at Penn State. “He pulled a knife on a pizza man,” Dolgun Dervish said. Then, it happened at his dad’s restaurant.
“[He] started breaking things and threw things at me and hurt me,” Dolgun Dervish said. And then toward his mom in San Diego. “There he tried to kill his mother,” Dolgun Dervish said.
Those episodes landed Murad Dervish in prison three different times. But Dolgun Dervish said he tried expressing to law enforcement that his son needed more mental health help and was a danger to everyone if he was let out.
Dolgun Dervish said he hopes to raise awareness for how devastating Asperger’s can be and why help beyond prison is necessary. And to the family of Thomas Meixner, he had this message. “I’m so sorry for your pain. I share it every day,” he said through tears.
Murad Dervish is facing charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. Thomas Meixner’s funeral is Friday in Tucson at 10 a.m. and the family says it is open to the public who wishes to come to pay their respects.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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27 Oct 2022, 9:29 am
Jan. 6 Rioter Gets 5 Years’ Probation as Judge Cites Autism Diagnosis
During his statement to the court, the man, Nicholas Rodean, struggled to explain his conduct on Jan. 6. Judge Trevor McFadden of U.S. District Court in Washington asked if he would ever do “something like this” again, according to Politico. “No,” Mr. Rodean replied.
Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of 57 months in prison. During the attack, they said, Mr. Rodean used a flagpole and a small round object to break two panes of glass in a window, which became the entry point for many rioters.
Mr. Rodean also had a hatchet, which he put away after being asked to by a police officer. Federal prosecutors said that he was the 15th rioter to enter the Capitol and was one of the last rioters to leave.
In handing down a sentence that was lower than the minimum under sentencing guidelines, Judge McFadden attributed Mr. Rodean’s actions to autism spectrum disorder, according to Politico. Mr. Rodean, from Frederick, Md., was ordered to pay $2,048 and spend 240 days of his five years of probation in home detention.
Mr. Rodean had pleaded not guilty on all counts. In July, Judge McFadden found him guilty of the felony offense of destruction of government property and six misdemeanor offenses, including engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Mr. Rodean’s lawyer, Charles Burnham, declined to comment on Wednesday, but in a sentencing memorandum, he wrote, “We submit that Nicholas’ ‘history and personal characteristics’ make this a unique case among the hundreds of prosecutions to come out of that day.”
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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24 Dec 2022, 10:53 pm
Harrison Circuit Judge Thomas A. Bedell accepted the pleas from Patrick William Kenneth Heflin and set sentencing Feb. 3. The court ordered a home incarceration investigation report in addition to the standard presentence investigation report.
Assistant Prosecutor Gina Renzelli and Assistant Defender Billie Garrett will argue sentencing. Heflin could face a total of 3-30 years in prison if Bedell imposes the maximum. Garrett is likely to request alternative sentencing or the Anthony Correctional Center for young offenders.
Heflin, born in April 2004, pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the aiding and abetting of the theft of a truck June 23 in Harrison County. Heflin also aided and abetted in a break-in where $1,200 in cash and a power tool with batteries were stolen. That crime occurred July 6 in the county.
Heflin said he wasn’t abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of his offenses, and added that he doesn’t have a problem with substance use.
Heflin twice has been diagnosed with anxiety, ADHD and Asperger’s Disorder, he told the court.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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03 Feb 2023, 11:05 am
Jared O'Mara: Ex-MP was incompetent not dishonest, jury told
Jared O'Mara is accused of submitting fraudulent invoices worth nearly £30,000 to IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
His legal team told a jury at Leeds Crown Court they must consider his state of mind at the time of the alleged offences.
Mr O'Mara denies eight counts of fraud.
During his closing arguments, Mr Mark Kelly KC, representing Mr O'Mara, told the court his client had autism, was born with cerebral palsy and was suffering from anxiety and depression at the time of the alleged offences.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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13 Mar 2023, 1:02 pm
Autistic man Jiaxin Tu who bludgeoned love rival to death has appeal dismissed
Jiaxin “Max” Tu was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 12-year minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) for the 2015 murder of 19-year-old Shane Hawe-Wilson in Panmure.
The Court of Appeal has today ruled his disorder and other mental health issues were appropriately considered during sentencing.
Hawe-Wilson was beaten by Tu with a hammer as he slept next to his partner, whose identity is suppressed.
At trial in 2016, Tu’s legal team explored a defence of insanity, which relied on testing whether or not autism spectrum disorder (ASD) qualified as a “disease of the mind” or “natural imbecility” - the legal tests that applied.
The court concluded ASD in and of itself didn’t qualify, but acute forms of autism, requiring a case-by-case assessment, could meet the test.
At trial, the jury heard from 30 witnesses. They considered and rejected the defence and found Tu guilty of murder.
The sentencing judge, Justice Christian Whata, considered a psychological report which detailed Tu’s previous mental health issues, which included a period where he perceived himself as the creator of the universe, suffering from schizoaffective disorder.
He applied the relevant legal tests, and while labelling them “antiquated and inapposite”, deemed that the requirement for a murder sentence to be one of life imprisonment, unless it would be “manifestly unjust” to do so, was met in this case.
“The evidence is tolerably clear that you were aware that killing was wrong, but that you had wrongly reasoned that you were justified in your actions,” Whata ruled.
But he also ruled that the case could not be described as a cold and calculated murder. Tu was not acting with the understanding and foresight of a mentally well person, and, subjectively assessed, his culpability was at the “lower end of the spectrum”.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and an MPI of 12 years was ordered.
Represented by Ron Mansfield KC, Tu appealed against his sentence.
Mansfield submitted that Tu’s mental illness alone should have displaced the presumption of life imprisonment, and that the aggravation of the offending and risk of reoffending are the result of his illness.
The Crown submitted in reply that it accepts Tu’s offending was influenced by both his mental health issues and ASD, but that is not a strong enough case to do away with an order of life imprisonment.
In a judgment by Justice Matthew Palmer released today, the court declined to amend the sentence, ruling the sentencing judge gave due consideration to Tu’s mental status and ASD diagnosis.
The court agreed with Justice Whata’s interpretation of the insanity test as “antiquated and inapposite”, but that the legislative direction to “denounce and deter” acts of murder was warranted in the case.
“The Judge fairly considered the clinical consensus was that Mr Tu was affected by his mental health disorders at the time of his offending. Mr Tu knew what he was doing was wrong and still chose to kill, so his mental health did not absolve him of culpability.”
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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14 May 2023, 9:35 am
Jury finds Roanoke man guilty in fatal shooting
ury on Wednesday convicted a Roanoke man of fatally shooting a relative of a former city council member at a 2021 party.
John-Bayleigh D. Smith, 22, faced two felony charges, first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of murder, in connection with the death of 46-year-old Clayton T. Williams.
After four hours of deliberation Wednesday afternoon, a Roanoke Circuit Court jury found Smith guilty of second-degree murder and the firearm charge. A sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 23.
A forensic psychology expert who evaluated Smith after the incident testified that the defendant was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and abused as a child. The evaluator described Smith as hypersensitive, hypervigilant, fearful and worried, adding that he was “moderately paranoid.”
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
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16 May 2023, 2:14 am
Not every criminal is Autistic.
But defense attorneys use autism to try and either get a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity or try and get judges to use autism as a mitigating factor at sentencing.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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20 May 2023, 8:26 pm
Man avoids jail term after sexual assault on woman at city centre nightclub
Colin Devlin had been found guilty following a summary trial of carrying out the assault in Fubar in Maxwell Place in May last year.
The 27-year-old had touched the woman on an intimate place over her clothing.
His agent told Sheriff Derek Hamilton that Devlin had been intoxicated when he carried out the offence.
Devlin, a first offender, she said, understood that it would have been dreadful for the complainer to have gone through the court proceedings and the “weight put on her to attend court and participate in the trial”.
She also pointed out that Devlin suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and finds social situations difficult.
But referring to a restriction of liberty order assessment prepared for the court Sheriff Hamilton pointed out that Devlin had expressed worries over his parents’ thoughts on the matter.
His partner was also due to have a baby this summer.
It seemed, he said, that Devlin was more concerned about how the sentencing would look and how it would affect him, adding: “Mr Devlin is forgetting who is the victim here.
“He will not be able to pick up his partner from her work if he’s in custody.
“He needs to accept he was found guilty and requires to be sentenced for that.”
Devlin’s solicitor insisted that the accused did understand the nature of the charge and severity of the proceedings, but added that he had never appeared in a court before.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Hamilton told Devlin court proceedings must have been “traumatic” for the complainer, adding: “I’m not getting the feeling you really understand that.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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09 Aug 2023, 1:06 pm
Day two of hearing in Lily Peters' homicide case, psychologist suggests teen suspect has autism
During Tuesday's proceedings, the court heard from several witnesses called by the defense. Michael Caldwell, a licensed psychologist who recently retired from the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Madison said in his opinion, 15-year-old C.P.-B. presents with moderate autism, which he says diminishes his capacity to understand the harm he caused the victim.
When questioned by the Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell, Caldwell said he could not give any assurance that the boy wouldn't commit a similar act in the future, and said that the crime had elements of being pre-planned.
"You're saying he would have a deficit as well so he wouldn't understand the wrongfulness of this act?" said Newell.
"No, I don't think I said anything about wrongfulness, but I think there would be some diminished capacity to recognize consequences and then anticipate her response to whatever he did," Cadwell said.
When asked by the defense, Caldwell said he believed C.P.-B. would be better served in the juvenile system, and that he would "lose ground" in the adult system because it is less focused on rehabilitation.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
20 Aug 2023, 3:17 pm
Autism may diminish moral blameworthiness and cause a reduced sentence. Here, this person's compulsion to collect things led to a weapons collection that was illegal. It was done for his personal pleasure and not in order to use them. A "conditional sentence" constitutes house arrest.
https://www.canlii.org/en/mb/mbca/doc/2022/2022mbca85/2022mbca85.html
R v Krywonizka, 2022 MBCA 85 (Manitoba Court of Appeal)
[6] The accused filed medical and counselling reports from several experts which confirmed that, after his arrest as a result of these offences, he was diagnosed for the first time with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the medical evidence, his condition led to compulsive and fixated behaviour, which included learning about certain interests and collecting items related to those interests. There were a number of diverse collections, including model trains, street signs, safety equipment and various other items. Firearms were one of those collections. The medical evidence also suggested that the accused was at a low risk to reoffend or for his behaviour to become violent. Multiple positive reference letters were filed on his behalf. He has lived an otherwise unblemished lifestyle and has no criminal associations. The motivation for his criminality is entirely related to his ASD.
[7] The sentencing judge accepted that there was a nexus between the diagnosis of ASD and the accused’s offending behaviour. She stated that “the diagnosis help[ed] to frame what was an almost compulsive desire to collect firearms-related items” (at para 34). She then concluded from the extensive medical information provided that the accused’s moral blameworthiness was reduced given the role his ASD had played in his collecting and improper storage of firearms.
[9] However, the sentencing judge did find mitigating factors—particularly, the ASD diagnosis which she concluded was significant and tempered the accused’s moral blameworthiness. As a result, while recognizing denunciation and deterrence as paramount in offences of this nature, she concluded that due consideration should be given to the sentencing principles of rehabilitation and restraint. She was satisfied that a sentence of less than two years was consistent with the purposes and principles of sentencing set out in the Code and imposed a conditional sentence of two years, less one day, concurrent on each count.
[14] While the sentencing judge did not follow the approach to sentencing for multiple offences that this Court has discussed in Wozny and RJ, we do not consider the sentencing judge’s lack of doing so as being a material error in this case (see R v Lacasse, 2015 SCC 64 at para 44). We see no error in her concluding that the ASD diagnosis was a significant mitigating factor which played a major role in explaining the accused’s conduct and reduced his moral culpability. The cogent and unchallenged evidence of ASD, together with the guilty pleas and the accused’s lack of a record, distinguishes this case from R v Kennedy, 2016 MBCA 5.
20 Aug 2023, 3:23 pm
The scenario by which autism could get someone acquitted of murder in Canada is that by which a different perception of threat may cause a self-defence defence to be accepted rather than rejected, in Canada this possibility was accepted by the Supreme Court in the wake of the 2009 Nova Scotia Court of Appeal judgement of Kagan. It seems unlikely that the simple fact of autism can engage a s. 16 insanity defence.
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05 Mar 2024, 12:13 pm
Man with autism who killed abusive father guilty of murder
Vincent Fong, who has diagnoses of autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and an intellectual disability, was on trial for second-degree murder of his father, Kwan Fong, 70, but defence lawyer Katherin Beyak asked jurors to return a verdict of manslaughter.
After hearing about a week of evidence, jurors began deliberations at 4:30 p.m. Monday and alerted the court that they'd reached a verdict at 7:45 p.m.
Court of King's Bench Justice Paul Jeffrey will hear sentencing arguments from prosecutor Margot Engley, as well as defence lawyers Beyak and co-counsel Curtis Mennie at a later date. A second-degree murder conviction comes with a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.
In her closing arguments Monday, Beyak argued that Vincent was powerless to escape his abusive situation.
The 41-year-old admitted to fatally stabbing his father, but defence lawyer Katherin Beyak argued his disabilities coupled with the abuse meant he did not form the required intent for murder.
Vincent 'did not feel safe'
On top of the abuse, Vincent also deals with the challenges of autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and an intellectual disability that rendered him vulnerable and emotionally underdeveloped, Beyak said in her closing arguments to the jury.
"Mr. Fong found himself in a harmful situation, one he could not think of a way out of," said Beyak.
She argued that Vincent's complex challenges plus the abuse meant he "did not feel safe in the home."
Vincent's father did not accept his diagnoses; he believed he could discipline his son out of the behaviours — spinning as well as touching and licking things — according to the testimony of both Vincent and his mother.
'No choice'
Kwan was known to slap Vincent, yell at him and call him names, including one derogatory Chinese word that was particularly harmful to Vincent, akin to calling him "ret*d," Beyak told jurors.
Aware of his difficulties in life, Vincent said this word "pierced his heart" and scared him.
"We're not trying to excuse his behaviour, we're asking you to understand it," said Beyak.
She argued the evidence over the last week should raise a reasonable doubt as to whether Vincent was acting in self-defence.
"Following a pattern of physical and emotional abuse … he had no choice but to respond physically."
On Jan. 9, 2019, after returning home from a day program, Vincent was confronted by his father about his spinning. Kwan also hurled the insulting word Vincent despised being called.
Vincent pushed his father down a set of stairs inside the home, retrieved a knife and stabbed Kwan in the neck.
’He did this out of fear'
Beyak asked the jury to keep in mind two important pieces of evidence that she argued show her client's state of mind after the killing.
Vincent told the 911 operator and a police officer — captured on the officer's body-worn camera footage — that he was "not scared" of his father anymore.
"Right from the get-go, Vincent was expressing he did this out of fear," said Beyak.
But prosecutor Margot Engley took issue with Beyak's classification of Vincent's living situation as "abusive."
have parents who yell at them and call them names," said Engley.
"Most people I know are scared of their dads."
’He intended to kill'
Engley said "many of us have grown up with less than ideal parents," and that if Vincent was suffering from "extreme" abuse, his mother "wouldn't have put up with it … she would have got him out of there."
"She has reimagined the past in a way that takes almost all responsibility from her son," said Engley.
"There were times when her husband slapped Vincent but only when he was really angry."
Engley said Vincent was capable of lying and "has the ability to be sneaky."
In asking the jury to find Vincent guilty of murder, Engley argued the evidence is clear: "he intended to kill."
During his testimony, Vincent came across as childlike and struggled at times to be understood by those in the courtroom.
Although she acknowledged that Vincent is "quite a sympathetic character," Engley asked jurors to put those feelings aside.
We really need to think about how we deal with people who kill their abusers. I know the prosecutor has a job to do but I take issue with her claim that the fact that the mother did not get him out of there as proof the abuse was not so bad. That flies against everything we know about how the abused handle abuse. I know the article did not mention her being abused but it strains credulity she wasn’t. Classic abuser gaslighting language by the prosecutor. At 41 years old still living at home with all of his conditions it is obvious Vincent had neither the means nor the ability to leave. I created this thread with the idea that the “Autism Defense” in general is used too often as a get out jail free card and that stigmatizes all of us. In this case what the verdict said is justice is served by Vincent being abused for the remainder of his dads life. I hope the mitigating curcumstances are taken into account during sentancing.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
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