Published on 12, July, 2020
I have been to court facing changes for dangerous driving and causing serious injury, for this I was found guilty and received a 2 year suspended sentence, two year driving disqualification, 150 hours of community service and an ankle tag curfew between 19:00-05:00. This ankle tag is causing a lot of anxiety, not only was it fitted on the hottest day of the year, but the person doing it suggested that if the skin around it became sore to put a sock on over and under it to stop movement - seriously, in these temperatures!?
I must state here that I in no way am expecting legal advice or support, I just feel it necessary to put my side of the story across to individuals who are likely to understand.
Now we have the point that became my involvement with the legal system and the failngs within.
The evidence went to the CPS who took until July 2020 to decide that I would be charged with two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. It was at this point I got legal support at a considerable cost to myself.
There were numerous delays throughout the case, one time in particular the judge told the prosecution to "get their skates on". It finally made it to the Crown Court in March 2022 where the verdict from the jury came back as guilty. It was only on the Thursday of the 5 day trial that I began to realise that I was guilty, however at that point I did not understand if I could change my plea. I think that had there not been the 3+ year delay in making it to court that I would have been able to read all the evidence in one folder and pleaded guilty to start with.
Sentencing was scheduled for May 2022, however due to an "administrative error" at the court the judge failed to attend, and so sentencing was postponed until July 2022. The report from my GP and the ADHD Dr. was seemingly ignored by the judge, however he did agree with the pre-sentence report that there was a significant chance of rehabilitation. My solicitor did point out to me that the judge should have ordered for an autism assessment before passing sentence as both doctors suggested it sounded much like an autistic meltdown, especially the part where I was not able to comprehend what had happened or what I was being told in August 2018 and simply had to get out of the house to calm down.
An autistic meltdown at the time was something I was completely unaware of and upon researching I found a number of points that I can relate to throughout my entire life.
My solicitor also pointed out to me after sentencing that there were significant mitigating factors that were wrongly considered.
Anyway, here we are, 19 months of the driving disqualification to go (extended driving test afterwards), 23 months of the suspended sentence to go, 138 hours of community service still to complete and 9.5 weeks of a curfew to endure. Then there is also the factor of the £8,400 to pay as compensation and court costs by January 2023. I fail to understand how this sentence will either prevent a further seizure, I think the trial educated me sufficiently to seek medical advice from my neurologist if told to do so by paramedics, because I did not understand it to be a seizure I did not see my neurologist - as I put it, it would be like going to the doctor to tell them that I hadn't had the flu!
If you made it this far, thank you for reading my story, and I made so many changes throughout I hope it still makes sense. I'm not expecting any advice or support for any of this, I just would like to make others aware of the failings within the UK legal system, ultimately as my neurologist also agreed that had I realised in August 2018 that it was a seizure, based on my previous licence surrender, I would not hesitate to surrender it again. I'd never understood or known symptoms of autism and previously had no need, nor reason to seek medical advice, it was only once my GP suggested that's what it could be that I looked into it, I always thought it was something identified at a primary school level and so at the age of 37 never thought it could be me.
For a while recently google maps on my phone showed me I lived a mile away from where I do, so if they use mobile phone technology then not really going to be perfect. Best to see the funny side, otherwise you might need hospitalisation and then get calls there that you keep breaking the curfew and also not at home enough either. Tempting to answer the phone next time and say "i'm not here", but probably best not.
And now, just after dinner the phone started ringing again. This time because I have apparently just returned home and it looks as though I breached my curfew. This thing has gone 'perfectly' for the last three weeks, now three calls in a week. The first two questioning why I haden't left the house, the third telling me I wasn't at home when I should have been.
I start to wonder if I'm going to be woken up in the middle of the night with armed forces surrounding the house.
With COVID I didn't really want to leave the house, I'm pretty much over COVID now and I will be back in work tomorrow. It's when I'm not in work that I generally will not leave the house, I tend to plan my days around work and walk to other places either when on my lunch break or after work. Next week I'm hopeful there will be a bit of (current) normality.
Just let them know you are isolating, or don't normally go out because of anxiety - its just tracking you with GPS, and if its at home all day, day after day, then their system obviously kicks because it might have been removed. After isolating its probably best to walk to a shop and back every day or so, even if anxiety makes it difficult, because it be easier to manage the 9 weeks that way. It might be a blessing in disguise, help you get used to going out a bit and feel better about that, and after the 9 weeks you might choose to go out more and not feel the need to hide away.
This is getting silly now, it makes me want to forcibly cut this ankle tag off. I'm trying to rest up after being diagnosed with COVID and so I'm having to stay at home and isolate, twice now in less than a week I've had a call from "EMS" on the box that the tag links with because I've been at home for too long.
This just makes me more anxious around what the box is doing, it's meant to monitor me to ensure that I am at home between certain times, now it seems as though they are watching me because I'm not out of the house at certain times!
Thank you for your reply. I fully accept that what I did was wrong, and now after 3+ years of uncertainty I can start to proceed and come to terms with everything. It was only after discussing what happened in August 2018 with my GP earlier this year that there was the first suggestion of autism, had that been suggested earlier it would have given cause to research further and I would have changed my plea.
It was as my solicitor pointed out, I've tried at every opportunity to show remorse and apologise to the injured parties. With all the evidence provided at sentencing it really was in his own words a demonstration of how the legal system fails to support lesser known disabilities and had the doctors reports been read at sentencing that it should have been thrown out of court. My GP also suggested that the paramedics, should to some extent have put in their report that there were signs of autism, especially given that being aggressive, running out of the house shouting would not have been normal behaviour.
It still haunts me to the point where I'm not sure I'll sit behind the wheel of a car again, but time is the best healer and I may feel differently in 2024. I'm in full time work which I am fitting in around my community order, I can get up to 30% reduction in my 150 hour community order by completing online courses, there are lots to choose from, I have selected an understanding ADHD and an understanding autism courses.
It does seem strange how little is known of autism, before looking into what my GP suggested I considered autism to be a badly behaved child in school that the school would label as being on a spectrum. It was only after chatting with my GP that I found 30+ to be the average age that it is identified, it makes me wonder if there are others in the legal system who have received custodial sentences because of unidentified autistic behaviour.
Thanks again,
Jim.
Sorry this has happened, but great you have shared it so to raise awareness. Its harsh because you have coming to terms with autism and the seizures you have, but as you seriously injured people then its not so much punishment but about facing up to your seizures and autism that you didn't really understand enough. You have time now to focus on these things, you can reach out to others similarly affected and find out more about your seizures if you can.
Autism is much more likely not to be picked in school than 30+ years ago, so many autistic adults have gone decades before its recognised by themselves or others around them.
Try and go out now, otherwise the anxiety might cause you more of a problem than the odd seizure, and you go at quieter time.