Published on 12, July, 2020
I have noticed an increase in the media and defence lawyers using ASD as an excuse for those offenders that commit the most serious of crimes.
I feel the only mental health defence that is permittable is when you are deemed by law to be Criminally Insane.
It really pisses me off when the media say the preprtator is a LONER or has ASD.
I am a loner and have been all my life and recently diagnosed as Austistic, I still knew right from wrong.
I think its offensive to tag ASD to these criminals as us all get tarred with the same brush and people will worry if we are potential killers because of our ASD.
What are your thoughts? Could the NAS not contact the media and tell them to stop saying the preprtator is on the spectrum or ASD?.
Thank you all for your replies, I get that this is a very emotive subject, as I am only recently diagnosed, I've always saw things as BLACK & WHITE, no middle ground and I am trying to see other viewpoints and it's extremely difficult for me.
In saying that, I do wish the media would stop saying things "He/She is autistic and so on". I fear this could lead to people fearing that they are autistic and afraid to tell others that they are for fear of being judged because of the few that commit deplorable acts.
I agree, my ASD has manifested as an incredibly strong sense of morality though I've moderated it by introducing a concept of whether an immoral (wrong) act justifies guilt or punishment based on the intent (generally judged by non-maleficence standards). A simplistic example being that killing is morally wrong, but no one should punish a soldier for acting to protect others.With that said, the way that ASD is used in court varies greatly and I think a lot gets lost in the media reports but I do share the concern that by trying to use it as a defence can alienate people, particularly when it's done without context about how that particular person manifests their symptoms.