The Criminal Justice System and Autism

People with autism do, on rare occasions, break the law. However, the consequences for these actions should not result in incarceration, but rather, an understanding of their behavior and a review of their service needs to take place in order to ensure appropriate treatment and education to control future "malfeasance."

In a review of the demographics of individuals with a developmental disability executed in the United States since 1976, of the 31 defendants that were executed no one had a diagnosis of autism. (Perske, et al, 1997).

Why is it that when we know of cases where individuals with autism and related syndromes and conditions have been implicated in the death of others, i.e., "committed murder,” they have not been a defendant in a homicide criminal action case? There is a singular answer to this question the majority of individuals with autism do not have premeditated intentions to harm others and do not understand the seriousness of their actions and therefore should be tried accordingly.

The use of the term "accident," as it pertains to criminal activity of individuals with autism, is an apropos term. Accident connotes an unfortunate circumstance with no intended malfeasance on the part of the perpetrator towards the accident victim. With autism it is generally agreed that the majority of actions on the part of the individual that may be viewed as criminal in nature may not be intended to purposefully break the law or harm another individual.

Additionally, when individuals with autism are detained by police or otherwise confronted by the criminal justice system it is often because their actions are misunderstood, e.g., may appear to be a danger to themselves or others. However, a major culpable factor, frequently, is the lack of services for the individual with autism.

The severe impairment in social relations severely hinders individuals with autism, incapacitating them from understanding the impact of their behavior relative to social values and mores, and, in turn, the criminal justice system. To emphasize this fact the following true stories are offered:

• Adam is a runner. At 3-1/2, he could let himself out of the house, and often did. His favorite place to roam was an area behind his house. One day his parents found him missing from the house and went out the back door to look for him. After an unsuccessful search, they went to the area in front of their house. There was Adam, walking along the yellow centerline of the street. Concerned neighbors had called the police and the parents arrived at the same time as the local police officers. Retrieving the child from the street as he screamed, "Want yellow, want yellow?" the police officers began to question the parents in a way that suggested they felt the parents were neglectful and perhaps abusive. Adam has autism. (Githens, 1997)
• Ben loved the sound of falling water. As a preschooler he had gone to the mall one day with his parents. He ran off and made his way to the fountain in the middle of the mall. When he was finally located, with the help of mall security personnel, Ben refused to recognize either of his parents. The security personnel very reluctantly released Ben to his parents, since they had no way to verify that the man and woman were, indeed, Ben's parents. Ben has autism. (Githens, 1997)
• Charlie was 22 and living in a group home. Because of his abilities and personality, he had been allowed to take a bus and go shopping on his own. Once he reached the store he became disoriented and began to moan and flap his arms with his elbows tucked in at his waist. The store clerks became concerned. A clerk tried to talk with Charlie, but he began to back away and moan louder. One of the clerks wondered if this was someone having a strange drug reaction and started to call the police. Just then a staff member from the group home walked into the store, spotted Charlie, and intervened. Charlie was removed from the store and driven back to the group home. The police were not needed. Charlie has autism. (Githens, 1997)
• David is a fourteen-year-old adolescent, but has the interests of a much younger child. His favorite friends are some of the young girls on his block. He likes to jump rope with them, ride bicycles with them, and run with them when they are playing tag. One day David could not find his friends, so he began looking in the windows of his neighbors' homes, trying to find out where they were. One neighbor saw David peeking into the window of the bedroom of one of his little girlfriends. The neighbor called the police; David was arrested as a Peeping Tom and potential sexual predator. David has autism. (Holmes, 1998)

The most likely areas in which an autistic person may encounter problems with the law are:

• Bizarre behavior - such as severe tantrums, head-banging, and hand-flapping; these behaviors are sometimes misperceived by others as due to the influence of drugs or alcohol
  
• Inappropriate social boundaries - such as approaching and/or touching strangers
  
• Violating social norms - such as walking in the street, stealing, trespassing, stalking
  
• Property damage - such as starting fires, throwing objects

Learn more about:

• What ASA Expects
• Call to Action

ASA