Aspberger Criminals

December 3, 2008 / 1:59 pm • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Does it matter why a crime is committed? I mean, if the victim is dead or the merchandise is stolen, does it matter?

The law allows for things like falling asleep at the wheel. Clearly a sleeping person did not intend to murder with his car and yet the pedestrian is dead. Or the old person who, in confusion, pushes the gas instead of the brake when mowing down a group of people, like happened in New York.

So, what to do about a man with Aspberger’s who hacks into United States government computers because of his claimed obsession with UFOs. Here’s what happened says the Guardian:

McKinnon – who used the online name Solo – is accused of hacking into computers belonging to the Pentagon, Nasa and US armed forces in raids conducted between 2001 and 2002.

Prosecutors say he shut down thousands of machines and caused up to $700,000 worth of damage, while the 42-year-old claims he was searching for evidence of UFOs.

Since the incidence of Aspbergers is climbing, the problem of very smart, socially retarded people doing illegal activities for idealistic or obsessive reasons will increase. These same people would be abused mercilessly in prison as they have no social coping skills.

Additionally, once one person gets off because of a diagnosis such as this, all manner of criminal will attempt a similar defense. The fact is that many criminals suffer from diagnosable mental and biological illnesses that interfere with their cognition. Most, though, couple their poor decision making with wrathful violent action. This is almost never true in the case of people with Aspbergers, who are overwhelmingly introverted and passive, except on rare occasions.

I would like to see the government and businesses harness the natural gifts Asperger’s people possess. If the U.S. government were smart, they would hire this guy and put him to work looking for UFOs in the security agencies of China and Russia.

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  • http://www.imperfectclarity.net/ Kari

    My question is: did he know what he was doing was wrong?

    If he did, then absolutely it was a crime. If he didn’t… I want to say yes, it was still a crime but it should be handled differently than if he did know it was wrong.

    How should it be handled? I don’t know. Sometimes I’m really glad I don’t have to make these decisions by myself :)

  • Jerry in Detroit

    As the parent of a son with profound Aspergers, I wonder. Even in a profound case, my son does know right from wrong and will avoid the wrong. So, no, in my experience, Aspergers is not a get-out-of-jail free.

    The young man in Britain with the UFO obsession did know it was wrong. As an engineer, I’m more than a trifle skeptical about our governments’ damage claims; was their security so poor that just anyone could waltz in and allegedly do hundreds of thousands of dollars damage? The prosecutors are looking a trifle foolish here.

  • kim y

    My brother has Asperger’s and as Jerry from Detroit said, he knows right from wrong.. moreso than many non-disabled adults I know. I think it’s more about the “intent” to do something wrong that may not be there.. perhaps that young man had no idea what he was going to do would cause such disturbances. my brother’s obsessions have taken over various parts of his life.

  • Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg

    “Does it matter why a crime is committed?”

    Sure. Isn’t that what hate crime legislation is all about?

    If you kill me because you just want to kill somebody, that’s garden variety murder.

    But if you kill me because I’m diggity, well then that’s diggity-DANG-dawg murder.

  • Trish

    Well, Snoop, that’s why I think hate crime legislation is a crock of. . .what it is.