When legal issues like crime come to play, can neurodiversity be a factor in excusing it?
Speaking in terms of ethics and empathy, ideally, neurodiversity should be an excuse to forgive crime but, things are not as simple as they may seem and innumerable consequences may arise for letting go of neurodivergent individuals easily even after committing a grave crime.
We follow universal legal procedures in our country and when it comes to committing a crime, the same rule applies to everyone. Empathetically speaking, can we really blame a neurodivergent person for an accidental crime? Depending on the gravity of the situation and what kind of disorder they suffer from, in principle, if they are to be sent to prison, the least one can do is to reduce the time they serve in jail by at least 10 percent if we had to put a solid number on it.
What about when the neurodivergent individual has committed a crime, for example, a murder, in a steady state of mind and in an organised manner?
For a case as serious as this, or any other petty case for that matter, the investigation and trial process must be handled in a way that will not trigger the offender, because, at the end of the day, they still face issues which we neurotypical people can only hear or read about, not actually feel.
The first step begins with how the police handle the situation. The police is trained to be harsh and tolerate no nonsense for which they might even have to resort to violence which may trigger the neurodivergent suspect and make the case even worse. Cases like these must be dealt with patience and care solely to not harm the offender and not hinder the proceedings by overcomplicating the whole scenario.
Proper questioning and professional diagnosis by a criminal psychologist to identify what kind of help the suspect needs along with finding out the reason for the crime is of utmost importance. When it leads to the court, the trials must not be taxing on the felon and they must get the assistance that they need owing to their condition.
Let us assume that the suspect is proven guilty. What now? In the case of a planned crime, there is no question of justification to spare them. The only thing that must be done is to give them the care and patience that they need while they are serving their time in prison. However, in case of an accidental crime, in case of something as serious as a homicide, the felon should be provided with help for their condition at first, like therapy or rehabilitation with their consent, then a certain amount of time in prison. When the crime is petty, they should again, be provided with therapy but they may or may not be exempted from their time in jail, if any.
So, should neurodiversity be a factor in excusing crime? Subjective. However, whether or not they are excused, patience, assistance and humanity is all that is expected.
Caption for post:
When legal issues like crime come to play, can neurodiversity be a factor in excusing it?
Speaking in terms of ethics and empathy, ideally neurodiversity should be an excuse to forgive crime but, things are not as simple as it may seem and innumerable consequences may arise for letting go of neurodivergent individuals easily even after committing a grave crime.
We follow universal legal procedures in our country and when it comes to committing a crime, the same rule applies for everyone. Empathetically speaking, can we really blame a neurodivergent person for an accidental crime? Depending on the gravity of the situation and what kind of disorder they suffer from, in principle, if they are to be sent to prison, the least one can do is to reduce the time they serve in jail by at least 10 per cent if we had to put a solid number on it.
What about when the neurodivergent individual has committed a crime, for example, a murder, in a steady state of mind and in an organised manner?
For a case as serious as this, or any other petty case for that matter, the investigation and trial process must be handled in a way which will not trigger the offender, because at the end of the day, they still face issues which we neurotypical people can only hear or read about, not actually feel.
The first step begins at how the police handles the situation. The police is trained to be harsh and tolerate no nonsense for which they might even have to resort to violence which may trigger the neurodivergent suspect and make the case even worse as well as complicated. Cases like these must be dealt with patience and care solely to not harm the offender and not hinder the proceedings by overcomplicating the whole scenario.
Proper questioning and professional diagnosis by a criminal psychologist to identify what kind of help the suspect needs along with finding out the reason for the crime is of utmost importance. When it leads to the court, the trials must not be taxing on the felon and they must get the assistance that they need owing to their condition.
Let us assume that the suspect is proven guilty. What now? In case of a planned crime, there is no question of justification to spare them. The only thing that must be done is to give them the care and patience that they need while they are serving their time in prison. However, in case of an accidental crime, in case of something as serious as a homicide, the felon should be provided with help for their condition at first, like therapy or rehabilitation with their consent, then a certain amount of time in prison. When the crime is petty, they should again, be provided with therapy but they may or may not be exempted from their time in jail, if any.
So, should neurodiversity be a factor in excusing crime? Subjective. However, whether or not they are excused, patience, assistance and humanity is all that is expected.
By Vaishali Sarah Mundle
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