Erica Westly writes in Slate that the case of British computer enthusiast Gary McKinnon grants a glimpse of a new courtroom tactic: the “Asperger’s defense.”

McKinnon is being charged with hacking into U.S. military computers to find evidence of UFOs. His lawyers are trying to convince the European Court of Human Rights that Asperger’s syndrome prevents him from enduring the stress of extradition and a U.S. trial.

Westly says lawyers are using the defense to argue for lenient sentences in cases ranging from computer fraud to sexual misconduct and murder. McKinnon’s supporters have taken the reasoning a step further, saying he shouldn’t be locked up at all; they say it would be cruel and unusual to put someone with his social impairments in a conventional prison where he would be forced to interact with others.

“The problem with this line of reasoning is that it’s not clear where else you might put these vulnerable inmates,” she says.

(Photo from [UK] Telegraph)

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Asperger's, criminal justice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post