Reading Minds, Missing Cues: Why the System Misjudges Autistic Defendants & What to Do About It

The CDC estimates that 1/31 people have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a lifelong developmental disability that affects a person’s brain functioning and ability to successfully navigate the social world. ASD cuts across socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and intellectual levels. It is often called the “hidden disability,” and those who are so-called "high functioning" may be most at risk within the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, lawyers and decision-makers often don’t know what ASD is, or why it matters in a criminal case.

Therefore, we must better understand the facts about ASD, and work together to find just and creative solutions to achieve fair and positive outcomes that serve the dual purpose of keeping society safe and rehabilitating the person on the spectrum. This program provides an overview of ASD, examines why it is almost certainly relevant to culpability (putting the offense in proper context), explores its treatability (with autism-specific tools and rules, recidivism is negligible), and considers the unique vulnerabilities of people with ASD once they enter a prison setting.
 
Dr. Laurie Sperry is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst - Doctoral and Director of Autism Forensics in Golden, Colorado. Dr. Sperry’s research has focused on people with ASD who come in contact with the criminal justice system. Among other efforts, she was a founding member of Yale’s Autism Forensics Team, and co-developed the Neurodiverse Student Support Program at Stanford University.  Dr. Sperry was awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Autism  in 2006 and worked in Australia establishing services for rural and remote communities in the Australian outback.

Doug Passon is a criminal defense lawyer with three decades of litigation experience. Mr. Passon is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and has been recognized as the leading expert in the field of sentencing mitigation videos. It was through creating mitigation films for leading autism defense attorney, Mark Mahoney, that Mr. Passon began direct representation of clients on the Autism spectrum across the country.  In addition, Mr. Passon’s Set for Sentencing podcast addresses issues and strategies relating to the criminal sentencing process, including Autism defense.