To not understand what Laurie Love's Aspergers has to do with his extradition

[Olympiathequeen]

Not an autism bashing thread please.

But he is a political activist. He knew what he was doing and that it was wrong.

If 10 year olds who know the difference between right and wrong can be held criminally responsible why can't he?

He caused damage and expense to the US government so he should pay for it like anyone else.

He may be a suicide risk but so are many people in jail.

Surely his Aspergers is irrelevant?

And the media always gives an accurate picture
Like I said conspired or taken advantage of.

This gives some details of the extradition and it also says that Laurie has Aspergers, which was diagnosed in 2014, after the alleged hacking took place.

I can see both sides of this, he should not have done it, but did he fully understand the consequences? He allegedly took hundreds of thousands of items of Data/Emails but did nothing with them. I wonder if it is the thrill of the challenge rather than what is gained.

Gutted I do hope he isn't extradited. This must be a waking nightmare for you all. My dd has HFA. I can't imagine what the US prison system would do to yoir db

There does need to be responsibility, of course there does, but at the core of that there needs to be understanding that independent in one area does not mean independent in other areas.

Someone mentioned above I think that an autistic person is more likely to have severe mental health problems and more likely to commit suicide.
However this is dealt with, it must be done with these potentially serious issues in mind.

Missed your post gutted, I am really sorry about your brother. I hope this will be resolved in the Supreme Court.

Budgie it may not be the thrill as such, but simply a need to collect information, which can be a big driving force for an autistic person. It's easy for common sense and consequences to fly out of the window when you're in the middle of an obsession, reality fades.

Yes, you are right that it's probably best not to discuss something that is very personal to someone on the thread. I am not in favour of extradition to the US full stop, not just in this case, for the reasons someone has already outlined, awful justice system. I hope this is resolved soon.

gutted - . Can't imagine what you are going through. Support and love to you and your family.

Did he really send messages saying he "could bring the fucking US govt down"?

Olympia your OP assumes that Lauri is guilty, why do you think that is the case? As far as I am aware he denies all charges and his legal team is building a case to that effect.

I don't know worra. It was reported thane did in one of the articles I just read but I am sceptical about what I read in the media. Having read a few articles now it seem he is either painted as a total villain or a very misunderstood i dividu who has been taken advantage of. There is no middle ground. K suppose that is what the courts are there to try and decipher.

Argh, too many typos.

gutted, my son has aspergers and OCD/anxiety, I think I will be in your parents situation when he is 30 as I don't think he would be able to live independently. I really understand and am keeping everything crossed for you and your family.

I don't mind the thread being here, its better to talk about these things so they can be understood.

He is still only alleged as the US has not shown a scrap of evidence because they don't have to - they can extradite British citizens without showing our courts any evidence. We want him to be tried in the UK where if he is found guilty he won't spend the rest of his life in prison and won't be separated from his support network.

PigPig sorry thrill was the wrong word. What you say about it being a need is very understandable.

Gutted I am sorry about your Brother, and I hope there is a positive resolution for your family.

Gutted, I am so sorry about your brother.

I have a son with asd and although he is fairly high functioning in some areas he has a severe lack of understanding and awareness in others- especially when it comes to understanding the world and what is and isn't acceptable to others.

I really hate the way people tend to think that people with aspergers (which incidentally isn't diagnosed in many NHS trust areas, it just comes under "asd") are basically just a bit "quirky" (hasn't been said here but comes up many times in general conversation). It is so much more than that. That doesn't mean some people with asd can't live relatively normal lives but lots do need a lot of care and support to function at even at basic level. I also don't think it's helpful for people to think of the spectrum as a line - from low to high functioning- it's more of a circle with different areas and different degrees of difficulty right across each circle. My son can talk for example but he can't even use the toilet. He can name every single flag or road sign there is but he can't tell you if he's hungry or thirsty. Asd is so complex.

I'm sympathetic to most people being extradited to the US whose cases end up in the papers, because even if they are guilty, they are guilty of crimes that would probably see them spending at most a couple of years in jail if they were tried in the UK, but the US threatens to put them away for the rest of their life. The US system of plea-bargaining seems deeply corrupt and unjust, to me.

I am really concerned at an OP suggesting someone with a disability which means they could be vulnerable to manipulation by others and have a poor awareness of how actions have consequences committing a crime deliberately.

Contrary to the beliefs of some, individuals with autism are more likely to be the victim of crime than the perpetrator and those that do commit crimes can also either be manipulated by others or not understand the consequences fully. Because of their disability.

That is not to say that individuals with autism don't or won't knowingly and understandingly commit crime, but it's a very big concern when someone wants to dismiss an individual's disability when judging them for their part in criminal activity. It could very well be relevant.

If I were Home Secretary, and thought there was a chance of people getting the sentences that US prosecutors claim they deserve, I would block most extraditions to the US on the grounds that justice is better served by letting guilty people go free than giving them those kinds of sentences.

The US extradition process is totally wrong for anyone. This country should never have signed up to the agreement in place.
However, many people are harmed by jail. Jails are chock a block with vulnerable people with mental health problems or at high risk of suicide.

I don't think the thread should be taken down, but I hope the presence of Gutted reminds everyone that we're talking about a real person and keeps the discussion respectful, as it has been so far.

I don't think Laurie should be extradited, I'm not satisfied that the US system can keep him safe, but if it appears that he has done wrong, he should be tried in this country and sentenced appropriately if found guilty. What "appropriate" would look like would depend on what he is found to have done, and on his needs.

Thanks Squirrel hope it remains respectful too. My mum made the mistake of reading the comments on one of the Daily Mail articles about him and it upset her so much. When people don't think of someone as a real person, just an unknown, they can say such horrid things that they wouldn't say in front of someone that knows them. There's been such a lot of misrepresentation about him in the media, its really frustration and makes me regret a little that I refused to talk to the media, at least I maybe could have set some things straight.

Shit name change fail again, have reported.

Gutted I have reported for you too.
And