I don't know much about Nowak, but I don't think being aspie should have much to say towards punishment.
The only thing I can think of that people should be aware of when there's a person with AS in court is that the person might not be as able to defend themselves verbally.
Actually, she is doing quite well at defending herself verbally. I believe that she is claiming that her odd behaviour in driving 1500 miles across country wearing an astronaut "diaper" was caused by her autistic fixation on the other woman.
Recently a judge threw out evidence claiming that she was not properly read her rights. This included a rental car with the trunk/ bonnet filled with a knife, a black plastic sheet, and what appeared to be a pipe.
Could she have had OCD instead of, or in addition to, autism? Her behaviour seemed more OCD-like.
If she does indeed have AS, it seems fair that it should be considered in her ability/inability to defend herself verbally. However, if and when she's found guilty and sentenced, she should take her punishment the same as anyone else and not try to use it to weasel out of anything. If she does have AS, she needs a good tongue-lashing from all of us for being a huge embarassment. (Like maybe in the form of a press release from this site.)
As for this "diaper driving" stuff...
Why'd she have to do it in the first place. Such a stupid reason to do something stupid like that.
(I've heard that "diaper drive" is now a slang term. e.g. "Hey, I might be a thousand miles away but you still better stay away from my man. Don't make me
diaper drive you.")
Could she have had OCD instead of, or in addition to, autism? Her behaviour seemed more OCD-like.
I have OCD (professionally diagnosed) in addition to Asperger's Syndrome (self-diagnosed [to date]).
I just want to chime in and state that I would never do something so stupid. Besides, while I can have a short temper, I am never violent. It tends to be rather flash-in-the pan, so I doubt I could stay mad at anyone for the entire length of a cross-country trip.
I could stay mad at someone that long but probably wouldn't be bothered to go to those lengths.
The moment I heard this story, I said, "She has Asperger's." This was long before the defense came out saying she has it. It's too bad she was not diagnosed earlier in life, she might have been better able to manage her obsessions. But of course a diagnosis would have barred her from being an astronaut-- it's my understanding that NASA does not allow people with mental "disorders" to be astronauts.
The sad thing is, if she hadn't have done something so stupid, but rather gotten the hell over it and finished her career with dignity, she could have been an asset. None of that from her, now. Let's just hope someone else down the road can counteract the damage Nowak has done, like for instance an astronaut who retires honorably and then has occasion to reveal being an aspie.
garmonbozia: 1) There doesn't appear to be any public record of her having been diagnosed with Asperger's. 2) Asperger's would not make a very good defence since it would show that she was fixated on a single topic rather than mentally ill at the time of her incident. 3) Such defences are rarely found valid in the United States.
I frankly don't see why she hasn't been placed in full police custody.
But, I can see what you are saying. The public image is poor since now most people will associate Asperger's with ?
saint: It's my understanding that her defense team had her examined by a psychiatrist and she was diagnosed with Asperger's. I doubt any self-diagnosis would fly in court.
Unfortunately when a criminal has Asperger's it is splashed around in the news, but when a person with Asperger's does something noteworthy it's not noticed. The media loves negativity of any kind.
saint: It's my understanding that her defense team had her examined by a psychiatrist and she was diagnosed with Asperger's. I doubt any self-diagnosis would fly in court.
They must have hire a forensic psychologist which is to say that they really don't have much of a case for her diagnosis or for using the diagnosis in defence of the charges.
Asperger's isn't a mental illness but it's possible this lady has some co-morbid condition as well. But I agree, her actions have made the rest of us look loopy by association and that is hardly a good thing.
Saint, I hope you're right about there being nothing on public record about it. Unfortunately, once it's been blabbed around in our lowest-common-denominator media, that's good enough for most people.