Asperger's / Autism Toolbox
H
EO M
#FreeNeli
Why Concern Ourselves with Neli Latson?
A Post by Monkey Plierson December 30, 2014
View Blog Listings
Asperger's / Autism ToolboxH EO M #FreeNeli
A Post by Monkey Pliers |
|
For anyone who still doesn't know, it was on May 24, 2010 that Reginald "Neli" Latson, of Stafford Virginia, who was 18 years old at the time, was approached by a police officer because someone had called to report a "suspicious black male" who "might have a gun". (I've recently discovered there are some who dispute whether or not the complaint included that he was wearing a hoodie. But in any case, Latson was not approached by the "fashion police". Not wearing a hoodie will not protect someone who's Black from racial profiling, so there's no, "If only..." to this.) Latson had been sitting in the grass, waiting for a library to open. Although accounts of the details of that morning vary somewhat, at no point in the investigation was there ever any evidence of a gun to be found. However, when his identification was demanded of him, he refused to give it and attempted to walk away. The officer then grabbed Latson, who struggled to get free. The officer was injured, and Latson escaped into the nearby woods, where he hid until he was eventually found by police and arrested for assaulting the original officer. A good early account of events appears in this Huffington Post article from June 15, 2010. For the majority of the time since then, he's been in prison. He's spent much of that in solitary, and then in isolation, though word is that he's recently been removed from that most extreme condition. So much is wrong with this case that it can seem hard to decide where to begin. I suggest starting at the very beginning - with the event that set all this into motion. Someone who will never be called to account for the part they played in this tragedy reported to the police the presence of a person who was doing nothing but sitting in the grass outside a building he had business entering, because he had arrived earlier than the opening of that establishment. No actual "suspicious" activity had been witnessed, as far as I can tell, from anything I've been able to find concerning the matter. Latson was not peering into windows, fiddling with the door, climbing around on the building, making a great deal of noise, interacting with other individuals in any way (let alone a way that appeared problematic), or doing any other strange things. There is nothing unusual about being a bit early and sitting down to wait for a business or public facility to open. The claim of a possible gun was also completely unsubstantiated. Where was the eyewitness account of an object that actually looked like a gun - or any other weapon? What about even the sight of a place on his clothing under which it appeared there might be an object of any sort? Nothing. Nothing at all. So, what was an officer there to investigate? He really should never have been sent there in the first place. Think about that. The next thing to go wrong was that the investigating officer continued to press Latson even after it was determined that he was completely unarmed. The report of his potential wrongdoing was clearly false, yet he was not to be left alone. This is when Latson's Asperger's syndrome finally became a factor - and not before then. And how did it become a factor at that point? Knowing that he'd done nothing wrong, seeing that he was being pressured for no reason that he could grasp, and likely not knowing what else to do, he attempted to remove himself from the situation. This would normally be an excellent strategy to avoid trouble for anyone with a heightened fight or flight response and who might also have a history of being bullied and having confusing social interactions, which is common for Autistics. In other words, he took an action that would, under just about any other circumstances, generally be considered the right thing to do. Had he not been pursued, that would've been the end of it. I'd be surprised if the encounter hadn't already made him anxious, but his response was to walk away, not turn and attack. What's so bad about that? Besides, as reported in a San Francisco Bay View article from June 14, 2011, it's not illegal in Virginia to refuse to give your name to a police officer, according to a ruling by the State Supreme Court. Furthermore, if you are being unlawfully arrested, you have the right to resist. Again, take a moment to think about that. But Neli Latson was pursued. The officer laid hands on him to arrest him, which surely sent him into a panic. Why was this happening to him? He had no way to know. All he knew was that he was under attack by a uniformed authority figure who had been harassing him without any identifiable cause. And what does anyone do when under physical attack? Defend, of course, if there's any way possible. Now, police are trained not to give up easily, so it can be expected that this would've turned into a hard fight. But it was a fight that never should've happened and that was brought on by the officer, not the subject of the arrest. Even if you don't take into account how Asperger's might've affected Latson's response to being grabbed for no apparent reason, see the end of above paragraph if you're not sure if his reaction was justified or legal. Much has been said about what has transpired since: his increasingly harsh incarceration, his self-injurious behavior and suicide threats, an altercation with a guard that resulted in his having been tasered, and his deteriorating functionality and mental state as a result of all this trauma. The heightened degree of damage done when the things he has suffered are inflicted upon someone on the autism spectrum has been noted, as well as the effect of the total injustice of the situation and the general violation of his human rights. Numerous calls have been put forth for his release. At the same time, adding insult to injury, in a push to take an action likely to create further injury, Autism Speaks, the best known autism related organization in the world, has specifically asked, in this December 16, 2014 letter to the governor of Virginia, that Latson not be pardoned and released. Instead, they want him transferred to what would essentially be yet another prison, where he would continue to be confined and, it is feared by many, subjected to the type of "therapy" that adult Autistics who have experienced such things have called abusive and recognized as a cause of their PTSD. What's more, the facility they'd like to see him sent to is in Florida. He's had limited enough contact with his mother since his ordeal began. How would she be able to see him very often then? Generally speaking, people cite two main reasons for the incarceration of human beings. One is to separate them from the rest of the population, in order to protect the citizenry at large. The other is to punish, in order to teach a lesson, so that whatever offense was committed will, it is hoped, not be repeated. The rightful and just purpose of any law is not to isolate or punish anyone for being part of a group simply because it is feared, misunderstood, disliked, or stereotyped by others. Any arrest, charge, trial, and sentencing should relate to a specific incident, not be the result of anyone's feelings about any other behavior they may or may not believe the defendant might have engaged in on any other occasion. And pushing someone to react, then punishing for the reaction exhibited, is, in itself, unjust. No one's freedom should depend on having been a perfect person at all times, up to the point of contact with authority, or on showing no sign of distress when harassed or manhandled. While the officer in the Neli Latson case may not have thought ahead about the provocativeness of his actions, and the various representatives of law and government who've been involved in his case may not have planned it in advance, the uncalled for actions of the officer, and the way the case has been handled since, make for a situation that strikes me, personally, as being only a step away from entrapment. I'm not a lawyer, by any means, but it seems to me that only the lack of premeditation prevents it from being so. This tragic situation was unnecessarily created by the very authority structure that has meted out the consequences for it. There's one - and only one - legitimate argument for why Neli Latson shouldn't be pardoned: He didn't commit a crime, so he's not guilty of anything in the first place. But the authorities are obviously loathe to admit to this and let him go. Therefore, pardon appears to be the only option left to free him. Granted, he will need extensive help in order to begin to cope with the trauma of the last four years, though he'll most likely never be the same again after all that's happened. But any facility to which he might be transferred should be a stepping stone to his freedom, where he'll find aid in beginning whatever degree of recovery might be possible at this late date; not a new, but supposedly nicer, prison to which he'll continue, indefinitely, to be consigned. He should certainly not continue to be separated from family and other familiar support people by being sent miles away, to an out-of-state facility. As soon as possible, he should be returned to his community, where he should have access to a caring network of knowledgeable and skilled professionals who are qualified to provide meaningful, nonabusive, community based supports. Why, and what does this mean? For one thing, read this December 26, 2014 Intersected piece that connects to this case the crucial Olmstead decision, which legally requires the minimal restriction and maximal integration possible in the provision of services appropriate for meeting the needs of people with disabilities. It's time for the infliction of this unnecessary, unjust suffering to end. What's happened to Neli Latson is an outrage. If you believe at all that power and authority should not be abused; if you want to be able to continue to believe in the validity, usefulness, and benefit of the structures and institutions of law and governance in our nation; if you care what happens to the most vulnerable people in our population; if you're concerned at all about what kind of atmosphere is developed and perpetuated in a society in which injustice prevails, even if it's directed at others you may view as being unlike yourself... please join the call to free Neli Latson. Not to let the current situation persist as it is, now that he's out of isolation, not to simply move him and lock him away somewhere else, but to release him and let him have help to deal with what's been done to him. Please write to the current governor and/or attorney general of Virginia to request that this egregious situation be remedied as soon as possible. Contact information follows:
Neli, you don't know me, and you may never actually read this. But lots of us know what's happened to you, and we're doing everything we can to get you out and back to a safe place. Hang on!
|
|
H EO M |
|
housed in  |