IMO BK has diagnoses which many in the population have and yet most with said disorders do not commit premeditated cold blooded murder.
In fact the diagnoses BK has, again as many have, place them in a more vulnerable position/are at higher risk than most for being the victims of crimes/murders versus being perpetrators of crimes/murders.
Most people, to include people with BK’s alleged various/co-morbid diagnoses ASD, OCD, VSS, etc., regardless of where they fall on a spectrum, follow the laws of society and know right from wrong and know that it’s wrong to murder someone in cold blood. Regardless of disorder or mental illness, they have a moral compass, able to feel empathy and compassion for others.
Like others on these boards have graciously shared whether they themselves and/or family members are neurodivergent and/or various mental illness, I too have close relatives that are neurodivergent/share some of the same diagnoses as BK and as I’ve said before I’ll say again, there’s something else going on in the brain/wiring besides ASD OCD, VSS etc, of someone capable of murdering another human being in cold blood, never mind taking four innocent lives in cold blood. I personally don’t care if someone meant to only take one life, stating the obvious one life taken in cold blood is one too many. And whether or not the perp in this case (BK imo) only intended to kill one victim that fateful early morning, the fact is he took four, 4! precious beautiful lives.
IMO BK knows right from wrong and wouldn’t be deemed criminally insane even if the state of Idaho allowed NGRI as a defense. It’s an incredibly high bar to meet with a small percentage of the population being successful with NGRI. Andrea Yates is one example, and imo this case/this suspect BK is far from an Andrea Yates situation. There has never been any mention/indication BK suffers from paranoid delusions/hearing voices/hallucinations/paranoid schizophrenia. Having said that, depending on what happens at upcoming hearing(s), I wouldn’t be surprised if one of BK/AT team’s next maneuver is to claim BK incompetent to stand trial considering they’ve already mentioned BK’s neurodivergence interferes with his ability to assist with his defense. If is the case and competency evaluation ordered by Judge, BK will be sent off for treatment until he’s deemed restored to competency/able to assist in his defense, essentially further delaying justice for the victims and their families’.
Waiting with bated breath to see how Judge rules at upcoming hearing. In the meantime, added couple links below, one r/t ASD and one r/t Incomptency.
Snipped from Psychology Today link and
BBUM:
“Lay people often take those signals to mean we Asperger people don’t have feelings, or we don’t care about them, or that we lack empathy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
As the definition of autism and Asperger’s says: This is a communication disorder. It’s not a “lack of feeling” disorder. In fact, most clinicians who work with people on the autism spectrum will tell you
autistic people tend to care deeply for people in their lives, and have a sweetness; a childlike gentleness – something totally at odds with what you’d expect in a cold blooded killer.
There is nothing in the definition of Asperger’s or autism that would make a person think we are a violent group.
That’s reinforced by criminal justice studies telling us that people with autism are much less likely to commit violent crimes than the average person. Indeed, those studies show autistic people are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
If you’re looking for a group of people to
fear, we’re not it.
One day we may have a hard medical test for autism – including Asperger’s. Until then, it’s diagnosed by observation – a process that is unfortunately more prone to error than we would like. The Asperger diagnosis attributed to Adam might even have been a mistake;
sociopathy can masquerade as mild autism or Asperger’s.
It’s easy to see how the two conditions might be confused.
After all, one is characterized by a weak ability to show feelings, while the other is founded on an absence of feeling within, and a lack of innate moral foundation. Those two conditions may look very similar, but the outcomes are not. One leads to
anxiety,
depression, and social failure.
The other may lead to evil, and a much darker place.
News reports claim the Sandy Hook killer had Asperger's. If true, was that really relevant, or does the statement just stir public opinion against people on the autism spectrum? Some thoughts on understanding.
www.psychologytoday.com
IMHOO