#kelli stapleton

[theconcealedweapon]

When Alison Singer from Autism Speaks said that she contemplated murdering her autistic daughter, people like Kelli Stapleton were listening.

[charaznable]

ppl w/ allism are always hyped to throw a cacophonous shit fit when someone on the internet says their favorite anime character is autistic but when the kelli stapletons of the world abuse and murder us suddenly they're a chorus of fucking crickets

[autistic-bobsaginowski]

So comforting to see major media organ cutting people who tried to kill their disabled children more slack than they do black kids who get shot by the cops.

[nymag]

Kelli Stapleton’s teenage daughter was autistic and prone to violent rages. Kelli had come to fear for her life, and for her family. So she made a decision that perhaps only she could justify, and is now serving 10-22 years in prison. In our new cover story, she talks about her experience trying to cure her daughter through applied behavior analysis (ABA), and what led to her attempt to take her daughter’s life, and her own.

(via By Noon They'd Both Be in Heaven)

[justrollinon]

A judge Wednesday sentenced the mother of an autistic Michigan teenager to 10-22 years in prison for what the woman described as a failed murder-suicide attempt brought on by despair after years of violent attacks by her child and failure to find affordable and effective treatment. Kelli...

[hcshannon]

I know this is cliche but I just learned Kelli Stapleton has been sentenced to 10-22 years for attempted murder.

[asdigest]

UPDATE - Kelli Stapleton sentenced to 10 - 22 years for failed murder attempt of autistic daughter

UPDATE – Kelli Stapleton sentenced to 10 – 22 years for failed murder attempt of autistic daughter

Benzie County, Michigan – We have kept up to date with the trial of Kelli Stapleton, who attempted to kill both herself and her autistic daughter Issy with carbon monoxide poisoning, and today we learned that the mother from Michigan has been sentence to a minimum of 10 years in prison with the maximum sentence of 22 years.

Sara Swanson, Prosecutor  issued this statement:

“My office strives to…

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[autisticadvocacy]

ASAN, Disability Community Statement on Sentencing of Kelli Stapleton | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Statement by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, American Association of People with Disabilities, Arc of Michigan, National Council on Independent Living, Not Dead Yet, and TASH on the Sentencing of Kelli Stapleton

  The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), the nation’s leading advocacy organization run by and for autistic individuals, and the undersigned organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of individuals with disabilities, submit this statement in support of the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations. We urge the court to reject the defendant’s invitation to impose a lenient sentence on the basis of Issy Stapleton’s disability.

Violence against children and adults with disabilities is all too common. In 2012, child services agencies in 41 states substantiated over 67,000 cases of abuse or neglect – including abuse that led to death – of children with disabilities.[1] Of those reported cases, over 50,000 – or seventy-five percent – had an intellectual disability, behavioral problem, and/or emotional disturbance. These numbers may be artificially low; when surveyed, over 33% of people who reported abuse of a person with disability reported that there was no investigation.[2]

ASAN keeps a running list of people with disabilities killed by their caregivers and holds yearly vigils to commemorate their lives. In the past 12 months alone, we have added an additional 30 homicides to our list. These homicides only include those of which we became aware through news coverage, and do not include attempted homicide or other severe, life-threatening violence such as what Issy Stapleton suffered.

Although many families lack adequate services to help support their children with disabilities, absence of services is neither a cause nor an excuse for violence. Thousands of families every year struggle to support children with disabilities. Yet the vast majority of these families would never consider harming their own children.

Indeed, many of the prominently reported cases of violence against children with disabilities – including this one – were by individuals who had access to a rich array of services. Issy Stapleton had just returned from an intensive 6-month residential placement less than 72 hours before Kelli Stapleton poisoned her with carbon monoxide gas.

Nevertheless, media sources and defense attorneys have continued to portray acts of violence against people with disabilities as the natural result of the “burden” of living with a person with a disability. Rather than rallying with sympathy and support for the child victim of attempted filicide, media coverage has consistently attempted to excuse and justify her murderer and paint the person who tried to kill her–her own mother–as the “real” victim.

This narrative is not only untrue, but also can promote future violence against people with disabilities. Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing has shown that the defendant’s crime was not a temporary lapse in judgment but rather the culmination of years of resentment toward her child. Over the course of years, she repeatedly made public and private statements demeaning and vilifying her child on the basis of her disability, including statements that autistic children should be killed. These statements should be recognized as an attempt to exonerate herself and blame her child for the pattern of mistreatment that culminated in the abuse for which she has now pled guilty.

It is essential that the court avoid reinforcing this harmful narrative by treating the defendant’s poisoning of her daughter as somehow more understandable or less worthy of punishment than similar conduct toward any other child. We do not excuse the intentional poisoning of nondisabled children as the result of the stress of parenting; disabled children deserve this same basic social protection. When someone abuses a child with a disability, the crime is not that she had the audacity to be disabled–it is that she was abused by the people she trusted and relied on most.

Above all, the court should consider Issy’s own well-being. Issy has already had to cope with betrayal and abuse by her own parent. She should not have to endure the additional burden of being told that this abuse was caused by the fact that she was difficult and burdensome, and that it is somehow reasonable and understandable for people – even the people she has the most reason to trust – to commit atrocious abuse against her. As we have seen through the experiences of our constituents, autistic people with limited expressive language abilities often have the ability to understand what other say about them, even if they are presumed not to. Every child should feel that they deserve to grow up free from violence and abuse. Without such reassurance, children who have already suffered abuse are at especially high risk of re-victimization.

As a final matter, we note that the defendant has continued to seek public platforms – including an interview with “Doctor Phil” McGraw and a possible book deal – from which to promote the self-justifying that violence against children with disabilities is a natural consequence of the stress of raising them. This behavior not only indicates a lack of remorse, but also an attempt to capitalize on the publicity associated with her crime. It is crucial that the defendant not be allowed to profit financially from her abuse of Issy, including through a book deal or payments for public appearances. We ask that the Court award Issy treble restitution, to be placed in a special needs trust, for the physical and psychological injuries—including brain damage—she has suffered. Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.766(5)(g). This will ensure that – at the very least – any proceeds from defendant’s public appearances can be diverted toward ensuring that Issy has adequate access to medical treatment, rehabilitation services, and a high standard of living for the remainder of her life. Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.768.

      Respectfully submitted this 6th day of October, 2014:

Samantha Crane, Director of Public Policy

Autistic Self Advocacy Network Co-Signatories:

  American Association of People with Disabilities

Arc of Michigan

National Council on Independent Living

Not Dead Yet

TASH