Don’t Normalize Murder: Dallas Filicide

The Dallas Morning News has a piece on parents, as they age, contemplating murdering their adult kids. Explaining away these murders as understandable, however, promotes the notion that it’s a reasonable act. The risk of contagion with such reporting is high. Reporters: read ASAN’s anti-filicide kit before writing about filicide, please. And if you are going to … Continue ReadingDon’t Normalize Murder: Dallas Filicide

Bad Disability Journalism: Filicide Stories

Here are two stories recently on murder and attempted murder of disabled children. They follow the same pattern I discussed here in which the murderer is praised as a kind caregiver who inexplicably murdered their children/attempted to murder. No disabled people are quoted. We learn little or nothing about the victim of violence, their story erased. … Continue ReadingBad Disability Journalism: Filicide Stories

Savannah Leckie

Savannah Leckie, an autistic teenager, seems to have been murdered by her mother. The autistic community, led by ASAN, has long sought victim-centered narratives when such murders happen. This, from Ozark County Times, tells us about Savannah. Over the next few weeks, we will see increasing discussion of the killer’s mental health. We won’t see … Continue ReadingSavannah Leckie

Murder Responses: Swans vs Disabled Human

A terrible crime has been perpetrated in Michigan, and the comment thread is outraged. A family of swans was run over. Meanwhile, a Michigan woman killed her disabled son (he had cerebral palsy), and the comment thread opened with, “this is wong, but understandable” and “she must have cracked under the strain.” It improved thanks … Continue ReadingMurder Responses: Swans vs Disabled Human