We are profoundly grateful for our lawyer, Kevin Williams, at GT Stewart, who has been a consistent rock during these difficult and complex few years.
What initially drew me to Kevin was his experience with people with personality disorders, and it’s now safe to say his and the firm's experience with neurodiversity and Asperger’s autism.
Despite our incredibly complex case and extreme vulnerabilities, Kevin did not shy away from the challenges and worked gently alongside my brother’s disabilities.
When you also look at the unfortunate lack of understanding of mental health and autism within the system, I can wholeheartedly say that we were lucky to be clients of such an incredibly hardworking and caring lawyer.
As the family member of a disabled, vulnerable with complex needs and the fact that reasonable adjustments have to be made for such people but are often not, we could not have managed without Kevin and the firm.
Kevin is a compassionate lawyer who stays calm and manages all aspects of mental health and neurodiversity, and he is tactile in treating capacity issues. exceptionally well.
Many lawyers do not go the extra mile, but Kevin was dedicated. I am convinced that Kevin will continue to stand up for the rights of such people, and I hope that more will follow in his footsteps and be rewarded and recognised for their essential work, awareness, and fight for justice.
Kind regards
University Cambridge researchers:
"Our research shows quite clearly that autistic adults are not receiving fair treatment within the criminal justice system. Without reasonable adjustments or support, this could place them at a significant disadvantage.”
Rachel Slavny-Cross
This comes on the back of an Equality and Human Rights Commission report in June 2020 that warned that the CJS is failing those with learning disabilities and autistic people. However, there is almost no research investigating how autistic defendants are being treated within the CJS.
A research team member, Carrie Allison said: “It’s vital that juniors are provided with information about a defendant’s autism and its implications. Otherwise, they are likely to misinterpret the atypical behaviour exhibited by the defendant in court. Similarly, judges may fail to consider mitigating factors that might otherwise influence sentencing.”
The study found that lawyers were more likely to be concerned that their autistic clients would engage in self-harm behaviours, compared with their non-autistic clients, and were more likely to report that their autistic clients experienced meltdowns as a result of their involvement in the CJS.
Dr. Sarah Griffiths, another member of the research team, said: “Autistic adults are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, such as stress and heightened anxiety, with many autistic people experiencing meltdown and shutdown as a result. This will likely have shaped their interactions with the criminal justice system and their ability to cope with the stress of being subject to criminal proceedings.”
Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge and a research team member, added: “There’s an urgent need across the criminal justice system for increased awareness about autism. The police, lawyers, judges, and jurors should be given mandatory training to be aware of how autism affects an individual’s behaviour so that autistic defendants are treated fairly within the criminal justice system.”
