This was no act of love. Autism is not a justification for murder
I scroll through the news on my phone, my hands shaking as I read. I waver between pain and anger.
Two autistic children, Leon and Otis Clune, died. Evidence suggests their parents killed them in a murder-suicide after their NDIS funding was cut. Their deaths were tragic and preventable and I am deeply saddened by their loss.
But I don’t have the chance to be content with that, because the reporting of his murders makes me angry and hurt in a completely different way.
Headlines were: “No choice: parents reached breaking point” and “Mother’s tragic struggle.” Almost every article mentions that the siblings are experiencing “significant health problems.” The boys’ neighbor was quoted in an article“It’s a very, very sad thing, but in this case, you know, the two young people there were talking nonverbally,” he said.
Whether 16-year-old Leon and 14-year-old Otis communicated verbally or non-verbally is in no way relevant to their murders (though Leon was reportedly verbal).
This kind of perspective is dangerous. And it’s not just people with disabilities who are affected. For too long we have seen perpetrators of domestic violence cheerfully described as “a good guy.” We are slowly learning that by not holding the perpetrator accountable, we belittle the victims and effectively hold them responsible for their fate.
we had Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Disabled People in Australia. How are we still having this conversation four years later?
Media Diversity Australia has guide to responsible disability reporting but we still get it catastrophically wrong.
The articles are bad, but the comments under them are even worse.
Author and appearance activist Carly Findlay shared on social media About the repetition of disability in comments that describe the murder as “an act of love” or where commenters state that they “understand why” [the parents] “I did it” or “Do not approve of murder, but…”
But what? Murder is murder. These commenters do not call themselves disabled and likely do not realize the harm they cause. Or maybe they do and just don’t care.
As Findlay writes, “No one says things like that about the killing of non-disabled people.”
I share Findlay’s sadness at these comments, but I have years of disability pride behind me, as well as a psychologist and support network who confirm that my disability is not a problem and does not define or diminish my value. How will this affect underprivileged disabled people, especially autistic children? Nearly 80 percent of them also experience mental illness?
We should not see the value of our lives being debated, our access needs being used as justification for murder.
Let’s be clear: Killing disabled people is not an act of mercy or “an act of love.” Our murder cannot be forgiven. Disabled people deserve to live.
However, reading these articles without lived experience and exposure to disabled people and society can easily lead people to think otherwise.
Unfortunately, disabled people are used to this type of media treatment. We saw this at the peak of COVID-19 when some people emphasized this. COVID posed the greatest risk to people with “underlying conditions.”“It is as if our deaths are expected and our lives matter less. This is what we see when the NDIS and the people it supports are framed as a burden on the economy.
Leon and Otis Clune must be alive. This is the story. Not their “special needs,” not their “health issues,” or the “struggle” they put their families through. Their lives mattered.
The system failed Leon and Otis Clune. We failed them.
I am not alone in my despair and anger. Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess condemned the “dangerous narrative” surrounding the case of Leon and Otis, arguing that “the fact that children may be autistic and need support should not constitute any justification for their murder.”
CEO of Disabled Children and Young People Australia, Skye Kakoschke-Moore, He called on individuals and organizations to “take every opportunity to confirm that children with disabilities are not a burden.”
Disabled people are not a burden to our parents. We are not a burden on the economy. We are not a burden, full stop. If you think otherwise, you need to think again. If not for others, then for yourself. Disabled people are the only marginalized group that everyone can join at any time. Age hinders us all in different ways. One day you’ll probably be one of us, and I’m sure you’ll be angry too.
We are all complicit in the societal understanding of disability. Attitudes about disability or anything else are not innate. They are created and shaped by conversations, policies, and media coverage.
Leon and Otis Clune are dead. The least we can do is – should – is to respect them. At the very least, it is to challenge the way we think, talk and write about disabled people and those with disabilities.
We owe this to them. People without disabilities, you owe this to us.
Laura Pettenuzzo is a disabled writer and accessible communications expert.
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Laura Pettenuzzo is a disabled writer and accessible communications expert.
