- Signatures: 1,306
- Goal: 1,000
- Deadline: 2-20-2008
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This petition will remain open for signatures until Odgren's trail date, thank you for supporting him. Please keep spreading the word of this petition!
John Odgren, 16 of Massachusetts, is being tried, as an adult, with the first degree murder of a classmate. Odgren has Asperger's Syndrome which is a milder variant of Autistic Disorder. *Note: This is a PETITION, not a blog for people who think that they should sign to argue AGAINST this petition. You either live with it, or you go home and gripe to yourself in the mirror, keep telling yourself that WE are evil, go ahead. If you want to gripe about the petition to someone, e-mail me, don't sign a petition just so you can argue against it
John Odgren, 16 of Massachusetts, is being tried, as an adult, with the first degree murder of a classmate. Odgren has Asperger's Syndrome which is a milder variant of Autistic Disorder. *Note: This is a PETITION, not a blog for people who think that they should sign to argue AGAINST this petition. You either live with it, or you go home and gripe to yourself in the mirror, keep telling yourself that WE are evil, go ahead. If you want to gripe about the petition to someone, e-mail me, don't sign a petition just so you can argue against it
| Number | Date | Prefix | Name | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,308 | 10:12 am PDT, Sep 24 | Mrs. | Amanda Green | |
| 1,307 | 10:10 am PDT, Sep 16 | James Thom | If a trial must be held it should be in Juvenile court. This kid is close to being called Brilliant an would be a waste of a life if he was confined to an adult prison. He needs help not incarseration with the scum that is found in those places. I believe that someday you will see his name on the Book charts. He writes very well which is another reason not to condem him to a life in a max security joint with adults just waiting to take him off! JIM > | |
| 1,306 | 1:18 am PDT, May 4 | Anna Tang | I support trying Ogdren as a juvenile. I can't begin to imagine the bullying he would go through as an autistic in an adult male prison. I also think he should be held at a location where he can receive proper medical treatment. | |
| 1,305 | 6:09 am PDT, Apr 27 | Anonymous | I have a child with Asberger's. They do not see the world in black & white as we do.They react without thought. They are years behind in there actual age in mental maturity. | |
| 1,304 | 12:18 pm PST, Jan 26 | Dr. | Anonymous | No justice will be served by trying this young man as an adult. Unfortunately, as a child psychiatrist and advocate for children with mental illness, this is a scenario I see often. |
| 1,303 | 8:05 am PST, Jan 8 | Ms. | Allison Odgren | |
| 1,302 | 5:56 pm PST, Dec 4 | Tammy Boomhour | ||
| 1,301 | 5:46 am PST, Nov 6 | Ms. | Anonymous | |
| 1,300 | 10:28 am PDT, Oct 26 | TAYLOR ROSS | JOHN SHOULD BE TRIED AS A JUVENILE. HE SHOULD NOT BE TRIED AS AN ADULT, NOR SERVE IN A ADULT FACILITY. HE SHOULD GO WHERE HE WILL RECEIVE THE HELP FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE THAT HIS FAMILY HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET FOR HIM ALL THOSE YEARS BEFORE. THIS IS WRONG. IF WE DON'T STOP THIS INJUSTICE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. FOR SOME REASON THE "SYSTEM" SEEMS TO THROW AWAY THE KEY ON THE JUVENILES, BUT LETS THE ADULT OFFENDERS OFF WITH A SLAP ON THE WRIST FOR WORSE CRIMES, AND THEN THEY GET OUT AND RE-OFFEND. UNFORTUNATELY, NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE UNTIL IT AFFECTS THEIR FAMIY AND THEIR LIFE. | |
| 1,298 | 4:43 pm PDT, Aug 6 | Jo Simpson | ||
| 1,297 | 3:45 am PDT, Jul 22 | Mrs. | Rhonda Haggard | I get so tired of seeing these minors tried as adults. Apparantly the juvenile system needs something done so that they can actually handle these kids and teach them how to cope in society. |
| 1,296 | 8:24 am PDT, Jul 15 | Mr. | Seth Stern | |
| 1,295 | 8:54 pm PDT, Jul 3 | norma white | ||
| 1,294 | 2:16 pm PDT, Jun 28 | Ms. | Lori Bernier | I fully support the petition with regard to this young man being tried as a Juvenille and not as an Adult.I have experienced first hand the effects of symptoms similar to this young mans disability,and strongly believe that certain chemical imbalances cannot be controlled due to avariety of circumstances,I certainly hope that fairness is taken into consideration. |
| 1,293 | 4:28 am PDT, May 6 | Mr. | Douglas H. Pulsifer | |
| 1,292 | 4:13 pm PDT, Apr 28 | Karen Riopel Chaphe | John is a juvenile with a disorder he did not ask for. Little is known of this disorder, not to be used as an excuse, but an explanation for his behavior. He, especially, should not be presented as an "example" of dysfunctional teens. He has a disease. Unfortunately, some areas of mental health care are archaic. If it were a matter of a simple blood test to determine diagnosis and treatment, we would be able to treat all types of mental and emotional disorders. Treatment is a matter of trial and error and can take years to find a "bandaid". We do not know of a cure for these issues. As loving and concerned parents of these children, we support and encourage further study of all mental health issues. | |
| 1,291 | 3:37 pm PDT, Apr 8 | Elizabeth A. Smalley | ||
| 1,290 | 10:11 am PST, Mar 6 | Ms. | Anonymous | |
| 1,289 | 3:49 pm PST, Feb 26 | Laurie Schaible | ||
| 1,288 | 10:42 am PST, Feb 21 | Mr. | Anonymous | where is john now? please let me know? is he being hold in a jail? |
| 1,287 | 5:23 am PST, Feb 20 | margaret rogers | ||
| 1,286 | 3:43 pm PST, Feb 1 | Ms. | Kathleen M. Kelly | |
| 1,285 | 9:33 am PST, Jan 30 | Anton Oscar Iorga | ||
| 1,284 | 2:05 pm PST, Jan 21 | C Bernfield | Best of luck. Trying as an adult is not appropriate in this situation. | |
| 1,283 | 7:49 pm PST, Jan 17 | L Guid | 14 years old is NOT a mature adult. Those with Asperger's are generally 2-3 years younger in maturity than the average child. It is not a question of knowing right or wrong; it is a question of the nature of Asperger's and its traits. | |
| 1,282 | 12:07 pm PST, Jan 9 | Ms. | Debbie Hagan | Show compassion and try John as a juvenile. A child's brain--especially someone who has Asperger's Syndrome--is immature and cannot reason and rationalize the way adults can. Add to this the bullying. Certainly, John needs help, but he doesn't need to be treated like a hardened criminal. |
| 1,281 | 11:33 am PST, Dec 31 | Simos Tarabatzis | ||
| 1,280 | 7:50 am PST, Dec 25 | Ms. | Victoria Mary Stong / Community Activist | Show respect to those of us that have disabilities and give us credit where credit is due. If the issue fits, administer Justice appropriately for it. CHARGE HIM AS A JUVENILE!! |
| 1,279 | 5:39 pm PST, Dec 20 | Mrs. | Marylin Alexander | |
| 1,278 | 7:14 pm PST, Dec 12 | Mr. | Charlie Alexander | John needs help to face what he did this will only happen if he gets sentenced as a juvenile in the juvenile justice system.Punishment and help not vengence. |
| 1,277 | 7:14 pm PST, Dec 3 | Teresa Thompson | ||
| 1,276 | 11:57 am PST, Nov 28 | Anonymous | ||
| 1,275 | 10:33 am PDT, Nov 1 | Anonymous | ||
| 1,274 | 7:48 pm PDT, Oct 11 | Anonymous | ||
| 1,273 | 6:29 pm PDT, Oct 10 | Kaseigh Long | As a nurse who has worked in the so called "juvenile justice system", I continue to be appalled everyday at the treatment of these youngsters. I left the JJS after seeing abuses at a boot camp. After reporting it, I was threatened by staff members. Until EVERYONE sees these kids as children, they will continue to be abused in the US legal system. Sometimes, I wonder if it were the lawyers and prosecutors kids, if the outcomes would turn out different. | |
| 1,272 | 8:27 pm PDT, Oct 3 | Trevor Sullivan | I have bi-polar disorder, and Asperger's Syndrome, and I do not belive that either of those is a valid excuse to commit any crime. There is a significant difference between asburgers and autisum. However, I do not believe that any child should be charged as an adult, that is why I sined this petition. however, we have to stop teaching our children that it is allright to do whatever they want, and that they can lay the blame purly on issues like ADHD, ADD, and bi-polar, we have to teach them that they should attempt to accept help to solve their problems. It was hard but I did it with medication and alot of therepy. I still do not belive though that this person should be charged as an adult, because he is not one. Therefore, even if I have different reasons to agree with all of you I still agree. if you wish to tell me your thoughts on this comment, than you may e-mail me at micfail@hotmail.com | |
| 1,271 | 3:04 pm PDT, Sep 23 | Ms. | Anonymous | No juvenile should be tried as an adult. That is why we have a juvenile system. Also, research studies show that the executive functioning (in the temporal lobe) is not completely functioning until almost age 25. Juveniles of any kind are not capable of fully understanding the world on an adult level. In this case, we have a child with a developmental disability who is even farther behind his chronological age with his social-emotional levels. My own son, who has severe ADHD and has many, many characterisitics of autism spectrum disorders but who does not have a formal diagnosis, was accused of something he did not even understand at the age of 13 (social-emotional age of 9). The courts dealt with him as a typcial 13 year old, decided he should have known his behavior would affect others, was put into juvenile hall (a traumatic experience for him!), made to see many court-appointed specialists...he may never be the same. A beautiful, lovely, thoughtful, sweet boy, who at 16, still does not really understand what he was accused of. It's a travesty. Anyone of us with disabled children could be in the same place as this boy and his family. None of us asked for this and society keeps making us suffer over and over again. |
| 1,270 | 8:17 pm PDT, Sep 21 | Ms. | Joycelyn J Prescott | I feel it is a shame what has happened but this poor child should not be made to pay the price for the schools administrations stupidy. I feel that all schools should be aware of this disorder and learn how to help these children not cause them pain. |
| 1,269 | 5:46 pm PDT, Sep 21 | Annette Lynch | My heart goes out to both families of this terrible tragedy, but this boy should not be tried as an adult. | |
| 1,268 | 10:18 am PDT, Sep 21 | Florence Castro | I have two boys with Asperger Syndrome and always wince when I see headlines like this. If the IDEA was being followed, this child would not be in court because it never would have happened. | |
| 1,267 | 8:24 am PDT, Sep 21 | Mrs. | Gina Montiel | I have a child diagnosed on the spectrum. I feel for this boy. I will be praying for him. I can't imagine putting a child on the spectrum in prison, he needs help not prison. |
| 1,266 | 7:25 am PDT, Sep 21 | Mrs. | tiffany higgins | his attorney should look into the I.D.E.A. laws. they may be able to help. the poor kid probably still hasnt a clue what he has done. as empathy is lacking in asperger's patients. my son has asperger's and i had to remove him from school for his own safety so i can fully understand what these poor parents and this poor, dare i say innocent, boy are going through. in order to find him guilty they must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he knew what he was doing, and i am positive that he did not and still does not understand. best of luck to the family, my prayers are with you. |
| 1,265 | 5:23 am PDT, Sep 21 | Mrs. | Andrea Davila | Children with special needs should not be tried as adults because they do not understand. |
| 1,264 | 4:59 am PDT, Sep 21 | rita black | A young boy with autism does not have the mental facilities of an adult. | |
| 1,263 | 11:24 pm PDT, Sep 20 | Mrs. | Anonymous | I don't think any special child should be tried as an adult. |
| 1,262 | 4:22 am PDT, Sep 7 | Mrs. | Kimberly Baldwin | We have to protect our children with disabilities because if we don't then who will. |
| 1,261 | 12:01 pm PDT, Aug 31 | Jennifer DeSimone | ||
| 1,260 | 6:59 pm PDT, Aug 30 | Mr. | Mark Zanger | If there is any teenager who should *not* be tried as an adult, it is one with a developmental disability. |
| 1,259 | 6:56 pm PDT, Aug 24 | dana gagliardi | ||
| 1,258 | 9:02 am PDT, Aug 21 | Erin Azulay | As a person who works with children with Aspergers, I feel it would be a gross miscarriage of justice to try this young man as an adult | |
| 1,257 | 6:22 pm PDT, Jul 30 | Ms. | Anonymous | my heart goes out to both families and I'm deeply sorry for both of their losses |
| 1,256 | 2:56 pm PDT, Jul 29 | Leya Smith | A person with Asperger's is a high-functioning Autistic. They should not be tried as an adult because they have problems that prevents them from thinking the same way as a normal adult would. | |
| 1,254 | 1:44 pm PDT, Jun 24 | Irene Tanzman | From what I read in the newspaper, this child was not receiving appropriate education from the school system. The school system should have been monitoring this child's environment, and helping him to cope. Obviously, they did a horrendous job of that. This child is certainly not an adult, and it is quite clear that he did not have the emotional maturity of a typical sixteen year old. He needed help and did not get it and that is why this tragedy occurred. | |
| 1,253 | 7:33 pm PDT, Jun 23 | cara gubrud | ||
| 1,252 | 7:00 pm PDT, Jun 18 | Ms. | Nancy Ahmadifar | |
| 1,251 | 9:58 am PDT, Jun 14 | Ms. | Becky DiDomenico | I think he should be punished but not as an adult he is a child and he has a PDD |
Odgren should be tried as a juvenile
Odgren has Asperger's Syndrome which is a milder variant of Autistic Disorder. Both Asperger's Disorder and Autistic Disorder are in fact subgroups of a larger diagnostic category. This larger category is called either Autistic Spectrum Disorders, mostly in European countries, or Pervasive Developmental Disorders (&PDD;), in the United States. In Asperger's Disorder, affected individuals are characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. There are impairments in two-sided social interaction and non-verbal communication. Though grammatical, their speech is peculiar due to abnormalities of inflection and a repetitive pattern. Clumsiness is prominent both in their articulation and gross motor behavior. They usually have a circumscribed area of interest which usually leaves no space for more age appropriate, common interests. Under Massachusetts law, the juvenile court does not have any jurisdiction over a person between the ages of 14 and 16. That means that a child between these ages must be tried and sentenced as an adult. I agree that this is outrageous. The only person who had any discretion to have John Odgren treated as a juvenile is the Middlesex County District Attorney, Gerard T. Leone. If he indicted John for manslaughter rather than murder, John would be tried in juvenile court rather than as an adult. By signing this petition you could help this young boy. With this petition I hope to help him get tried with a lesser degree of Manslaughter as a juvenile.
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