Karen McCarron sentenced to 36 years in prison
Karen McCarron was convicted in January of murdering her autistic daughter, Katie. Today she was sentenced to 36 years in prison. It is too soon to know if she will appeal. When Katie was murdered there was a real concern that this would be presented as yet another case of a desperate mother driven to murder by the awfulness of her situation. This Way of Life lists 38 people who were killed because they were autistic. Most of their killers received modest sentences, if they were sentenced at all. But in Katie’s case attempts to present Karen as the victim of her daughter’s autism were forestalled by the rest of Katie’s family.
Showing enormous strength and dignity, Katie’s grandfather Mike McCarron stepped forward to demonstrate that Katie was loved and accepted by all her family, all that is except her mother. Katie was a source of joy to all who knew her, all that is except her mother. I discussed the reasons for this in my earlier post when Karen was found guilty.
Karen believed that autism was the most terrible thing that could happen to Katie, that autism was worse than cancer. She believed those who told her that vaccines caused autism and blamed herself for allowing Katie to be vaccinated. She believed those who told her they could cure Katie’s autism. And when the cure did not work she saw no future for herself with an autistic daughter. Karen’s crime was a selfsh act, committed because she wanted a life without autism.
In the world of autism there is often a rift between those like myself who argue for autism acceptance and those who believe they owe it to their children to look for a cure. But parents like Karen McCarron are a special case and I have no desire to exploit her wickedness to berate the biomedical community. I believe that to do so would be to mirror the disrespectful behaviour of those self appointed autism advocates who tried to exploit Katie’s death.
I give the last word to Paul McCarron, Katie’s father, who greeted the guilty verdict thus
“I ask all parents especially those of children with disabilities to ALWAYS love your children and be proud of them. Cherish every moment you have with them. Love, patience and tender efforts are the best therapies.”
Comment by Wrong Planet | April 2nd, 2008
36 years for premeditated murder? The mother should be sentenced to life.
-Alex
Comment by mumkeepingsane | April 2nd, 2008
I hope there’s no appeal and this can be over. Katie’s family should not have to go through this anymore. 36 years is not enough, but it’s more than I expected to be honest.
“I ask all parents especially those of children with disabilities to ALWAYS love your children and be proud of them. Cherish every moment you have with them. Love, patience and tender efforts are the best therapies.”
This is lovely.
Comment by writerlulu | April 4th, 2008
I can’t imagine ever doing this to my son with Asperger’s. Learning of his condition has brought me even closer to his heart and more committed to doing whatever it takes to ease his path through life.
Comment by David Andrews M. Ed. (Distinction) | April 23rd, 2008
I am autistic.
My daughter - whom I love - is autistic.
My ex-wife - whom I still love (appropriately) - is autistic.
My current love is autistic.
I have very good friends - whom I love dearly - who are autistic.
I could never see anything that would justify the killing of any of them.
How Karen Mc Carron thought she could justify killing Katie (who shared my birthday… and birthdays mean nothing since…), I do not know.
And if anyone sought to kill any autistic one I love, because of their being autistic, I can guarantee at the very least a trip to the A&E dept, if not a trip to the morgue.
A person’s being autistic is no excuse to murder that person.
Period.
Comment by David Andrews M. Ed. (Distinction) | April 23rd, 2008
“A person’s being autistic is no excuse to murder that person.”
It’s an ethical matter, purely and simply!