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Letters

Autism and Mental Illness: Prison Isn’t the Right Place

By

Garry

Garry writes from a prison in TAS.

Ye Jinghan via Unsplash

To About Time,

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Hey guys, great newspaper. Absolutely love it.

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I would just like to mention a few things I’ve noticed around prison regarding inmates with both autistic and mental illness traits. Who says these inmates are right to go to prison and not a hospital?

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It seems to me prison staff also need training regarding mental health and inmates with autism like myself. Just seems a little unfair to lock someone up who doesn’t see the world same as a “normal” person would.

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Furthermore, it isn’t fair to prison staff who have to deal with these unusual behaviours. Autistic, Aspergers – anyone who is on the “spectrum” should undergo some sort of different situation rather than mainstream prison.

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Regards,

Garry

This
letter
was originally printed in the
April 2026
edition of About Time.
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