special victims paper
Special victims paper
DIRECTIONS:
Your goal is to fully describe and analyze the special victim case using traditional research
sources along with original, direct criminal justice evidence sources. Examples of original
sources would include probable cause affidavits for search or arrest warrants, body worn
camera recordings, 911 calls, and trial transcripts. These are not inclusive of all types you can
select. I understand if it may be difficult to obtain sources like these under such short notice.
Just please try though. If not possible maybe I could receive a small refund?
I am not restricting your freedom in the structure or rubric of this research paper. Please use
creativity and license in what matters to you and why. You can dig into a prosecution or
defense issue. You can address inequities seen in application of policy or resources available to
victims or defendants. You can focus on legislation spawned from a special victim tragedy and
how it arose. The possibilities of approaches to research are endless.
You must cite at least 6 total sources; 4 can be traditional sources and at least 2 original
evidence based sources described above. For traditional ones, educational and government
websites (generally denoted by a .gov or .edu suffix) are typically acceptable sources. But you
should also look at scholarly journal articles. News articles or media sources may also suffice.
All sources must be fully identified and properly cited. You are free to exceed the number of
sources noted herein.
CASE STUDY: MUDER OF ALEX SPOURDALAKIS (basic notes/overview)
● Inoculating Against VAXXED – Ep 4 – The Murder of Alex Spourdalakis (THIS IS A
REALLY GOOD SOURCE FOR THIS PAPER)
● Alex was a 14 year old autistic boy from River Grove, Illinois. Around puberty, he
developed severe rage issues- common for individuals of his age with severe forms of
autism.
● The first time he was hospitalized was some time in 2012 after assaulting his mother,
Dorothy. Andrew Wakefield and his associates attempted to use Alex’s story to promote
their media ventures and cause that holds that autism is a disease caused by vaccines and
gastrointestinal issues. Wakefield is the shady and discredited doctor behind the movie
Vaxxed. There is a common link between autism spectrum disorders and disorders like
irritable bowel syndrome. While each disorder aggravates the symptoms of the other,
neither causes the other.
● Various Chicago area psychiatric institutes that specialize in treatment of adolescents like
Alex reached out to his family to offer support. But they were dissuaded by
misinformation from Wakefield.
● On June 10, 2013, Alex was murdered by his primary caretakers: his mother Dorothy and
his godmother. They attempted to overdose him with his own medication, and when that
didn’t work, they stabbed him to death. They then attempted to kill themselves but
survived. The murder was planned at least a week in advance.
● The two women were able to enter a plea of involuntary manslaughter and were released
for time served in 2016, after only 3.5 years in jail. Many mainstream news media outlets
that reported on Alex’s murder painted the two women as tragic figures who had no
choice but to crack under pressure. Wakefield further profited off this tragedy by
producing a documentary entitled Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis? His answer? The
“conniving” medical industry that hides secrets and refuses to treat autism as a dangerous
disease that causes bad behavior.
MY ESSAY SO FAR:
Like many things in life, the concept of disability also falls on a spectrum. Many of us have
likely held this identity at some point or another. Some disabilities are temporary, like a broken
arm, and some are permanent, like an amputated arm. Some are well researched and have a
plethora of alternative treatment options, like major depression, and some have so little
information currently available, like dissociative identities. Some disabilities are visible and
some aren’t. As someone with invisible disabilities, it’s true that people can’t clock these
differences by simply looking at me. Especially nowadays, as I have become so exhausted by the
practice of masking. This is simply terminology for autistic people, mostly subconsciously,
keeping up a “normal” and neurotypical facade in order to evade judgment. But you can hear it
in my odd speech patterns and see it in my introversion or my tics. I have been accused of being
on drugs when I was sober as a nun by friends and family and police. People look at me like I’m
a freak when I get very reactive with my emotions. But as far as being an autistic person goes, I
am actually quite privileged. My symptoms are not so severe that I can’t take care of myself and
need a caretaker or constant medical assistance. I have the option and ability to try and mask my
symptoms to evade discrimination. It’s hard to be someone that you’re not, but sometimes it’s
necessary in dangerous situations. And though I have been met with suspicion from law
enforcement in the past simply due to my emotional reactivity, I’ve never been in as much
danger as an autistic person of color having the same experience. I wanted to mention that facet
because it is significant to me, even though this paper is not about an autistic person of color.
This paper is about a white teenage boy from River Grove, Illinois. His name was Alex
Spourdalakis.
